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Update: We now know the identity of the Brown student who trolled a local NBC reporter covering the hurricane and it turns out that Daniel Moraff, a 20-year-old member of Brown's class of 2014 and aspiring comedy writer, was not on drugs. He was just trying to make a point about local news.
"Local TV news is a sad thing. They ask sad questions and get sad answers. It's easier to laugh about it than to think about how State House coverage is dying," wrote Moraff in an email to the Atlantic Wire shortly after our original item was published. "I could think about how sad I am that local reporting is sensationalist and frivolous and bad, or I could make a dumb hurricane joke."
Unfortunately, Moraff wasn't satisfied with his performance today. "I'm not super proud of it (just because I think it was a mediocre interview that could've been better) and I'd be happier if my name wasn't on it but: understand if there's nothing that can be done," he said.
But at this point it's inevitable that Moraff's name would get out. Other blogs are picking up the video and it's being passed around on Twitter.
Who knows, maybe this will be the big break Moraff is waiting for in his burgeoning comedy career? He's a staff writer for The Brown Jug, a campus satirical magazine, and the co-editor-in-chief of The Brown Noser, a campus satirical newspaper.