Are you inferring that a hoax of this magnitude isn't significant to society?
Indeed it says a lot about our society, but the article itself just presents the facts. It is up to the reader to see what he/she can learn from it. It says a lot about how voters can be manipulated for one thing. It also says a lot about hoaxes can be perpetrated using modern electronic media. There is also something to be learned about how images can be tracked, and about how, if you maintain an internet relationship, you may or may not be talking to who you think you are.
As I read it, I found myself wondering if Manti was in on it, or a victim, too. The fact that this fake person had a relationship with at least one other person prior to Manti may indicate that at least initially it was a prank on Manti. It strikes me as plausible that the car accident, the hospital stay, and death were created to keep Manti from catching on to why he couldn't actually meet her. But, if that's true, there has to be at least one other person involved, someone that played the voice of Lennay to Manti and to his family, since both talked to "Lennay" on the phone.