Press Tries To Pin High Profile Killings On The Web & World Of Warcraft

from the not-this-again dept

And, here we go again. The press and "cultural commentators" absolutely love to blame new technologies for someone who does something bad. The latest is that in response to the crazy Luka Magnotta case (involving the guy in Canada who killed and dismembered someone, filming the whole thing, eating some pieces and sending others to politicians) a "cultural critic" in France is arguing that without the internet, Magnotta would not have committed his crimes.

Without the web, “the butcher of Montreal would not exist,” Mr. de Boni concludes. “This killer character is a narcissistic and deviant avatar, one of many virtual identities he invented in order to create celebrity.”

Because, of course, prior to the internet and Facebook, there were no such things as psychotic people who killed others and ate them. While the internet may have influenced the specifics of how Magnotta went about his crime, it seems ridiculous to jump to the conclusion that absent the internet, none of this would have happened. Magnotta was clearly a very sick individual. If anything, it's worth pointing out that unlike the other examples I linked to in this paragraph of sociopathic killers who dismembered and ate their victims, Magnotta was actually caught after just the first victim -- in part because he provided all sorts of evidence of his guilt online.

Meanwhile, over in Norway, where the trial of mass murderer Anders Breivik is going on, we had already noted that the press was having a field day with the claim that Breivik played a lot of World of Warcraft. That seems pretty silly considering the millions of people who play the game. However, bizarrely, the prosecution has brought it up in the trial, letting the press grandstand on the issue yet again. Even Breivik found that line of questioning to be stupid, declaring (correctly) that "it is not relevant to this case whatsoever."

But it is relevant to reporters who want to build a story about those crazy video games...

Why is it so hard to believe that there are psychotic/sociopathic people out there who do harm, and that's got nothing to do with their internet or gaming usage? These things aren't "triggered" by surfing the web or playing games. I recognize that people feel the need to look for a "reason" that these people exist and do such horrible things, but it should be pretty clear that it's a problem with them -- not their use of technology.

Of course, if we should be concerned about video games at all in the Breivik trial, perhaps it should be over the fact that a judge in the case was spotted playing solitaire on his computer during the trial:

Filed Under: anders breivik, france, luka magnotta, norway, video games, world of warcraft

Labatt Threatens To Sue Newspaper For Showing Photo of Suspected Killer Holding Its Beer

from the ip-rights-gone-insane dept

If you follow the news for gruesome murders, you're probably well aware of Luka Magnotta, the Canadian who's been accused of killing Lin Jun -- filming the entire thing (and posting it online), then dismembering the body, eating some of it, and sending parts of it to various political offices (separately, he was also accused of making a series of videos in which he tortures and kills cats). Either way, he's become something of a news sensation -- and after a relatively short manhunt, was tracked down and arrested in Berlin. All of that, of course, has nothing to do with stuff that we normally talk about here.

However, as David Canton alerts us, Canadian beer giant Labatt Breweries is now threatening to sue the Montreal Gazette, because in reporting on this story, the Gazette used a photo of Magnotta, showing him holding a bottle of Labatt Blue:

“As I am sure you can understand, this image is highly denigrating to our brand, and we are disturbed that this image remains on your site despite repeated requests and the many images available of this person,” Karyn Sullivan, Labatt’s associate general counsel, wrote in a letter to the Gazette.

Of course, as even the article about this explains, Labatt is "exacerbating the damage" by not just mentioning it, but threatening to sue to get the picture taken down. There's simply no legitimate legal issue here. As the Gazette properly pointed out in response: "The image originally appeared on Magnotta's personal Facebook page and on his blog and thus is newsworthy. There is no connection made between the brand and the suspect in the accompanying caption, headline or news story."

Except that, now that Labatt has threatened to sue, there is a connection. If someone at Labatt had simply understood the very basics of the Streisand Effect, they would have known better. It seems like perhaps Labatt should spend a bit more time hiring better lawyers, rather than worrying about a photo of an accused killer drinking its beer.

Filed Under: canada, luka magnotta, streisand effect, trademark
Companies: labatt breweries, montreal gazette