Firstly, I don't know how you can accuse the UK of having ridiculous libel laws for allowing people to sue others for completely fabricating information, given that in the US you can sue anyone for pretty much anything for absolutely shitloads of money against all common sense. I'm not claiming the UK system is perfect by any means (it's terrible), but I'm glad we don't have the same system you guys have - the actual occurrence in the UK of writers getting away with publishing completely false material and/or people successfully being able to sue for stupid reasons is rare. Secondly, on your comment about most people knowing that the game is false, if you lived in the UK and knew the readership of the Daily Star (and tabloids in general), you'd know that it's very likely the majority of people reading it will believe it without any doubt, thinking only "Oh, Grand theft auto's that game which lets you murder prostitutes, no surprise they're making a game about raoul moat!" - the UK tabloids are guilty of so much misinformation (that they can get away with) i don't think it's reasonable to ask whether they "deserve" to pay the "substantial sum".
The list that McGrory spews about how "free doesn't pay for" (insert list of high-quality reporting/criticism) is really dumb. There are so many blogs and websites (e.g. Techdirt) which offer some of the most informed and insightful information around, and charge bugger-all.
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Free doesn't pay for...
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