Speaking Of Madeleine McMann…
ANOTHER day for no news of missing Madeleine McCann. Another day for more news of Madeleine McCann’s parents.
The Express has Madeleine as its unshakable front-page story. Voices ask if this would it be so if she were not blonde, not the daughter of a consultant cardiologist and GP, facts the Express never tires of repeating?
The investigation being carried out in the tabloid press is “who is to blame?” – a choice between the Portuguese police and paedophiles. But the single thread story is of the parents.
Such has been the media feeding frenzy that the Express can produce the headline: “MADELEINE – Now Her Parents Face Hate Campaign.”
The Express says “several websites” have been bombarded with “nasty and offensive” messages. The message writers accuse Kate and Gerry McCann of “not doing enough to protect their daughter from being snatched”.
That is not a hate campaign. This is people voicing an opinion. The Express would have it that the McCanns are beyond reproach but in the media feeding frenzy all parties are likely to get bitten.
Trolling The Web
And it’s not just on Anorak that questions have been raised about McCanns behaviour since their daughter went missing.
As a further headline in the Express says: “Madeleine’s home town turns against her parents.”
The website of the Leicester Mercury newspaper has disabled its message facility after “nasty” comments were posted.
The papers editor, Nick Carter, says: “A tiny minority of people seem to want to say nasty, spiteful and defamatory things about the McCann family. They are bombarding our site and we had no choice but to block comment entirely on reports about the family.”
Or the paper could monitor comments before allowing them on site. Although this is a huge undertaking.
Express readers are not party to any of these offensive comments, and having seen some of the stuff submitted to Anorak – and one writer has been banned – comments can be a spray of masturbatory spite.
No News
But it is not a hate campaign. These are internet trolls mouthing off because the web offers them anonymity and a platform. It might be these voices are less commenting on the case than just wanting to throw stones at people in the public eye?
(The Express also reports that more than 30,000 paedophiles and sex offenders “may” have used the social networking site My Space. The Express is part of group that owns the Television X, the website of which advertises the show Teenage Dirtbags 3 – Cant Be Shootin No. Such is the Internet.)
The nasties may be complaining in a foul-mouthed and limited way about how the disappearance of one child has been used to point fingers and spread anxiety, specifically about paedophilia.
But whatever they say, it makes not difference to the case. How do offensive message on a local newspaper’s website affect the McCanns and their search for their missing daughter?
How can a comment on a website do anything? Unless it offers a clue to where Madeleine McCann is and what happened to her…
Posted: 26th, July 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (106) | TrackBack | Permalink
