british tabloid mistakes parody photoshoped gta cover for real game

[<RJMC>]

http://kotaku.com/5595439/british-tabs-bogus-gta-story-brings-bigtime-apology-+-and-damages

The idea that Rockstar Games was making "Grand Theft Auto: Rothbury" - whether or not a ghastly crime was committed there - was so sensationally ridiculous that when The Daily Star alleged such a plan, I ignored it. Rockstar didn't.

The studio has now extracted a remarkable apology from the U.K. tabloid, which last week spotted some kind of parody Photoshop on the web (pictured) and took that for confirmation that the games maker was capitalizing on the notoriety of a shooting spree and manhunt in northeast England earlier this year. Worse, the paper went and contacted victims of that crime for comment, representing as fact Rockstar's plans to make such a game - but made no attempt to get a statement from the studio before publishing.

Rockstar went on a counteroffensive, and The Daily Star today published a self-flagellating retraction and has promised "a substantial amount in damages" will be paid to Rockstar, to be donated to charity.

british tabloid: videogames make me do it!

 

[JUL3]

Haha how ridiculous.

What kind of fool believes everything they see online these days? There's so many Grand Theft _____ fake covers out there these days the joke has lost all originality.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

The average, genuine tabloid consumer won't know the difference

 

[Kula Meenur]

It doesn't take much these days to complete a degree in modern journalism.

 

[flamingdts]

Quality journalism is almost non-existent these days.

It's all about sensationalism, spreading rumors, invasion of privacy and poking fun at celebrities when they are under an unstable emotional state.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

that's not new

nor is the complaint that it is new

let's stop that

_________________________________________

3-9-3 Haiku posting is in, your shit is out.

 

[Laivasse]

The first and only time I've ever read the Daily Star was in early teens, when an uncouth yob whom I passed in the street randomly handed me a copy he was about to discard. The gesture touched my heart, because the paper is essentially barely-veiled porn all the way through, making it one of the best gifts anyone can give to a schoolboy who hadn't discovered the net.

Of journalistic integrity, respect or decency, though, it has none. Even at that age, I was amazed at their shamelessness in following up pages of photos of topless slags with, in one example, an article about a rape case in which they included all the details about the rape from the victim's' testimony, clearly in order to titillate readers. My memory's fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure there was also a brief (and probably made-up) article about a girl promising to film herself losing her virginity on her 16th birthday.

It's not surprising they would make this kind of 'mistake', but kind of surprising they would apologise with such apparent contrition.

 

[Bad^Hat]

It's staggeringly idiotic that any person - much less a news reporter or editor - would lack even the thimbleful of skepticism necessary to see this begins with an Internet fake. I have no idea what the penalty is but I hope it is painfully large. And participating in the writing, reporting, editing and publishing of this story - even at The Star - should be a firing offense.

Hahaha.

Yeah, fire people for not fact checking their stories. Good one, Kotaku.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Blogs are serious dude.

Post in my thread again. Together we can lead the world to brave new, ineffective and torturous humano-utilitarian solutions!

 

[Hectic Glenn]

The first and only time I've ever read the Daily Star was in early teens, when an uncouth yob whom I passed in the street randomly handed me a copy he was about to discard. The gesture touched my heart, because the paper is essentially barely-veiled porn all the way through, making it one of the best gifts anyone can give to a schoolboy who hadn't discovered the net.

Of journalistic integrity, respect or decency, though, it has none. Even at that age, I was amazed at their shamelessness in following up pages of photos of topless slags with, in one example, an article about a rape case in which they included all the details about the rape from the victim's' testimony, clearly in order to titillate readers. My memory's fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure there was also a brief (and probably made-up) article about a girl promising to film herself losing her virginity on her 16th birthday.

It's not surprising they would make this kind of 'mistake', but kind of surprising they would apologise with such apparent contrition.

This, completely. The Daily Star barely makes the grade of being a tabloid newspaper and resides moreso in the region of softcore porn.

I wouldn't be surprised if they published this intentionally just for some recognition that at least one person on earth is still reading their attempt at journalism.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

I think most people employed by tabloids are at least unconsciously aware that integrity is not of the essence. It's not really an attempt at journalism to begin with...

 

[15357]

I keep hearing nothing but bad things about newspapers and tabloids in the UK. Why is that?

 

[ríomhaire]

Because there are no good newspapers in the UK.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

www.nytimes.com click intnl link

prob solved.

 

[Unfocused]

 

[YROC]

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Grand Theft Shut the **** Up

SATAN...

 

[Polaris]

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

lol they wouldn't make those into gta games, how obscure and hilarious

 

[Shem]

I'd definitely buy the Strawberryland one, just saying. I think it'd be nice to have the ability to throw strawberries at my enemies and laugh at them whilst getting away in an enormous vehicle that is coincidentally a strawberry.

 

[Colonel Kernel]

How.. very convenient for you.

 

[Rossell]

The bloke that runs this paper, runs the Express and owns Channel 5.


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