Daily Star reports new Grand Theft Auto Game: GTA Rothbury

Pacing Mule

LOL at the Daily Star who published an article reporting public fury that the latest Grand Theft Auto will be based on Raoul Moat. They have since taken it down but it can be seen as a screenshot here

This from the same link.

We really don't know where to start with this one. Okay, the bare facts to begin with: The Daily Star has somehow managed to report that a video game based on killer Raoul Moat is being planned.

It's even gone so far as to parade a picture of a mocked up GTA, entitled: Grand Theft Auto Rothbury - named after the rural Northumberland area in which Moat ended his own life on July 10.

The Star attributes the doctored image to several 'games websites', which it said 'showed the cover of Grand Theft Auto Rothbury'. We read a lot of games websites. We have not seen these websites.

sink

Saw this on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Just shows the quality of the journalism being conducted a the Daily Star. :rolleyes:

Myrddin

Ah the daily rag, journalism of the highest caliber. I fear for the people who part with legal tender to read this cr@p

Pacing Mule

Disgraceful piece of journalism - they even interviewed the grandmother of the girl shot by Moat (who's partner was killed) and got her reaction. :mad:

Kiith

Did they actually publish this on their site? I know its the Daily Star, but surely they can't just completely make up whatever bull**** they want and sell it as news. Can they not get in trouble for blatantly lying about these sort of things?

super_furry

It's still in the Google cache. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:oxhvAPGdglMJ:www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/145380/Raoul-Moat-Video-game-film-and-book-plans-cause-fury/ what a shower of absolute idiots. jerry.lawton@dailystar.co.uk wrote the article.

Myrddin

Kiith wrote: »

Did they actually publish this on their site? I know its the Daily Star, but surely they can't just completely make up whatever bull**** they want and sell it as news. Can they not get in trouble for blatantly lying about these sort of things?

Hasn't stopped them before - I don't know how tabloid newspapers are allowed operate they way they do, but you have to blame the readers and people who buy them.

Retr0gamer

It's disgraceful that they fed these lies to some one that was affected by this tragedy. It's total exploitation of some one that is grieving and makes them look like an idiot.

I know one of the american tabloids and Jack Thompson got one of the victims of the Virginia tech massacre that was injured during it to start a campaign against Super Columbine Massacre RPG. They wound him up with falsified facts about the game until he met with the creator and he showed him the game and explained the message he wasnted to get accross with it. The two guys are now working together.

The Daily Mail Manhunter episode and what they made the mother of the teenager that was murdered was also equally as sickening.

gizmo

And the cretin has responded!

"Journalist" Who Wrote Fake GTA Story Ridicules Gamers

The "journalist" who made-up the story about Grand Theft Auto Rothbury in yesterday's Daily Star says he's "baffled" by the uproar and has responded to complaints by ridiculing adult gamers.

A quick update in case you missed it yesterday: Jerry Lawton, a "journalist" with the U.K. news site Daily Star, wrote a story about a new version of Grand Theft Auto based on real-life killer Raoul Moat. He even extracted an obviously anguished quote about GTA Rothbury from the grandmother of Moat's ex-girlfriend, one of his victims. The problem? There is no such game. Lawton found a fake cover of the non-existent game online and proceeded to build an anti-gaming story around it.

The uproar eventually led to the story being pulled, albeit without any kind of apology, explanation or even an acknowledgment that it existed at all, but the man behind it is entirely unrepentant. In fact, he claims to be surprised that people are upset by his story and seems oblivious to the fact that Grand Theft Auto Rothbury doesn't actually exist at all. He even took the opportunity to ridicule adult gamers on his Facebook page, which has since been set to private.

"Baffled by the fury of adult gamers," he wrote. "These are grown (?!?) men who sit around all day playing computer games with one another who've today chosen to enter the real world just long enough to complain about my story slamming a Raoul Moat version of Grand Theft Auto! You would think I'd denied the Holocaust!!! Think I'll challenge them to a virtual reality duel....stab....I win!!!"

Let me remind you that this is a "real journalist" speaking and although the Star is a notoriously trashy rag, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a certain minimal level of integrity in its reporting, even if only to the point of not passing off outright lies as real news and then making fun of people who call them on it. Is that really so baffling, Jerry?

Words fail me...

johnny_ultimate

idiot wrote:

Think I'll challenge them to a virtual reality duel....stab....I win!!!

A melee fighter ey?

zuroph

This is a disgrace, Rothbury would be much too small a town to make an interesting GTA game about

mayordenis

Surely Rockstar would have some recourse over their game being used in such circumstances?

degrassinoel

EnterNow wrote: »

Hasn't stopped them before - I don't know how tabloid newspapers are allowed operate they way they do, but you have to blame the readers and people who buy them.

look at what The Sun, did after hillsborough..

Agricola

Christ, laughable rubbish. I suppose the sad thing is they have a reader base who basically give them license to go out an do this because they keep buying the papers. Why anyone would want to read such obviously fabricated bs is beyond me.

Kiith

zuroph wrote: »

This is a disgrace, Rothbury would be much too small a town to make an interesting GTA game about

Plenty of interesting woodland area's around it though.

K.O.Kiki

I'm entirely convinced that the "quote" is 100% made up, too.

Myrddin

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I'm entirely convinced that the "quote" is 100% made up, too.

Poetic Justice if it is.

Stercus Accidit

I fired off an e-mail to Take Two interactive, parent company of rockstar games. Anything for the daily star, I am such a fan.

Sisko

Modern equivalent of a book burner.

Be great if rockstar sued him.

Stercus Accidit

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

I fired off an e-mail to Take Two interactive, parent company of rockstar games. Anything for the daily star, I am such a fan.

Good.

I reckon a lot of people should email them.

weiland79

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

I fired off an e-mail to Take Two interactive, parent company of rockstar games. Anything for the daily star, I am such a fan.

what did you say in your email?

Stercus Accidit

weiland79 wrote: »

what did you say in your email?

Just brought to their attention a media publication had published an article accusing them of creating a game connected with a recent spate of murders, GTA is synonymous with rockstar, it is a valuable franchise, and Take Two are the parent company of that franchise.

I included the probably dead now google cache link, and the article including a screenshot. The incredible value of the GTA name might warrant an 'aul legal letter to the daily plebeian, and they would deserve it.

weiland79

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

Just brought to their attention a media publication had published an article accusing them of creating a game connected with a recent spate of murders, GTA is synonymous with rockstar, it is a valuable franchise, and Take Two are the parent company of that franchise.

I included the probably dead now google cache link, and the article including a screenshot. The incredible value of the GTA name might warrant an 'aul legal letter to the daily plebeian, and they would deserve it.

Good for you.
It's amazing really how they can get away with making up such utter cack and not have to answer to anyone. The fact that he went looking for a response from the people most closely involved in this awful tragedy, just turns my stomach.
Can you imagine the reaction you would get from your boss if you did something comparable in your job. P45 straight away, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.
I do hope your email hits a nerve with Take two, and that perhaps this lowlife loses his job.

Belted off an email there aswell. Disgusting behaviour.

Although I hope they take this bit of limelight to introduce the next GTA game. I've been waiting too long Take Two!!!

Mindkiller

So can this be considered libel or what?

Yakult

How can they actually publish such rubbish? Such a disgrace and that journalist should really be effed out the door.

Edit - They apologised
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/view/145880/Rockstar-Games-Grand-Theft-Auto-An-apology/

fools.

edit -I emailed the editor of the Daily Mail asking how they could publish such a sensitive article without any source. God they piss me off.

Pacing Mule

ON 21 July we published an article claiming that the video games company Rockstar Games were planning to release a version of their popular Grand Theft Auto video games series titled “Grand Theft Auto Rothbury”.
We also published what we claimed would be the cover of this game, solicited comments from a family member impacted by the recent tragedy and criticised Rockstar Games for their alleged plans.

We made no attempt to check the accuracy of the story before publication and did not contact Rockstar Games prior to publishing the story. We also did not question why a best selling and critically acclaimed fictional games series would choose to base one of their most popular games on this horrifying real crime event.

It is now accepted that there were never any plans by Rockstar Games to publish such a game and that the story was false. We apologise for publishing the story using a mock-up of the game cover, our own comments on the matter and soliciting critical comments from a grieving family member.

We unreservedly apologise to Rockstar Games and we have undertaken not to repeat the claims again. We have also agreed to pay them a substantial amount in damages which they are donating to charity.

That is a serious grovel for a newspaper apology. They must have been smacked around by the lawyers.

Stercus Accidit

R_H_C_P wrote: »

How can they actually publish such rubbish? Such a disgrace and that journalist should really be effed out the door.

Edit - They apologised
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/view/145880/Rockstar-Games-Grand-Theft-Auto-An-apology/

fools.

edit -I emailed the editor of the Daily Mail asking how they could publish such a sensitive article without any source. God they piss me off.

Daily Shart wrote:

We have also agreed to pay them a substantial amount in damages which they are donating to charity.

ROFL

I did my part.

zuroph

yes, glad to see they got screwed.

Krieg

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/40124/Journalist-defends-GTA-Raoul-Moat-story

Oh how I f***ing Raged :mad:
Not at the piss poor comment toward gamers, but the fact that he is defending the article

Mr E

Kind of shows how clueless the editors are in the Star. Any modicum of the most basic fact checking would have nipped this crap in the bud before it made their site.