Grand Theft Bullshit

Although this story is a day or two old, it ties in with the complete bullshit that the Star is passing off as news. It regards proposals for a film, book and a supposed GTA version of Raul Moats killing spree in Rothbury. Now I thought that savvy journalists would have taken one look at the badly photoshopped "cover art" shown in the article, and deduced it was the work of a spotty teenager trying to impress his stupid mates on 4chan, NOT a real game development. Hell I should think anyone who has the mental ability to open a door would have heard the sound of a penny dropping when confronted with the picture above. It really begs the question? Who is letting this stuff through?

As even Forrest Gump could figure out that GTA Rothbury was a hoax, I assume that the hacks did too. So I was appalled to read the following quote from the Grandmother of Samantha Stobbart, the poor women who was Moats ex lover, and was shot by him (her new boyfriend of course was tragically killed). She has obviously told of the existence of this "game" second hand so she will give the appropriate "outraged relative" quote that the press love.

"I can't believe someone wants to make money out of people who have been killed. It's sick. -It's blood money. The GAME is beyond belief."

So there we go. To get a few choosy outrage soundbites (tabloids love demonising video games.), the Star has approached a member of the family; of a direct victim of a horrific affair, and have compounded their grief with tales of a video game (admittedly the book and possibly the film were inevitable, and will likely be produced. A publisher sheepishly admits that it [book] is really a given.) that doesn't even exist! Which anyone could have figured out had they bothered to check. Let me repeat that, a genuine victim of a terrible human tragedy was informed about a non existent game, in order to get the emotive soundbites for a headline.

Is this considered acceptable journalism by Desmond?

The article was pulled quicker than achy wisdom teeth from the Stars website so here is a larger version of the cached article above.

Article here.