Megan Meier Blog: A Hoax
posted by Daniel Solove
A few days ago, I blogged about a blog called “Megan Had It Coming” when a blogger in the name of Lori Drew (the mother who was involved in the case) attempted to explain her side of the story. I wrote in my post that the blog might very well be a hoax, and it indeed was. From CNN:
Police are investigating Internet postings of someone posing as the woman linked to an online hoax played on a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide. . . .
Lori Drew’s attorney said Friday that she is not the writer.
The St. Charles County sheriff’s department is investigating the blog postings on Blogger.com to see whether a crime has been committed, a spokesman said.
“Any Internet message that purports to be a member of the Drew family is being managed by an impostor and undoubtedly is being done for the purpose of further damaging the Drews’ reputation,” the family said in a statement. . . .
Lori Drew’s lawyer, Jim Briscoe, said Google Inc., which owns Blogger.com, has been contacted. A Google spokesman said the company is reviewing the impersonation allegation. . . .
Since then, the Drews have been besieged with negative publicity, and Meier’s death prompted her hometown of Dardenne Prairie to adopt a law engaging in Internet harassment a misdemeanor.
Now, elected officials say the law’s first use could be to prevent possible harassment against the Drews.
“I would say that would be a possibility, that they could be the first,” Mayor Pam Fogarty said Friday. “A law is a law is a law. You can’t discriminate.” . . . .
St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas said he heard about the postings through the news media and asked the sheriff’s department to investigate.
Banas said he had no idea if someone might be charged under the Dardenne Prairie measure. He explained any charges he brings are under state law, not under local ordinances.
December 8, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Posted in: Privacy (Gossip & Shaming), Social Network Websites, Web 2.0
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Responses (4)
Danny Vice - December 9, 2007 at 9:34 pm
While the Megan Meier case seems outrageous and unique, it isn’t. Hundreds of cases of egregious and heinous acts go on every day with the same excuses out of our lawmakers.
One such other case….The case of Nikki Catsouras, is a classic example of disgusting, hateful activity against innocent victims, while our lawmakers excuse themselves from enacting laws to prevent this.
The excuse lawmakers use to let themselves off the hook stem from the growth of the Internet and how fast it’s changing. This is a sham.
Chat rooms, message boards, instant messengers and email have been in existence for far over a decade now. While the software used to transmit messages changes slightly, the basic essence of using the Internet to send a message is largely the same. Is a decade or two long enough to establish some basic decency laws in regards to Internet usage?
I’ve posted the Nikki Catsouras story along with many details about the Megan Meier case so the inactivity out of our lawmakers towards these types of cases can be clearly seen.
Those who are interested in learning about cases like Megan’s and Nikki’s case are encouraged to drop by and comment on them. I have a couple of polls set up as well. Danny Vice would like to hear your point of view.
Public awareness of the problem and discussions about possible solutions are the best way to pressure elected officials into action instead of excuse making.
I invite you to come by and share your opinion.
Danny Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com
BuckleHerLips - December 10, 2007 at 9:39 am
Why are the neighbors of the Drew family not being charged with MO Statute 565.225? – “Harasses”, to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that serves no legitimate purpose, that would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and that actually causes substantial emotional distress to that person.”
Christine Buckles was on Fox News last inciting the world to hate the Drews, and insisting that the Drew family move out of the neighborhood. If anything happens to the Drew family, I think this modern day lynch mob should be accountable. The Drew family has already suffered financially by losing their business, since the neighbors have started the hate campaign.
Danny Vice - December 13, 2007 at 3:14 pm
We have a county prosecutor and a defense attorney who have gone on the record with statements that flat out rewrite history and previous statements.
If we were to believe that the statements Lori Drew is now making are truthful, and the police report she filed in Nov. 2006, was incorrect, then Lori Drew should be prosecuted for filing a false police, making a false statement or obstruction of justice.
Lori Drew, through her attorney Jim Briscoe has made the following statement:
“Everything, as far as Mrs. Drew knew, was that all the communication was nice and polite and there was no harassing going on. She did not create the MySpace account. She did not instruct anybody to create the MySpace account. She never made any communications through the MySpace account.”
Well alright Lori, now that you’ve completely absolved yourself from the case in any way, shape or form, please explain how this squares with your previous statements.
When it all comes down to it, we simply don’t believe you. We’ll take the officer’s account of what you said above what your attorney says. He was not being paid to defend you.
Jack Banas, we are calling for charges in this case one way or another.
Either the women did stalk this child, or she made knowingly false statements to the police prior to the surfacing of this report.
You cannot absolve this woman of complete wrong doing on both sides of the fence. Pick a side or step down and let someone take over who can. Too many admissions have been publicly made for you to continue to hide under your desk.
Danny Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com
sifudan - March 15, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Danny Vice, you are a piece of crap. Your website (wow, with 235 viewers – nice going!) supposedly “outs” people, but you actually pick up stories from around the country with no investigative journalism of your own. You comment on the alleged perpetrators appearance, weight, and charges as listed, but that is the extent of your research. I’ve tried twice to comment on your stories, but you don’t have the balls to post my comments because they didn’t glorify you as the savior of the downtrodden. Get a job at a real news outlet, you poseur, where you actually have to follow journalistic ethics. You have no problem with fueling the fears and assumptions of unrelated people who want the sensationalism of someone else’s problems to make themselves feel better. Screw you.
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