Opinion: Daily Star journalist "baffled" by gamers' reaction after fake Raoul Moat GTA story

Posted on 22 Jul 2010 at 11:34

 

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Daily Star 'journalist' Jerry Lawton yesterday somehow managed to pass off an obviously doctored cover art for a game based on Raoul Moat's rampage in and around Rothbury in Northumberland.

Dubbed GTA Rothbury, Lawton claimed that Rockstar was working on the game after citing 'several games websites' who apparently 'showed the cover of Grand Theft Auto Rothbury'. Lawton neglected to say which websites these were and, despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to find them.

To make matters worse, Lawton contacted the 69-year-old grandmother of Moat's ex-girlfriend – one of his victims – to find out what she thinks of Rockstar's next, and completely fabricated, GTA release.

"It is sick – it's blood money," said Mrs Hornsby. "The game is beyond belief."

It’s a good job the game is "beyond belief" but it’s a wonder how this made it through the Star's fact checking process. What's more disconcerting is how Lawton used Mrs Hornsby’s understandable rage to his advantage and as some sort of justification for the pure fantasy he has created.

To make matters worse, the Star's headline suggested that a film and book are also being planned. The story was pulled as soon as the gaming industry started throwing knives in the Daily Star’s direction, but Lawton showed no remorse for his mistake even after the story was pulled.

"[I'm] baffled by the fury of adult gamers!" he wrote on his Facebook page. "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!!!" he continued. "[I] think I’ll challenge them to a virtual reality duel….stab….I win!!!"

Frankly, we'd rather he just apologised to Mrs Hornsby for this disingenuous act. It's one thing to contact people who’re no doubt grieving their loss after the horrendous scenes in the North East, but to do so as part of a sick and ill-conceived fantasy is unforgivable.

It also brings up the age-old argument about violent video games and, to us, Lawton's so-called journalistic reporting is an attempt to smear the industry. Several major studies conducted by well-respected organisations, including The Harvard Medical School for Mental Health, The Journal of Adolescent Health and The British Medical Journal, have shown no conclusive link between video games and violent crime.

Author: Tim Smalley