Phaneuf, Cuthbert, and Lupul seeking damages from TSN & Tweeter

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Hackey

I would be surprised because between my friends in real life, the posters on here and various other places online I didn't find anything that would lead me to believe people viewed it as anything more than a joke (or a bad joke) but maybe you seen otherwise. It was on a twitter feed which people realize is random viewers txting in. I just don't think people confuse some random kids tweet as a legitimate source.

Originally Posted by Hackey

Obviously he wanted it to get to air. Probably didn't think in a million years it would. But that is irrelevant to what we were discussing.

Perhaps I phrased it poorly to begin with. I'm not saying that it legitimized the opinion or information, I'm saying it carries that potential weight because it was nationally/internationally broadcast on a respected news source.

I think the more intelligent people of the world would shrug it off for what it probably was: some idiot thinking he was funny. However, I also think it would be hard to deny that some people, even if they are looking at it in that light, are now wondering if there's something behind it. The seed's been planted, so to speak, and sometimes truth only goes as far as we are willing to believe.

Look at how many fake quotes and other nonsense goes viral as authentic on Facebook. Segments of the masses simply aren't engaged in critical thinking.

[Hackey]

I suppose it may plant a seed for some. I'd like to believe those people are in the minority lol. We still have posters posting Eklund rumors though so who knows. Although even Eklund is probably 1000 times more credible than this guy.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Sorry, I probably did misread something. I'm tired and didn't do a great job of reading the post so I'll move on.

Twitter can be dangerous. People really have to think before they tweet. It can haunt someone for a very long time. Part of me wants to shame this guy for his tweet but part of me makes me sympathize with him for the trouble that he has got himself into with one stupid tweet. What makes me have problem with offering him sympathy is that he didn't own the mistake.

[MolsonInBothHands]

When Fotze's mom sees this thread she is gonna cash in, big time.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Hackey

The tweets to Schilling' daughter were definitely taking it too far. I can respect him sticking up for his daughter in that situation without a doubt. As bad as it is to say I don't feel the same about Phaneuf. It was one bad tweet that should have never got to air. Fire the guy. Apologize to Phaneuf, Cuthbert, and Lupul and make amends how you feel appropriate. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Move on.

The thing is it doesn't matter how you feel. It matters how Phaneuf, Cuthbert and Lupul feel.
They are within their rights to launch legal action against all those involved. And I'm happy they are doing it.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Acey

Aside from breaking every piece of news posted to this site the internet in the last however many years?

Nah.

All that twitter did was get the news out 5 or 10 minutes quicker than Facebook or Reuters. It would all get out anyway.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

Has twitter ever done anything good?

Originally Posted by Acey

Aside from breaking every piece of news posted to this site the internet in the last however many years?

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

All that twitter did was get the news out 5 or 10 minutes quicker than Facebook or Reuters. It would all get out anyway.

The thing is, Twitter also gets out a lot of lies and B.S. that would never be published in any other form of media. How many times, even here on CP, has somebody reported something as news based a tweet that turned out to be totally false? Must be hundreds by now.

Fortunately, CPers as a group are pretty good at spotting fake accounts and debunking erroneous tweets. But Twitter itself is not good at that, because Twitter doesn't do context. You might subscribe to the Twitter feed of the guy who says that cute kitten pictures cause nose cancer, and not to the feeds of the 367 oncologists who point out that this is just a lie made up as clickbait. By the time you find out it's a lie, you've already re-tweeted it to all your buddies and the lie has gone viral. On a forum like this, if somebody says cute kitten pictures cause nose cancer, you'll see 53 replies in the same thread ridiculing the fool, and that's the end of it.

Twitter kind of reminds me of string theory. Some physicists like string theory because it seems to predict everything that happens in the universe. But a growing number have decided that it's fundamentally useless, because it also predicts all kinds of things that don't happen. And it does not provide any mechanism to separate the truth from the lies.

In the case we're discussing, TSN would never have reported this rumour if it had been reported to them as a regular news story. They only did it because they were using Twitter as a substitute for research, and forgot to apply any kind of journalistic standards to the tweets they were re-publishing. They deserve to get hammered for choosing that particular tweet to put on the air. And unless the original tweeter can actually prove his allegations, he deserves to get hammered for libel.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

All that twitter did was get the news out 5 or 10 minutes quicker than Facebook or Reuters. It would all get out anyway.

Twitter is an easier platform to use and follow, and has thus evolved into the primary platform for breaking news. This wasn't the main purpose... and back when I joined in 2007 it was used more for what people stereotypically think Twitter is used for.

I am brushing my teeth.
I am going to work.
I am eating a bagel.

Twitter has not been that since 2008 because in 2009... hashtags. Social engagement. Twitter killed RSS and this can't be understated.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Ain't gonna lie I found it funny. Just couldn't believe that it was posted. Was wondering how that actually happened.

It's funny if you're talking about it with buddies or behind closed doors. It's not funny when some idiot posts it to twitter and another idiot allows it to pass through moderation. TSN should be embarrassed that they either missed this or don't have a system in place to ensure it doesn't get missed.

[5by5]

So anyone that has said anything nasty or posted an animated gif on E=NG thread is open to litigation then too? Gimme a break. Public figures are going to be publicly talked about. That means ridicule, praise and everything in between. Its called social media for a reason. Not saying it is right, but you want the attention you got it. Cuthbert is a puck bunny with a history. No? How did Avery get away with his sloppy seconds comment? Seems to me that was much worse than this, cause he actually said this on national TV. TSN should be the only one responsible for not having proper filters in place to moderate the wheat from the chaff. There is a reason for the 7 second delay on live telecasts. You want your instant responses from twitter, then so much for censorship or delays. You cant have both. There was no hate speak here, get over it. IMO, if this gets any traction, then Glenn Healy, K Lowe, Mac T, ... are gonna be a Katz type rich. BTW the Burke incident was a totally different situation as that was coming from actual so called professional journalist that should be held to a higher standard about what they say or publish.

[Thor]

What was the tweet originally?

[EldrickOnIce]

This is obviously the context for Kessel' comments yesterday.
I didn't understand them at first

[Flames89]

Originally Posted by Thor

What was the tweet originally?

http://bit.ly/1EkCaU1

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Wow what happened to TSN's standards? I can't believe that was allowed to air. I would imagine any and all people involved in collecting and posting up those twitter quotes have or will be dismissed. That's pretty disgusting.

I'm betting it wasn't even a person, but a program that used keywords to bring desireable tweets to air. And with "Phaneuf", "Lupul" and "Leafs" all being hits, no brainer that TSN would want to post that. That TSN said they pulled the tweet "as soon as it was flagged" indicates humans weren't involved in the initial selection process.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Hackey

The tweets to Schilling' daughter were definitely taking it too far. I can respect him sticking up for his daughter in that situation without a doubt. As bad as it is to say I don't feel the same about Phaneuf. It was one bad tweet that should have never got to air. Fire the guy. Apologize to Phaneuf, Cuthbert, and Lupul and make amends how you feel appropriate. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Move on.

It is a bit more complicated that that

First, there has been a campaign to spread this "rumour" for months. Similar to what Sharp is going through in Chicago, and what Burke sued for in 2013. Whether or not it starts out as a joke, the end result is that if it persists, it can smear the names of Lupul, Cuthbert and Phaneuf.

Second, there is already considerable acrimony between the Leafs and the Toronto media right now. Some people, Steve Simmons especially, are pretty much going out of their way to attack the character of the Leafs' bigger name players. TSN allowing that tweet through will only be viewed as more of the same. (For fun, follow @MLSE on Twitter. Dude is simultaneously hyper cynical about his team, but has a pathological hatred of the MSM, causing him to also be hyper defensive about it.)

Third, this is the second time in less than a year that TSN has allowed a grossly offensive tweet on air. They clearly didn't take it seriously the first time, so perhaps the threat of facing down some lawyers might cause them to make changes the second time.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

This is obviously the context for Kessel' comments yesterday.
I didn't understand them at first

Yeah. But the funny part is that the tweet was actually an attack on Lupul. Phaneuf was more of an innocent bystander in that one.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

It's funny if you're talking about it with buddies or behind closed doors. It's not funny when some idiot posts it to twitter and another idiot allows it to pass through moderation. TSN should be embarrassed that they either missed this or don't have a system in place to ensure it doesn't get missed.

I wouldn't even give TSN the benefit of the doubt that they honestly missed it or don't have a system. I would be willing to bet that whoever was making the decision to put stuff on the ticker thought that it was funny and purposely put it on. They probably knew it would get attention but didn't realize a lawsuit could be launched.

I'm glad Duthie was the one that had to apologize. I can't stand that guy.

[memphusk]

So in the big picture, they are suing tsn for hurt feelings. Glad I'm not famous or a sports channel. I would be more broke than I am now.

[Resolute 14]

That is not the "big picture". That is actually the narrow view.

[memphusk]

Hahahah. Narrow view I guess. Maybe we can call it bullying?