Posted on Friday, 3rd April 2009 by Bruce
Do you recall the near-headline story earlier this week, picked up by online news portals and wire services, about the “cheating hubby” in the U.K. whose wife filed for divorce after allegedly spotting his “very recognizable” Range Rover outside another woman’s house, whilst perusing Google Street View?
The story’s been all but scrubbed from most “real media” websites, and for good reason:
An American blogger later claimed that he made the entire story up, and duped Brit-rag The Sun into reporting it. The entire story was apparently a very creative hoax.
It just goes to show you how a seemingly innocuous joke on some blog can quickly turn into a national story, especially when it involves life’s darkness; a marriage ending, someone losing a job. Go figure.
Hoax or not, the story did inspire this rather interesting opinion piece in the Telegraph’s blogs. It seems the Brits, who have long had video cameras nearly everywhere, are suddenly concerned about the perceived “invasion of privacy” Google Street View might present.
So much so, reports the Times of London, that a group of angry Brits yesterday formed a human chain to turn away the Google Street View camera car.
Posted in Home | Comments (4) |
4 Responses to “Hoax or not? We may never really know.”
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April 3rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Bruce, I am the son of a British Mom. I lived there for a couple years and visit my cousins, aunts and uncles when I can.
Camera’s are EVERYWHERE in Britain. Unless you live in the middle of the Scottish Highlands, you cannot walk a street in Britain and not be on camera. Your post brings up a broader issue to me. Once you’ve given up a freedom, don’t expect to get it back. I have mixed feelings on the Big Brother aspect of camera’s and government, but Britain has jumped ths shark long ago in that regard. Ireland and specifically Northern Ireland are just inundated.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I just have such a tough time with people who are so upset about the Google street view maps. They say it’s dangerous, an invasion of privacy, whatever.
Do they think people can’t just walk past their house and see the same thing? I just don’t understand the fear.
Kevin
April 4th, 2009 at 9:42 am
It’s safer to case a house looking for stuff you want (looking for stuff belonging to the ex-wife hiding from you, looking for cute kids in the yard, etc) when no one in the neighborhood will see you, walking by and looking out of place, and remember you to law enforcement later. (Or in neighborhoods with really good stuff, call law enforcement immediately, because your car/skin “doesn’t belong” in the neighborhood.)
Not that I spend a lot of time thinking about committing crime.
April 5th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Do these paranoid people not notice the street view of their house is not from that day, week or month.
90% of Google street views can be 1 or more years old.
The view of my place is over 19 month old, the car my sister sold 13 months ago is sitting in her driveway.