Oh Daily Mail, where would we be without you? Probably in a much better world. The Daily Fail‘s latest mess is a story revolving around James Callaghan, a schizophrenic teenager who attacked a 65-year-old woman with an axe. Because The Daily Mail is The Daily Mail, it couldn’t let this pass without pushing an ulterior motive and continuing its campaign to blame videogames for as many crimes as possible.
Remember, Callaghan was a schizophrenic who heard voices in his head and saw demons, so what does The Daily Mail run as its headline? It says that he killed the woman in a “drink-fueled rage after losing a computer game to his brother.” Yep, that’s our Mail! It wasn’t the fact that he had a diagnosed medical condition, it was because of the videogames!
The Fail is almost impressive in its ability to downplay the killer’s mental problems, claiming that Callaghan “also played the computer game Grand Theft Auto, which sends the player’s character on a violent crime spree.” The article, written by Chris Brooke, states that “Callaghan lost three consecutive games of Fifa 2008, playing at home against his younger brother and a friend.” Apparently this is why he killed Irene Robertson. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was already insane.
It’s also worth noting that The Mail, a newspaper that once ran an article called “Ban This Sick Filth” in which it criticized violence in videogames, is not above writing lurid and graphic descriptions of axe murders: “In a scene of unimaginable horror, Callaghan, who did not know his victim, struck her six times on the head with the axe, chopped off a finger and repeatedly stabbed her in the back, stomach and leg.” Apparently, it’s okay when a tabloid rag has violent content. Just don’t let those evil videogames have it.
Yet more hypocrisy and game-obsessed faux journalism from Britain’s scummiest, trashiest, most pathetic excuse for a glorified comic book. Stay classy, Daily Mail!
