Glenn Beck publicly shamed by satirist after losing domain battle

By Stephen C. Webster
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 -- 7:33 pm
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glennbeckfakecrying Glenn Beck publicly shamed by satirist after losing domain battleFox News personality Glenn Beck has lost a battle for a Web domain which jokingly asked whether he raped and murdered a young girl in 1990.

Isaac Eiland-Hall, the satirist behind glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com, thanked the pundit for his "assistance" in helping spread the rhetorical meme. Beck had filed a dispute with the World Intellectual Property Organization to gain control of the domain.

Following his victory, the Web site's creator voluntarily turned the domain over to Beck and published an open letter publicly shaming the host for assaulting the First Amendment.

The Web site, which has now been taken offline, was a mockery of the right-wing entertainer's now-famous rhetorical style, asking questions and making hazy connections between many times unrelated people or events, then wondering why he has not gotten a denial of his often loosely-defined allegations.

A copy of the Web site now resides on GB1990.com. In addition to garnering widespread media coverage due to Beck's complaint, the site has also spawned a chain of copycat parodies.

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Beck's lawyers had argued their client's name was in fact a trademark, leaving Eiland-Hall in breach of intellectual property laws by using it in a domain. They also argued that the site, which is clearly labeled as satire, somehow led users to believe its information was factual.

The WIPO ruled against Beck on Friday.

National Public Radio added: "'Even a 'moron in a hurry,' read the decision, quoting Eiland-Hall's attorney, 'would not likely conclude that Complainant sponsored, endorsed or was affiliated with the website addressed by the disputed domain name.'"

In a letter to Beck that concluded with the username and password to access the domain, Eiland-Hall said:

It bears observing that by bringing the WIPO complaint, you took what was merely one small critique meme, in a sea of internet memes, and turned it into a super-meme. Then, in pressing forward (by not withdrawing the complaint and instead filing additional briefs), you turned the super-meme into an object lesson in First Amendment principles.

It also bears noting, in this matter and for the future, that you are entirely in control of whether or not you are the subject of this kind of criticism. I chose to criticize you using the well-tested method of satire because of its effectiveness. But, humor aside, your rhetorical style is no laughing matter. In this context of the WIPO case, you denigrated the letter of First Amendment law. In the context of your television show and your notoriety, you routinely and shamelessly denigrate the spirit of the First Amendment. The purpose of the expressive freedoms embodied in the First Amendment is not to simply permit the greatest possible scope of expression, but also, in doing so, to also strive for excellence in the conveyance of ideas. Rather than choosing to strive for excellence and civic contribution, you simply pander to the fears and insecurities of your audience. And in the process, you do them, and all of us, a great deal of harm.

Shame on you Mr. Beck.

The WIPO clearly agreed in its ruling, calling the site a “satirical critique" of the public figure and “strongly protected” under long standing law safeguarding free speech.

"The panel [also] found that the URL is, in fact, confusingly similar to Beck's trademark and that people searching for legitimate information on Beck might stumble upon this site," PC Magazine noted.

Tech reporter Chloe Albanesius continued: "On the second point, however, the panel found that Eiland-Hall had an interest in the URL for political purposes, and that he did not benefit financially from Beck's name."

"Why won't Glenn Beck deny these allegations?" the site reads. "We're not accusing Glenn Beck of raping and murdering a young girl in 1990 – in fact, we think he didn't! But we can't help but wonder, since he has failed to deny these horrible allegations."

The joke was originally created by comedian Gilbert Gottfried, who once performed a bit about fellow comedian Bob Saget raping and murdering a young girl.

"The idea is to force someone to explain away completely baseless charges made by insinuation alone; since Beck already has a reputation for doing this, the joke was supposed to give Beck a taste of his own medicine," explained Nate Anderson at Ars Technica.

"I imagine [the ruling] may further open a floodgate for the creation of similarly extreme sites should Beck remain as zeitgeisty and controversial as he has been these last few months," Mediaite writer Glynnis MacNicol suggested.

Glenn Beck did not actually rape or murder a young girl in 1990.

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Story comments are below...
  • Mooftown
    "They also argued that the site, which is clearly labeled as satire, somehow led users to believe its information was factual."

    --- Hmm this reminds me of a certain show, which consists of complete bullshit, that millions of people are led to believe is factual....
  • Elim
    You mean the recently cancelled Bush/Cheney burlesque review?
  • dollars4dullards
    Sure, he didn't rape/murder in 1990, but what about 1991? 1992?

    And surely we have to ask ourselves why Beck was so anxious to change the subject from rape/murder to trademark infringement. Could there be something he really doesn't want to talk about in public? I don't want to speculate, but it seems to me that his reluctance can cause some (not me) to speculate.

    And does he really expect us to believe hat it's mere coinicdence that he goes in for surgery just before the court decision? Really, Mr. Beck, a COINCIDENCE? Not a play for judicial sympathy, perhaps. I don't want to speculate, but.....
  • joriet
    "Glenn Beck did not actually rape and murder a young girl in 1990"

    Until my red phone rings connected to a direct line to Beck's studio, I must assume he is guilty.
  • You can't say with certainty that it isn't true that Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990. As a matter of fact, given all he has done to try to shut down any discussion of the subject, I have to say that I believe that there must be something to the rumor that says Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990.
  • philedrifter
    You also can't say with certainty that there is no god, because there is no way to prove something doesn't exist, you can only prove things that DO.

    But given the way he's always got something to talk about, I wouldn't doubt it for a second that he's got something major to hide.
  • mommadona
    I don't believe that Glenn Beck DIDN'T rape and murder that girl because HE can't prove he DIDN'T.

    (Did I do dat right?) ; )
  • anarchisto
    Jerry Falwell never had sex with his mother and Glenn Beck never raped and murdered a young girl in 1990. Satire is mean and socks it to the talking heads that overstep their bounds using outrageous rhetorical tactics that obviously obfuscate the truth and spin the argument.
  • dennycrane
    They didn't?
  • DFW
    Beck certainly owes the country an answer. As his cohort, Chris Wallace, likes to say, "many of our viewers want to know" if it is true or not that Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990, and if not one girl in 1990, then two girls in 1991 or 1989? WHY won't he furnish police records from every precinct in the country (and any foreign countries he may have visited, whether traveling under his own name or not) clearly stating that he is innocent? For that matter, he has also so far refused to furnish conclusive State Department documentation that he does not hold dual nationality in Iraq, Iran or Saudi Arabia. I think he needs to do this as well before he can consider his name as cleared, and he certainly appears to be in no hurry. He had better add Kenya, just to make sure there is no confusion. "Beck" is similar to "Baku," the capital of predominantly Muslim Azerbaidjan. What is the connection here? America demands answers, and he is not being forthcoming. What are you hiding, Glenn Baku?
  • socatrini
    This is a classic. I love it and I want him and his cohorts in crime inSane Hannity, Lush Rimbaugh etc to get a taste of their own medicine.
    By the way did Beck prove that he did not rape and murder those girls? Have the authorities been notified about this and is there a FBI investigation on this matter. I refuse to listen to his show until he is cleared of any elated charges, Inquiring minds want to know, They should launch an investigation on this just as they should against the POTUS and his citizen situation. Glenn needs to produce that police blotter just as the POTUS needs to produce more than his birth certificate to prove his natural born citizenship. I demand answers.
  • philedrifter
    I hope Rush was paying attention to this case.

    He honestly nearly me made me wretch when i saw video footage of him claiming 'Michael J. Fox [was] faking it,' seeing him jiggling his fat ass around in his chair, I wanted to punch my tv hoping he'd feel it.
  • texasaggie
    You'll notice that Beck could have produced the police blotter clearing him of all charges. The fact that he didn't does tend to raise suspicions. Could it be that he wasn't cleared of all charges? I'm not saying that he wasn't but why couldn't he produce the evidence? Not everyone will ask those questions.
  • damixaustex
    It smacks of a coverup, which I'm sure (wink) it's not. Yet, it's not me who asks these questions. This ruling is just another government intervention!
    Americans want to know. Why is it so difficult to answer truthfully? If these allegations are false, as the right wing says they are, then shouldn't Glenn Beck come clean?
  • winski
    Glenn Beck should be considered one of the nation's most obvious human mistakes and should be immediately sent to the Univ. of Geneva for study in a test tube full of embalming fluid.
  • Elim
    We should test the swine flu vaccine on him that the Ukrainians got.
  • BrotherElmer
    Hmm...the article states that Glenn Beck didn't rape and murder a young girl in 1990. Now there are cases where that could be semantically true, just not "truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth" true -- like, for instance, if Glenn Beck had raped and murdered two young girls and a billygoat in 1990. He would've done the billygoat first, of course, since those people tend to start with lesser acts and then escalate them.
  • oktoss
    Glenn Beck may not have raped and murdered a young girl but he's still a lousy human. It appears that he can make false statements about anyone he chooses but he can't take it when it happens to him. He's nothing but a sniveling sissy coward. Oh, and he's an alcoholic coke head too.
  • Elim
    And he worships Satan.
  • lkern
    But I heard that Beck DID rape and murder a girl in 1990. So it's not true Glen Beck raped and murdered a girl in 1990?
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