Pissing Off Painted Gods

Pissing Off Painted Gods

by Dark Corners
Posted on January 18, 2021 by Dark Corners


An activist website takes aim at fast food titans, McDonald’s during the height of the Mclibel case.
Known as the longest libel case in English court history, McDonald’s Corporation V Steel & Morris [1997] was a contentious libel suit over a six page leaflet London Greenpeace activists, Helen Steel and David Morris co-authored in 1986.
The leaflet was titled, “What’s wrong with McDonald’s: everything they don’t want you to know” and accused the company of low wages, animal cruelty and other malpractices. Five of the members of Greenpeace London (which was not associated with the larger, Greenpeace Organization) handed out hundreds of copies in Strand, London. Catching the attention and ire of the company.



I mean… they’re not wrong. (Leaflets passed out by Steel and Morris)
With a long history of suing the animal fat out of everything that looked at Ronald McDonald the wrong way it was no real surprise that in 1990 McDonald’s brought libel proceedings against all five of the Greenpeace activists that were handing out the leaflets. Three of the activists recanted, apologized and were let off the hook. The other two were Helen Steel and David Morris. Badasses.

Despite the bottomless pockets of McDonald’s and the once-rejected-barely-there-legal-aid budget for Steel and Morris the case went on for nearly ten years and McDonald’s offered to settle. But the settlement would only reignite the war between the two parties with McDonald’s telling the two that they would donate a large sum of money to a charity of their choice under the condition that it was okay for them to criticize the restaurant privately but not publicly. The activists responded in a letter stating that they would agree to those terms if McDonald’s stops advertising and only tells people about its restaurant privately.
Ultimately the high courts in the UK ruled in favor of McDonald’s. Which Steel and Morris appealed and later won (Steele & Morris v United Kingdom) but thats another matter entirely.
While the case(s) were raging on and subsequently afterwards activists were not only drumming up public support but also financial and legal aid on the website (which is amazingly still up and running):
Www.Mcspotlight.Org



These peeps were *P I S S E D*
M C S P O T L I G H T as it has been fashioned on web searches has a plethora of anti-Mickey D’s commentary, cartoons, message boards, news articles and satirical “tours” of the McDonald’s website itself (which are unfortunately now inoperable).

The website kept followers and mailing list subscribers up to date on the Mclibel case and other activist’s protesting the chain from around the globe. It also even featured quite an extensive web board that encouraged workers to unionize and other anti capitalist initiatives.

The real gold of internet past.
The latest post I could find on the message board was mid 2003. Of all the emails that were available to contact none of them still worked. Completely inactive. I, did however find Helen Steel on social media but I think she’s too busy being a total boss to bother with me. I don’t blame her. She is still an activist and was the victor of an even more prolific spying suit later on.

Some of the art work collected on the website gave me a good chuckle.


Where others delve into a bit darker territory


Ultimately, Mcspotlight.org highlights the true power of the internet. Information and the exchange of ideas between like minded individuals. Helen Steel and David Morris may have been singled out as defendants in the court of law but Mcspotlight showed them that they were very far from being alone. It showed that their rage towards global national chains enslaving our children with clever ad campaigns while pumping shit into our society’s stomach was not unfounded. It celebrates a solidarity for the few underdogs brave enough to throw a rock in the machine. – DC

https://darkcornersmystery.home.blog/2021/01/18/pissing-off-painted-gods/

Thanks to: https://darkcornersmystery.home.blog