December 3, 2007
Fake Video on YouTube Depicted Canadian Professor as Pimping His Family
Canadian police officers and Dalhousie University are investigating a fake video posted last week on YouTube that shows an engineering professor supposedly acting as a pimp for members of his family. Tom Traves, president of the university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, told the CBC that the video is not only a fraud but also a hate crime.
He said the video contained racist material with anti-Muslim overtones, in addition to the sexual content. The video was yanked from the Web site after Dalhousie officials contacted YouTube. Whoever posted the fake video sent an e-mail message on Thursday, supposedly from the professor, to hundreds of people on the campus, directing them to the site.
Once the video became known on the campus, President Traves sent a message to people at the university, condemning the film clip and promising “to take all legal measures possible.” So far there’s no proof that the posting came from inside the university or from a university computer.
CTV reported that the video showed pictures of the professor’s family with background audio from a pornographic movie. Words appeared on the screen to indicate that the professor was acting as a pimp for his wife and two daughters. A spokesman for the university, Charles Crosby, said the professor was very upset, as are colleagues and students. —Karen Birchard
Posted on Monday December 3, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
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Comeon this is ridiculous i remember cut an paste porno image of president regan and nancy floating around in the 90’s , its a parody he’s a public figure at a university , yes its in bad taste, but thats it. Bloody stupid joke, but hey thats what happens when were in a free country, all this talk of criminal charges blah blah blah, wake up people there is real pain out in the world real issues that are important, kids have been drawing nasty pictures of their teachers probably since the time of the flintstones.
BeReal if it would have been a white proff no one would be calling this a hate crime,that teacher has his admirers and critiques like all other teachers and when someone wants to make fun of you or embarrasse you they use your weaknesses against you, thats tactics not a hate crime, this should be treated no different than any other case of a conflict between a student and teacher, suspension sure expulsion no, criminal charges hell no. Or are we going to become a police state where he who cries loudest gets attention whether it has merit or not? Sry if you think im an ass because you think this is so horrible but i just see it for what it is… a bad joke. And i think it would take a seriously vendictive ass to want to send someone in jail for that, be that the proff his family his supporters or the crown.
— BeReal Dec 3, 11:20 PM #
To BeReal:
1) Did you see the video? If not, you don’t know whether it was racially charged.
2) Relatedly, your comment about this not being a big deal if it were a white professor makes no sense. If the video is racist, it might have been impossible to make a similar video of a white prof. Moreover, if the video is racially motivated, then the makers wouldn’t have ever made it of a white prof to begin with.
3) Regardless of whether it’s racially motivated, it is still defamation, which you can sue for. You say it would take a “seriously vendictive ass” to prosecute, but how would you feel if someone did this to you?! I’d try everything I could to get that person punished.
Finally, I think you should check your spelling before posting.
— Hallie Dec 4, 09:39 AM #
3. What’s the video equivalent of libel or slander? In this YouTube age, there should be some recourse for people whose images are used in such a derogatory fashion. If they are portrayed in a false light that could potentially damage their reputations or cause severe emotional distress (the latter seems especially true in this case), they should be able to take some action.
I also question whether a professor is a public figure, unless he is truly world renowned in his field or appears in/on the media regularly, thereby thrusting him into the spotlight.
Some videos on YouTube or elsewhere are downright creative and clever. But many cross the line in their quest for shock value, parody and condemnation. They become trashy free-for-alls with no regard for privacy or how they impact the individuals portrayed. I didn’t see this video and don’t care to distinguish it with a “view” count. But these issues will continue to surface as people’s images are involuntarily posted and manipulated for all to see and judge (perhaps unfairly).
— Kristi Dec 4, 10:40 AM #
I don’t know exactly what was contained in the video, but I can’t say this is as big a deal as it sounds it’s being made out to be.
Sure the professor was being ridiculed, and it was inappropriate for whoever posted the video and sent the emails to do so.
What else can be done by the university besides make a public statement? How can the perpetrator be caught unless they announce themselves and take credit?
Move on and let all of this die. The professor hasn’t lost his job, and I don’t imagine any financial or property damage was done. So… even if the person responsible were caught, nothing really can be done against them.
They can’t be sued since no damage was done but hurt feelings, and it isn’t a high school, so no suspension or expulsion. You can’t threaten legal action against everyone who says something inflammatory against you.
It is unfortunate that a video of this nature was posted on youtube, and that emails were sent to people in the school. So? If it’s possible, the school can only screen email traffic closer, and youtube can screen posted video content more closely.
Kristi brings up a good point that with communication being as prolific as it is, issues of privacy do come up, and it is difficult to judge where that line is. Overall, I think this was just a childish prank, and the professor needs to walk it off.
— Ron Dec 4, 01:22 PM #
It sounds like the youtube video was in violation of Section 319 of the Criminal Code and also Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Please note that Canadian laws regarding hate speech are different than American laws regarding free speech.
— Kerie Dec 4, 01:41 PM #
BeReal is so obviously not (so real). A faculty member of a university is not a “public figure” and is not open to such harassment. Because someone is on the public coffers does not give others license to publicly humiliate them. A joke or parody would not include a family – Ronald Reagan and Nancy are not the same as a private citizen, no matter at what institution she/he works. What a foolish notion. There is no accounting for poor taste, but people are accountable for their harmful words and actions, and that’s why slander and libel laws exist. Not all speech is free speech. Try shouting “fire” in a theater.
— Painter Dec 4, 01:43 PM #
Painter is so obviously not (a painter).
— Spanky Context Dec 4, 04:35 PM #
My whole point is not that i approve of whats been done, but i think you people are clueless as to what jail is if you seriously think someone should go to jail for this as they are suggesting, there is the problem self rightious garbage if you ask me, jail for a parody in bad taste wtf is that?!? Doesnt anyone else have a problem with the proposed punishment not fitting the crime or am i too liberal? 5 years and a ruined education for this bad joke, that sounds normal? Doesnt to me….
— BeReal Dec 7, 12:00 AM #