Friday 27 March 2015

CREATE A MONSTER the McCann propaganda wars


Sadly, unless there are Oscars for those who practice the dark and murky art of spin, the talents of those who created and ran the incredible publicity campaign for Kate and Gerry McCann will go unrecognised, and the ultimate rewards may be a long stretch at Her Majesty's pleasure. Were they the first and were they unique, hell no, the Ramseys did it first and had the funds and connections to sustain it.  But with the McCanns 'new' industries were created, if not expanded, and reputation fixing (Crisis Management) became 'respectable', accepted as the 'norm' with snakeoil flying off the shelves while the humble pie grows mould.  It must irk the 'Dr. Evils' that they cannot publicly claim credit for the schemes that worked, or explain why the major fuck ups were not their fault. That has got to grate.



 

Nobody can deny the genius behind the McCanns propaganda campaign and the speed with which it kicked in.  First of all an 'abduction' was established with a tale of an empty bed, an open window, curtains whooshing.  That was the breaking news story that we all woke up on to the 4th May 2007. The fact that the apartment hadn't been broken into was pipped to the post, the first story is the one that everyone remembers.  And this was swiftly followed by the claimed sighting of a sinister man carrying the inert body of a child off into the night. 
 

Step two, create a monster, a faceless villain, one the public can despise, and if given the opportunity, burn at the stake followed by a street party and lots of back patting.  Don't hate us, hate the monster who stole our child, we are the victims here screamed Kate and Gerry.  While the 'collective you' is looking at us, the abductor is getting away with it - and your kids could be next add their highfalutin friends for good measure. 

Any other suggestion was immediately dismissed as ludicrous, Madeleine was 'taken', she was too small to have opened the window, the safety gates or the patio doors that had conveniently been left unlocked.  The suggestion that her disappearance could have been anything other than abduction angered the parents to such an extent that they established a team of attack dogs made up of lawyers, politicians, spinmeisters and lonely embittered fruitloops to seek out and destroy, using the funds kindly donated to them by sympathetic public.  

Create 'helpless' God fearing victims who will tug on the heart and purse strings of good people around the globe, with particular emphasis on catholics and the especially generous Celts. Thus Kate and Gerry were presented to the world as PLU (People Like Us) clean living, upstanding, morally unquestionable, church going innocents, robbed of their precious child by a faceless monster.  And that was where they struck gold, quite literally, the powers that be always need a 'faceless monster' to strike terror into the hearts of its populace - an enemy of the State. 



Frankenstein's creature steals
blonde cherub
We need someone to hate and blame for all of society's ills, it's not an attractive human trait but it is one that all wannabe tyrants and despots tap into.  Usually it is another nation, but wars are a bit too deadly these days and Muslims and homosexuals just aint cutting it anymore. However, nothing can stir up an angry mob like a childsnatcher.  Fear of child snatchers cross centuries , cultures and class barriers, every child is vulnerable, every child could be our own - especially if the child is well cared for, white, blonde and angelic. Again, not original, see D.W. Griffiths, Birth of a Nation (1915), or Mary Shelly's Frankenstein - blonde 'angels' are often used to demonstrate the 'evils' that lurk within our midst.

When the news of Madeleine's disappearance broke we all grieved with Kate and Gerry.  But grief is a useless emotion, it achieves nothing, we cannot accept that it just 'is', we feel we have to do something about it.  Most people are poleaxed by grief, but some seek vengeance and retribution, and the answer to their grief is 'someone must pay'.


Thus it becomes easy for those with an agenda to lead an angry mob, they plug into people's emotions and people become very emotive when an innocent child is missing.  Logic and reason fly out the window, vengeance belongs to those with the loudest voices - which is why the McCanns needed to be protected and they still do.  Nobody, I hope, wants to see the savagery of mob justice.  It is how the far the protection goes that is the issue.


The case of Missing Madeleine McCann may appear to be unique, but it is far from it.  Whenever police arrive at a crime scene they must be prepared to question everything, especially when the crime committed has already been established by the main players before they arrive.  Jeremy Bamber was in no doubt his sister did it, the Philpotts blamed the ex wife.  
Susan Smith appeals for help
to find her 'missing' toddlers
The list of evil mothers and fathers who have killed their children, then claimed to have been attacked by a stranger or that their children have been taken is endless.  In fact, we have now become accustomed to grieving murderers and shysters leading candlelight vigils, setting up Funds and selling T-shirts. Sadly, it is a trend that is unlikely to end anytime soon, because in the simplistic, twisted minds of the deranged and the desperate, losing a child seems to be a fast track to fame and fortune. 

 

However, no matter how slick and professional the McCanns' campaign was, many were startled at the speed with which they launched a Fund and set up an online shop. The thing about missing children, is you never know when they might re-appear, yet not one person questioned the long term plans, the wider agenda, the annual 'Madeleine Day', the 'good jobs' abandoned or indeed the need of the parents for millions of pounds of public donations.  Why did the McCanns need childrens' pocket money and pensioners' savings, more than they did?  Why did they need a 'Fighting Fund' - who were they fighting? Ok, they changed it to a 'Search Fund', but why did they need a Search Fund when every police force and psyched up Maddie hunter on the globe were on the lookout for her? 

Gerry and Kate McCann went from not knowing they needed a Fund, to needing one very badly indeed. Legal fees said Uncle Brian as people pushed cash into his hand.  Send money in an envelope to Kate and Gerry, Rothley said Clarence, it will get there.  Who knows how much the McCanns received, they swiftly removed the cashometer from their website and the Fund is the opposite of the promised transparent.  They received millions and they spent millions (on what?), how much was ever going to be enough?  Who profited from the money that poured in, are they profiting still?  The Fund is an integral part of this case, yet it continues unchallenged as if it is the most normal thing in the world for the parents of a missing child to need mountains of cash to carry out their own investigation whilst disregarding all the findings of the police. 
 
The problem with creating monsters, is that they become impossible to control, they take on a life of their own. The McCanns' publicity machine became a monster but also a huge source of income.  News items and seasonal appeals attract potential libel payees and visitors to their website and paypal donate button.  The McCanns had to keep feeding the monster with stories of sightings to reinforce the belief that Madeleine is alive.  All the odds and statistics tell a different story, but so successful was their campaign that it almost became a criminal offence to suggest that Madeleine might be dead. It is certainly a costly one, hundreds of thousands of pounds have been paid into the Madeleine Fund, by UK newspapers and the former Portuguese lead detective is currently awaiting the decision of Lisbon Court on whether all his worldy goods must be passed to the grieving parents. 

I'm ready for my close up
 

It should be remembered however that the McCanns have always had the option of withdrawing from public life, anyone can if they really want to.  All they have to do is sack their publicist and concentrate on their non public careers and families.  Obscurity is freely and widely available, as any Norma Desmond, X-factor contestant or Andrew Ridgely could confirm. Publicity is something you work for and pay for, then when you get it you pretend you don't want it.  Gerry and Kate McCann want to be in the public eye but they don't want the criticism that comes with it. Ergo they want something that isn't even available to the Queen or a deranged Ayatolla leading millions, they want it written into the statues.  Thou shalt not take the name of Gerry and Kate McCann in vain.  Whilst it is good to aim for everything your heart desires, you should occasionally have a reality check, because those working for you on a retainer almost definitely, won't. 



Be careful what you wish for
Like Victor Frankenstein in his workshop of filthy creation, the creators of the missing Madeleine campaign had no idea what they were about to unleash, nor how successful they would be, they wanted a Review and their innocence made official but did they really want a full blown investigation?




For whatever reason the McCanns' campaign has included interacting with and menacing their critics on social media.  For over 7 years the internet has been patrolled by a group of McCann superfans and lawyers seeking out criticism, libel and threats (all stored in the 'dossier' and handed to police). However, the raids and the arrests following the outing of Brenda Leyland, failed to transpire and Jayelles is probably wiping her eyes with cats as she weeps over her filing cabinets and all that hard work wasted.  Far from praise and accolades for good citizenship, the Myths sites went into shutdown removed their 'Hate List' and said 'it wasn't me guv'.  The Myths sites were an integral part of the campaign, kept on the back burner as an ominous threat and deterrent, they were brought into play with the Summers and Swan book and the hoped for final clamp down on McCann critics, but the results were deadly.  The mean and spiteful spirit of the Myths' sites was never going to appeal to a wide audience.  Watching half a dozen criminally insane superfans rip McCann sceptics to shreds has very little appeal  and those who thought they could capture that 'mean spirit' and feed it into the UK mainstream were seriously deluded. The very limited membership of these 'hate sites' should have been a clue.

How will it all end? That remains to be seen, I'll leave the last word with Mr Orwell.  Meanwhile we can only watch in amazement and awe as formerly respected journalists, criminologists, sofa queens and ex police chiefs report 'the truth' and scold those who have the audacity to believe the original Portuguese investigation over the parents and all the nonsense that has been printed since. Lets just hope it doesn't become a criminal offence.   





26 comments:

  1. Good analysis of the mechanics of the 'Team McCann' - machine.

    If first heard the term 'Team McCann' - four days after the disappearance of Madeleine.

    It was Ian Woods (Sky News) in Luz, who said to camera - I paraphrase:

    'The family has created 'Team McCann' to raise awareness and help in the search for Madeleine. WE DID NOT GIVE IT THAT NAME.'

    My reading of this - then and now - Woods realised that so early on in the search: a police matter had also become a corporate, wealth generating affair. And did not want him or his employers to be associated with such an empty word.

    Sales of wrist bands & luggage tags, private jet travel and posh hotels et al - followed swiftly.


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    1. The term 'Team McCann' quickly became a source of embarrassment, in her account of the truth, Kate blames it on their first publicist Sheree Dodd, and she blames it for the 'snidey' digs the press began to make at the slickness of their campaign.

      Revisiting the book for this reference, it becomes more fascinating and more bizarre with every reading. The emotion within it is so contrived, forced and manipulated that it has no connection with reality and in some parts, it borders on downright creepy. On Madeleine's 4th birthday 'not being with her today, loving her, pleasing her, enjoying her delight'.

      Every emotion comes from Kate's perspective 'how does this affect ME', that is her loss, not the life that Madeleine has lost. She Kate, could not enjoy her daughter on that special day, not Madeleine could not enjoy her birthday. Everything she writes about Madeleine is coming from her own POV (point of view), that is, she completely avoids looking at the tragedy from the perspective of her missing daughter.

      From a human perspective, that is understandable, it would be too much to bear for a genuinely grieving Mother, and sadly over the years we have seen too many parents crumple in front of the cameras when they try to imagine the pain their child went through, and the future they have lost.

      However, Kate's book is written to deceive, she may in part be protecting herself, but her body language and unreal behaviour is captured forever in the thousands of pictures, videos and interviews that she gave and there are no signs of genuine grief.

      I might go back over the book for a new blog, or I might even deconstruct it for a book of my own! Lets see how Goncalo's book fares :)

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    2. She is no better than that conceited husband of hers , a pair of sociopaths with dark secrets ,they both should be arrested for perverting the course of justice and neglect .

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  2. Staged from start to finish in my opinion, and according to the PJ the answer must lie elsewhere.

    SY didn't interview the pig farmer for no good reason.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you're probably right, so upsetting but a possibility.

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  3. Almost all clan representatives laughed when they blathered on about bringing Muderlynn 'home'.

    In which case 'home' or homes, both Queniborough and Rothley should be checked by the investigation(s) IMO; it is standard procedure when looking for a missing child like Margaret.

    Who paid for the building work?

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    1. Without doubt, you can guarantee there wouldn't be much evidence of Madeleine being there. They're far too devious!!

      I can understand why you mentioned "Rothley" but I thought they'd moved from Queniborough long before Madeleine disappeared?

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    2. That's Uncle Bri slithering out the garage extension door, isn't it?
      He has nimble feet.

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  4. Excellent summing up of the case so far Cristobell. Let me know when you pick up your award so I can be there won't you? drinks on me lol.

    Seriously though, I hope we don't have to suffer the arrogant McCann's much longer, It's all getting rather frightening what they are capable of, and the fact that they seem to have such control over people. As there is no proof whatsoever that Madeleine was abducted.. the fund should be frozen, so they can't fleece the public anymore than they already have. Should it turn out that they were responsible for what happened to Maddy what's left in the fighting fund coffers should be given to Snr Amaral for all his suffering this last eight years.

    Thank you.

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  5. Why did the 2002 (summer day) graduand and his significant other laugh when asked to describe what their daughter looked like? Three weeks after the alleged event they were in virtual hysterics in response to this question.

    Strange under normal circumstances, but in the McCann drama, not so much.

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  6. Remember the words of Jerry? "Confusion is good"

    The most likely reason for their uncontrollable laughter was the fact they knew the photo they produced of Madeleine.. looked nothing like her when she went missing!!

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    1. This scam is nothing if not 'in plain sight' 08:19, the use of the iconic toddler picture should have set off alarms everywhere. Though again, referring to Kate's book, one of the reasons their case gained so much attention was because of how beautiful Madeleine IS.

      Beautiful she may have been, but she wasn't a baby and she was no longer a toddler, she was a walking, talking, interactive and by all accounts, bright and inquisitive little girl. One who it would have been impossible to hide away or blend into a new family without anyone noticing. The reality made the likelihood of her being alive much more remote. Fixing the image of Madeleine as a toddler in the public eye was an integral part of the Campaign, and quite deliberate, because it enhanced the idea that she was alive and being cared for. School age kids are too advanced to 'reconfigure', toddlers are far more adaptable.

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  7. "It should be remembered however that the McCanns have always had the option of withdrawing from public life, anyone can if they really want to. All they have to do is sack their publicist and concentrate on their non public careers and families."

    Would you and others stop blogging about them if they did?

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    1. Interesting thought, I am sure that in time the majority of bloggers and commentators would have moved on, perhaps with just a handful of diehards remaining.

      However, the interaction of the rabid McCann supporters has kept the ball bouncing back and forth. Some might say, that they were actively inciting criticism and comment. The propaganda wars are a major part of the McCann cannon - they have kept the case of missing Madeleine in the spotlight almost as much as the sightings, the suspects and the fund raising. Many of the more sensational McCann headlines were made up of alleged threats to the family and stories of internet trolls.

      Many of us who are still here, are here because we have personally been attacked by the McCann campaign and had our reputations torn to shreds. It has become a matter of principle.

      We entered into the fray because of the sheer injustice that was being done to the child followed by the sheer injustice of what has followed ever since. Book bannings, ludicrous censorship and of course, the persecution and hounding of former detective, Goncalo Amaral and now the death of Brenda Leyland.

      The sheer viciousness of the campaign, the compilation of a Macarthy style 'Hate List' and the demands for people like Brenda Leyland to be placed in the dock for voicing their opinions offends me on every level.

      The disappearance of little Maddie has, almost since the off, been on the periphery, its about Freedom of Speech. During the interlude between the outing of Brenda and her tragic death, Stop the Myths were discussing means in which people like myself, who are not threatening or abusive, could be prosecuted for incitement. Welcome to the Thought Police and 1984.

      As for Gerry and Kate, they pretty much reap what they sow, and what they are sowing are particularly malicious lies and smears against others(bad vibes - Law of Attraction). They could have got good vibes by sharing some of the donations with families of other missing kids, or even opened a school or hospital in Madeleine's name. Instead, they are caught up in a cycle that they cannot escape without telling the truth. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes for all the tea in China. No matter what comes of the Scotland Yard investigation, Kate and Gerry will always have a shadow over them, something that would destroy most people.

      In time, Kate and Gerry will be forgotten, history has taught us that. It is the McCanns' own campaign that has kept them in the limelight this long, whether it will continue after the Court verdict in Lisbon, due any time now, remains to be seen.


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    2. I'll stop posting my missives.

      When an alive or deceased Madeleine is found and/or the perp/s are caught.

      After all that's what the doctors asked us to do: 'Keep looking'

      They can't have it both ways - willing us to stop discussing the case - when it suits them - that would be a Stasi move. And utterly disrespectful of the child.

      The media monster the McCanns created and that you referred to above Cristobell - will need feeding.

      Or in the words of Mr. Young:

      RUST NEVER SLEEPS

      Delete
  8. Post 18:36,
    I can only speak for myself. Even if they withdrew from public life they would always be the subject of conversation, for those interested in finding out the truth about their daughters disappearance. They put themselves in the spotlight, their faces are known, so I very much doubt it would be that easy. Also Jerry's job means he's in contact with the public so when you state non-public careers I'm not sure how you think that would work?

    The fighting fund is still on the go so what do you think they should do about that, close it down? You know what they say about pandoras box, or opening a can of worms, they've done just that.

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  9. @ 2129

    good points. Pandora's box indeed.

    To add another reason for the campaign/fund whatever - not being wound down:

    Susan Healy said in April 2008:

    “There is this acceptance among couples with young children, like Kate and Gerry and their friends, that these are good resorts and safe environments. “I could shake all of them, every single one of them.”Mrs Healy, from Allerton in Liverpool, said the McCanns have had to live with the fact that they left Madeleine in an unlocked apartment while they went for dinner.'

    Therefore the reluctance to slink off to the wilds of Canada and into obscurity (yet), the doctors need to keep up the charade - in RC terms, the penance of perpetuating the campaign -

    Kate's mother would have otherwise flipped
    worse -
    the fearsome Philomena would have given both doctors a bloody nose.

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  10. So Tiny Tears and Bible Kate don't need any offers, tentative or otherwise of £1M for the Rothley fortification and any potentially transcendental outbuilding.

    Now there's a surprise!



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  11. Does aunty Phil know she was born in Ireland? I believe with all the David Heal Bible in my soul: she has a right to know. No fudged photography required (ish).

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  12. Madeleine was there, because special effects and loads of big boys and twitchy-eyed gals said so. Abduction for the masses and vital signs of a tragic accident for the PJ.

    All in the movie of the prince on a pedestal's own life. Kerching! Shamelessly bought and paid for with other people's money. Unearned and thereby undeserved 'dirty money'.

    Everybody lies, but not the Rothley snowman on the aunty Philesque lemony kitchen wall in late April. That's when all 'three' children lived in the Rothley house.

    Lived being the operative word, not dead, because nobody ever died in Pete's old house.

    It was everything and paradoxically nothing like dining in your back garden, seamless exteriors and gimcrack architectural integrity aside.

    All faces washed clean with CASH, no confidence trick or concrete slab unturned - cue puerile sneer. Sorted!!!!!

    No window, just a side door ...SCAMMERS!!! Lack of fluidity - intentional.









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  13. Gamble is a liar.

    Jules Harrison, Wigan.



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  14. The body lies under the Rothley garage.

    Prove me wrong, Julie Harrison, Wigan.

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    1. Stick to the driving Julie

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    2. Better send Steven Birch round with his scanner then.

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    3. Anonymous 07:00
      How do you know that the body lies under the Rothley garage? Do you know what really happened to Madeleine?

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  15. Kate is wearing her "cadaver pants". Personally I think the body was cremated and is back in England (they sometimes flew on private planes Portugal to the UK) or she is buried in a Algarve graveyard, where those clever cadaver sniffing dogs would be flummoxed. Kate is good friends with the local Catholic priest - he even gave her the keys to the church and the local church is connected to all the graveyards in the area. Add the plus of complete confidentiality that priests are sworn too. . . .

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