The Evening Standard and Liberal Vision have been patting Guido Fawkes on the back for observing the uncanny similarity between David Cameron’s latest airbrushed photo and Lt Cmdr Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Only one slight problem with this: Guido actually got the idea from me as I tweeted this observation over a week ago.
Back in the day, Guido used to run a regular feature on diarists who regularly ripped off bloggers. These days of course, Guido is feted by the mainstream media. Fascinating how times have changed.
It is also worth observing that the substance of Angela Harbutt’s blog post is that Jo Swinson is a hypocrite for criticising adverts with airbrushed images of women whilst not criticising Cameron for this blatant act of fakery. Wrong again, I’m afraid, as any twitter search will tell you.
UPDATE: Guido has issued a carefully worded non-denial denial and accused me of “bloggers narcisim” – possibly the most self unaware statement ever uttered on the internet. Just for the record, I don’t expect or demand an acknowledgement – I’m just putting the facts out there. People can draw their own conclusions.
I didn’t issue you a non-denial I told you straight up I thought it up myself, I don’t read your blog unless I get a Google alert because you mention me and I certainly don’t follow your Twitter feed.
It occurred to me separately and independently. I credit other bloggers liberally and drive tens of thousands of hits to them every day. Get over it.
Guido,
If you wrote your blog yourself, I’d be inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt. But we both know you have a team of volunteers helping you with content, at least one of whom not only reads my tweets but regularly retweets them and answers back. Your response carefully did not allude to the possibility of someone else passing on the idea. I accept you are denying it now – but why should I believe you after all this evasion?
In any case, since when did you give anyone the benefit of the doubt?
Hilariously, I now note you have blocked me from reading your tweets. Could you act any more guiltily?
I repeat: I’m not expecting an acknowledgement or apology; I’m just setting the record straight on my own blog. I’ll leave it to others to make their own minds up.
We “both know” nothing. Your first paragraph is madness. I block all nutters, it is my New Year’s resolution.
With all crimes there is a motive. I can’t imagine what my motive would be for not crediting the source of an idea. I go out of my way to credit sources, it is part of the reason the blog is so successful. For fucks sake I give t-shirts to reward people who give me ideas. Fucking loads of them.
You are not setting the record straight, you are playing out a coincidence into some fantasy.
I am not going to waste any more time on this, nothing I say will shake your belief.
I think you cocked up and lack the good manners to admit it, that’s all. If you want to throw your toys out of the pram, feel free.
As for the first paragraph being “madness”, I take it you have demanded a correction from the Guardian, which quotes you as saying “I have interns. I get applications all the time. The quality is quite good at the moment: Oxbridge types. The girl who does my videos is a Harvard grad. I put a political filter on the applicants.”
Hmm well, as an impartial observer I don’t have enough evidence to say that Guido stole the idea from you. It be a coincidence.
Still, I find it hilarious that he can accuse you of “blogger’s narcissism”, and yet say “I get a Google alert because you mention me”. Who’s the narcissist?
“I can’t imagine what my motive would be for not crediting the source of an idea.”
Narcissism?
And I don’t get the Jo Swinson thing. What if she hadn’t criticized Cameron for airbrushing? Does she have to criticize every single instance of airbrushing now or something? I’m opposed to murder – does that mean I must criticize each individual one?
I don’t get Lib Visions attack on Jo either. They appear to have completely missed the point of her campaign in the first place, which was all about body image. David Cameron isn’t claiming that voting Conservative will make you look younger; Twiggy and Oil of Olay were.
Frankly, I’m surprise that if Angela Harbutt follows that logic, she hasn’t already condemned Jo for not attacking Avatar 3D – possibly the biggest photoshop job in the history of mankind.
Uncanny.
“David Cameron isn’t claiming that voting Conservative will make you look younger”
He would if he thought he could get away with it without offending his base.