Trafigura feels Twitter’s power
By Nicole Kobie in Editorial
Posted in Uncategorized on
Earlier this week, a weird and frightening story showed up in the Guardian.
Basically, the paper reported that it wasn’t being allowed to report on something that happened in parliament after threats from someone’s lawyer — all very vague — despite the fact that anything that happens in parliament is usually safe for journalists to cover without fear of legal repercussion.
The only clue we all had was that the Guardian had been told to shut up by a law firm called Carter Ruck, which surprisingly isn’t rhyming slang.
Some clever journalists found a reference to Carter Ruck in parliamentary records.
That September record features an MP asking how the government intends to protect whistleblowers and journalists in cases such as one involving Carter Ruck and its client Trafigura in regards to dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast.
Until Trafigura settled the case, the Guardian and other media had been blocked by Carter Ruck from reporting it. The horrifying details of the toxic dumping, and the people it killed, are here.
So now, though there’s currently no solid evidence of it (edit: the paper has now confirmed it), people are wondering if the Guardian’s blocked story has to do with Trafigura. But they’re not wondering quietly. They’ve made it a trending topic on Twitter, you see. And that’s something we can all report.
Rated: 80% (3 votes)
Loading ...Comment by praptak - October 13, 2009 on 11:12 am
That’s what we call the Streisand effect.
Pingback by - October 13, 2009 on 11:18 am
[…] IT PRO: Blogs: Nicole Kobie: Trafigura feels Twitter’s power www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/nicolek/2009/10/13/trafigura-feels-twitters-power – view page – cached , Earlier this week, a weird and frightening story showed up in the Guardian. Basically, the paper reported that it wasn’t being allowed to report on — From the page […]
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