Mark Meechan

Mark Meechan
Meechan in an interview in December 2017
Born Markus Meechan
1989 (age 28–29)[1]
Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Nationality Scottish
Other names Count Dankula
Occupation YouTuber
Notable work "M8 Yer Dugs A Nazi"
Political party UK Independence Party
Mark Meechan
100,000 subscribers 2018

Markus Meechan is a Scottish YouTuber, originally from Coatbridge.[2][3] Meechan, known online as Count Dankula, received considerable press coverage when he posted a video of his girlfriend's pug performing a Nazi salute and reacting to the phrase 'gas the Jews?'.[4][5][6][7] The video subsequently resulted in Meechan being arrested and convicted of being "grossly offensive" under the Communications Act 2003 in March 2018, an outcome which in turn generated significant controversy and discussions about free speech.[8][9] In April 2018, Meechan was fined £800.[10][11]

Controversy

In April 2016 Meechan posted a video of his girlfriend's pet pug Buddha titled "M8 Yer Dugs A Nazi".[12] He says at the start of the video "My girlfriend is always ranting and raving about how cute and adorable her wee dog is so I thought I would turn him into the least cute thing I could think of, which is a Nazi."[5] In the video, the dog is seen performing a Nazi salute (when prompted by the command "Sieg Heil"), watching a speech by Adolf Hitler, and reacting to the phrase "Gas the Jews".[4][5]

Meechan was subsequently arrested on suspicion of breaching the Communications Act 2003, despite Meechan claiming that the video was a prank on his girlfriend.[13]

On 19 March 2018 Meechan was convicted of breaching the act by Sheriff Derek O'Carroll at Airdrie Sheriff Court.[14] The court ruled that Meechan's claim that the video was a joke intended for his girlfriend "lacked credibility" as Meechan's girlfriend did not subscribe to the YouTube channel to which the video was posted.[14][8]

Meechan's conviction subsequently generated controversy concerning the issue of free speech, and multiple media outlets reported that British comedians Ricky Gervais and David Baddiel had made comments supporting Meechan.[15][8][16][13] Others who opposed the prosecution of Meechan included Kenan Malik, Tim Blair, Douglas Murray, Shappi Khorsandi and Stephen Fry.[17][18][19][20][21] Index on Censorship CEO Jodie Ginsberg stated that the right to free expression must include the right to offend "otherwise the freedom is meaningless".[11]

Comedian Tom Walker, in character as Jonathan Pie, released a viral video which criticized the conviction and contained references to The Producers.[22][23] One of his fans alerted police to the video as an experiment, claiming to be offended. A reply from the Metropolitan Police Service Twitter account, which Pie described as "terrifying", began "It is understandable how this would cause distress" and encouraged the complainant to make a formal report.[24] Graham Linehan, creator of the sitcom Father Ted, condemned Meechan, who responded by saying that Linehan's show also contained Nazi-related jokes.[25] Meechan was scrutinised for embracing support from right-wing figures Alex Jones and Tommy Robinson, to which he replied "Imagine totally abandoning protecting human rights, just because someone you don't like is defending them too. Astounding."[25]

UKIP Member of the European Parliament for Scotland, David Coburn, released a two-page statement condemning the ruling as "an embarrassment". Coburn voiced support for Meechan's right to free speech and expressed deep concern over what the precedent set by the ruling could mean for wider society and free speech in general. He also described Meechan's treatment as "horrendous", and pointed out that in his view the issue was not what anyone thought of the joke, but was instead the "authoritarian" reaction to the joke. Coburn's support became viral and received a direct response of gratitude from Meechan on Twitter.[26] Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, brought up Meechan's case in the House of Commons and said "Can we have a debate about freedom of speech in this country – something this country has long held dear and is in danger of throwing away needlessly?"[27]

Despite the case generating a debate on free speech in the press, Sheriff O'Carroll noted that there were only "very limited" submission from the defence and the prosecution on the matter of the law as it regards freedom of expression, and that because of this the trial was "concerned, ultimately, only with the narrow fact-based question of whether the Crown has proved beyond reasonable doubt that your using a public communications network on one day to post the video onto your video channel, constituted an offence contrary to section 127(1)(a) of the Communications Act 2003", and that the ruling sets no precedent.[14]

On 23 April 2018, Meechan was sentenced to a fine of £800, with no jail time.[11] Approximately 500 people gathered in London to protest for free speech when the sentence was handed out.[28] Meechan started a GoFundMe campaign on 24 April 2018 to raise £100,000 for an appeal and reached his goal as of 25 April.[29] Forbes contributor Fruzsina Eordogh suggested that Meechan could clarify his intent in time for the appeal by reaching out to the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities for reconciliation. However, Meechan revealed that the threat of further legal repercussions had already been used to dissuade him from contacting them.[30] In August of 2018, Meechan announced that his request for an appeal had been denied by a member of the Sheriff Appeal Court who also accused Meechan's lawyer of contempt. The letter stated that the appeal was "not arguable" due to the nature of the "deeply unpleasant offence". Meechan stated that he plans to contest the matter with the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.[31]

On 6 May 2018, Meechan spoke at the Day For Freedom rally organized by Tommy Robinson which was characterized as far right.[32] Luke Bailey, who had previously criticized Meechan, called him "the exception to the Islamophobia" and wrote that his speech focused on the importance of freedom of expression.[33]

Meechan's case has been widely compared to that of Chelsea Russell — a British teenager convicted of a hate crime for quoting a song excerpt on Instagram.[34][35][36] On May 11 2018, Reason contributor Robby Soave cited both cases as examples of government censorship at a briefing of the United States Commission on Civil Rights.[37]

Personal life

On 16 June 2018, Meechan announced that he had joined UKIP along with fellow YouTubers Carl Benjamin and Paul Joseph Watson in what Watson describes as an attempted "soft coup".[38][39][40]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sophie Evans (2018-03-20). "Man who taught dog Nazi salute found guilty of hate crime". Coventry Telegraph.
  2. ↑ Miller, Graham (2017-07-29). "Coatbridge man who taught his girlfriend's dog to do a Nazi salute faces court". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  3. ↑ Cramb, Auslan (2018-03-20). "YouTube user convicted of hate crime over pet dog's 'Nazi salutes'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  4. 1 2 Jr, Cleve R. Wootson (2017-09-12). "This video showed a Nazi-saluting dog. Was posting it on YouTube a hate crime?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  5. 1 2 3 Reporters, Telegraph (2017-09-12). "Hate crime trial of YouTube user over video of dog 'taught to do Nazi salute'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  6. ↑ Norton, Oliver (2016-04-20). "Shocking video shows man training 'Hitler dog' to perform a Nazi salute". mirror. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  7. ↑ "Video of man teaching dog Nazi salute meets outrage". Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  8. 1 2 3 "Man guilty of hate crime over 'Nazi pug'". BBC News. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  9. ↑ "Man convicted of hate crime for video of dog giving Nazi salute". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  10. ↑ "YouTuber Count Dankula could face year in jail for Nazi dog video". Newshub. 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  11. 1 2 3 "Man who filmed girlfriend's dog giving Nazi salutes fined £800". The Independent. 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  12. ↑ M8 Yer Dugs A Nazi on YouTube
  13. 1 2 "YouTuber found guilty of hate crime for teaching pet pug 'Nazi salute'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  14. 1 2 3 "PF v Mark Meechan - Judgments & Sentences - Judiciary of Scotland". www.scotland-judiciary.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  15. ↑ Malik, Kenan (25 March 2018). "The 'Nazi pug': giving offence is inevitable and often necessary in a plural society - Kenan Malik". The Guardian.
  16. ↑ "YouTuber Count Dankula found guilty of hate speech for 'Nazi salute' pug video". 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  17. ↑ Kenan Malik (2018-03-25). "The 'Nazi pug': giving offence is inevitable and often necessary in a plural society". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  18. ↑ Murray, Douglas (2018-04-23). "The Prosecution of Count Dankula". National Review. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  19. ↑ Shappi Khorsandi (2018-03-23). "The conviction of Count Dankula sets a dangerous precedent for freedom of speech". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  20. ↑ "Jonathan Pie Defends YouTuber Convicted for Nazi Pug Video". Yahoo News. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  21. ↑ Blair, Tim (2018-04-26). "From being fined to being very fine indeed". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  22. ↑ It's a JOKE Jonathan Pie
  23. ↑ "'No Nazi apologist': Jonathan Pie hits back at Graham Linehan over Count Dankula Nazi pug case". www.rt.com.
  24. ↑ "UK Comedians Under Threat for "Offensive Speech"". Miss Liberty. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  25. 1 2 Williams, Martin (27 March 2018). "How 'Nazi dog' creator Mark Meechan clashed with Father Ted writer". Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "Scots 'Nazi pug' YouTuber gets backing from UKIP MEP David Coburn". The Scottish Sun. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  27. ↑ Coulter, Martin (22 March 2018). "Yorkshire MP Philip Davies backs Ricky Gervais in freedom of speech row after YouTuber Count Dankula found guilty of making 'highly offensive' video". Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  28. ↑ Williams, Martin (2018-04-23). "Row over police filming London protest over Scots 'Nazi dog' creator conviction". The Sunday Herald. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  29. ↑ Coulter, Martin (2018-04-26). "Count Dankula GoFundMe: 'Nazi pug' man Mark Meechan raises £100,000 in bid to appeal court conviction". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  30. ↑ Eordogh, Fruzsina (2018-04-30). "A Nuanced Take On Count Dankula's Nazi Pug". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  31. ↑ Dearden, Lizzie (2018-08-08). "Count Dankula: Man who taught pug to do Nazi salute has appeal refused". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
  32. ↑ Doyle, Andrew (2018-05-09). "The Day For Freedom was not a far right rally". Spiked Online. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  33. ↑ Bailey, Luke (2018-05-08). "Tommy Robinson's "Day For Freedom" rally was about promoting far right ideology, not free speech". i News. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  34. ↑ Newman, Tim (2018-04-25). "Not a good week for Britain's image". Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  35. ↑ "Why we should care about a 'Nazi pug'..." Screen Space. 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  36. ↑ "The UK's Orwellian hate speech laws are a bad joke". Creative Deduction. 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  37. ↑ Soave, Robby (2018-05-14). "Cops have no idea if hate crime laws stop hate crimes". Reason. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  38. ↑ Count Dankula (16 June 2018). "UKIP Needs You" – via YouTube.
  39. ↑ Sommer, Will (26 June 2018). "Far-Right YouTube Stars Plan Takeover of UKIP" – via www.thedailybeast.com.
  40. ↑ Walker, Peter (29 June 2018). "Ukip's new guard: web agitators threaten to swamp struggling party". the Guardian.
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