McSPOTLIGHT

McSPOTLIGHT
PRESS RELEASE
29th October 1996

http://www.McSpotlight.org/

McSPOTLIGHT IN COURT 35:

- providing daily reports of each day's proceedings


Other disputes in the McSpotlight :


McSPOTLIGHT: UNCENSORED AND UNSTOPPABLE ON THE WORLD-WIDE WEB

The McSpotlight Internet site was launched on Feb. 16th 1996 in London, Chicago, Helsinki and Auckland. It's aim is simple - to make freely available across the globe accurate, factual, up-to-date information about the McDonald's corporation and all they stand for (of pressing importance given the approach of the end of the infamous McLibel trial). Having now been accessed over 4 million times it has received coverage all over the world:

McSpotlight has been constructed by the McInformation Network, an international network of volunteers working from 14 countries. It is autonomous from, but supportive of, the McLibel 2 and the McLibel Support Campaign.

As one of the new breed of internet sites starting to make full use of the world's most powerful communications system, McSpotlight combines text, graphics, video and audio into an accessible and interactive package that can be used by campaigners, journalists, researchers, scientists, and surfers alike - not to mention all McDonald's customers and employees wanting to find out the reality behind the Golden Arches.

McSpotlight Key Features:
2,500 files - approx. 100 McLibel witness statements, company publications, scientific reports, newspaper articles, cartoons, extracts from books, internal company memos etc.
The Debating Room - a moderated discussion group within the website, providing a global forum for discussion and debate about McDonald's and all they stand for.
RealAudio Guided Tour - the McLibel Defendants show you around the site telling the story of the McLibel case and pointing out McSpotlight's key pages and features.
Guided Tour of McDonald's own website - McSpotlight takes you around McDonald's site pointing out all the inaccuracies and untruths.
Campaigns - autonomous pages for 24 countries (many run by local campaigners).
RealAudio interviews - with the McLibel Defendants and others.
Video Clips (Quicktime movies) - including a key piece of evidence from the trial linking McDonald's with rainforest destruction.
The McQuiz - satirical quiz using quotes from McDonald's executives to emphasise the company's immoral strategy and attitude.
Previously suppressed material - escapees from earlier censorship attempts by McDonald's
Other McLibels - details of other law suits brought by McDonald's against the media, trade unions and campaigners.
Beyond McDonald's - other corporations in the McSpotlight, including Nestle, Pepsi, Unilever, Shell, Smithkline Beecham, and Mitsubishi.

"There for everyone who cares to log on, is 'McSpotlight' Every testimony against the company, every revelation, every blunder and admission has turned up on international 'mirror' sites so they cannot be wiped. ... the ultimate anti-McDonald's experience."
- The Guardian, 9th March 1996

"Spare a thought for the judge. In McSpotlight, the case is neatly laid out, with hypertext links making everything accessible and easy to follow. All he has is a pen and endless notebooks."
- New Statesman, July 1996

"An image conscious corporation's worst nightmare"
- Colombia Journalism Review, August 1996

"Witty site chock full of fascinating details. Everything McDonald's doesn't want you to know. Pay it a visit while you still can."
- Internet Today, July 1996

"If Web sites are the asteroids of cyberspace, surely the McSpotlight page is its Death Star."
- InterActive Week; 22nd July

"It is claimed to be 'the most comprehensive source of information on a multinational corporation ever assembled'
- and that doesn't sound like an exaggeration.
"
-The Guardian, 22nd February 1996