BUMPER SNIPPET
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Ok, here are some corrections and suggestions:
ginvid;3425943 said:On 29 May 2011, 90s pop singer Aaron Carter filmed an interview with freelance 'journalist' and friend Daphne Barak for OK Australia magazine's 27 June edition. The article and excerpts that have been released have spread rapidly across all media for one reason - it involves Michael Jackson.
Carter’s friendship - and we use that word loosely - with Jackson is not in question. However, the Michael Jackson fan community strongly rejects the elements of the story suggesting and implying that Mr. Jackson would have given Aaron Carter drugs or alcohol or would have acted in any way improperly towards him.
Indeed, after all the years of defending Mr. Jackson --even as recently as 2010-- the fan community finds it puzzling that Mr. Carter would all of a sudden give such an inconsistent interview. On the contrary, Mr. Carter has always spoken highly of Jackson’s positive influence on his life and his work, and has strongly denied that anything inappropriate had ever occurred between them (see Howard Stern interview:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtURi...layer_embedded).
The claims made by Carter can be easily debunked by what he actually himself had said previously and consistently. For example, he once claimed that he only spent one night at Neverland where he slept in the theater with Chris Tucker and other guests. Further on, he emphasized that neither did he ever sleep in bed with Mr. Jackson, nor did he ever go into Mr. Jackson's room. As a matter of fact, Aaron Carter so steadfastly denied any inappropriate behavior at the party that he was on the witness list for the defense in the 2005 trial.
Frank Cascio, who had maintained a friendship with Jackson since his childhood, tweeted this in defense of Michael, "I knew Michael for over 25 years and NEVER once did he use cocaine or suggest to anyone else to use cocaine. Never!!!!" (http://twitter.com/#!/fdcascio/status/86547254990733312). Frank and his family had been visited by Michael on a regular basis. Also, he had frequented Neverland and had even traveled with Michael from a young age.
In light of above mentioned and all other obvious evidence, the Michael Jackson fan community is questioning the real motive behind this seeming change of heart and story.
The timing of the interview is also extremely suspect. In June, while millions around the world were mourning the passing of Mr Jackson, some, with even the remotest connection to him, seemed to find it an ideal opportunity to promote their book, CD or project.
Aaron Carter’s willingness to jump on that bandwagon, although quite disappointing, is actually not surprising. According to Aaron's representative, he was misquoted in the article. However, as the edited excerpts of the interview clearly demonstrate, Mr. Carter skillfully and purposely answers in a way that allows for speculation and innuendo. Consequently, the public opinion has been utterly misled.
Carter's denial is now being widely reported, nevertheless, more needs to be done. Mr. Carter must demand a full retraction from OK magazine, if it is indeed misrepresenting what he really said. But as the slander continues to unfold, it is increasingly clear that the Carter camp have seen the benefits of tying his name in a negative way to Mr. Jackson’s and is taking full advantage of the frenzy and (inter)national media coverage.
This slanderous story surfaced on 15 June prompting some concerned Jackson fans to reach out to Aaron Carter immediately via twitter, only to be rebuffed and ignored by the latter the whole two weeks. An official and strong statement of denial would have halted this slander in its tracks. Indeed, this is what an honorable person would do in love and respect for a friend and mentor who has died. Unfortunately, the sickening speculation and insinuations were allowed to linger. As a result, the only person who has been fully damaged in this appalling debacle is Mr. Jackson --an easy target-- who is unfortunately not here to defend himself. As far as all of the others who have been involved are concerned, they have been able to raise their profiles on his back.
Daphne Barak has also had an extremely dubious past. She has already "forged" stories before. She became friends with Grace Rwaramba --Jackson's children's nanny -- in order to take advantage of her in the hopes of finding out information about Michael Jackson.
In a story written by Mallika Chopra for The Huffington Post, Mallika said the following: "I witnessed Daphne act as a friend while trying to bait information from Grace on her conversations with Jackson family members and friends about his death... I found that Daphne indeed had written an article full of quotes by Grace for a tabloid magazine. (A quick search of her other work not surprisingly shows she did a recent feature on Amy Winehouse.) Grace’s quotes are now being picked up by other tabloids and will find their way into more magazines and articles. (People Magazine is also featuring some inaccuracies today, such as the claim that Grace pumped Michael’s stomach on several occasions. For the record, Grace never pumped Michael’s stomach. She has not slightest idea how she would even do such a thing.)... "
Daphne Barak was also at the center of controversy in reference to an inteview with Sanam Bhutto. An article at SouthAsiaWatch chronicles her faux journalism.
It says, "Daphne Barak [...] has been foisting herself upon the famous and noteworthy families of the world for years now. Her living is made by offering "exclusive" interviews, scintillating gossip, and manufacturing rumor and innuendo at every turn. She is often spotted interviewing members of families in crisis, taking advantage of their grief and need for hope, in order to fuel her personal drive for fame, access, and notoriety. Daphne portrays and tarnishes the image of Bhutto by revealing or blatantly manufacturing details that cannot be independently verified about Bhutto's life... any references to Bhutto or Pakistan that she writes should be taken as near-fiction or nothing less than a complete fabrication... In more recent Pakistan news, Daphne Barak has done the nation of Pakistan and its people a grave disservice by manufacturing a news story featuring "statements" from Benazair Bhutto's sister, Sanam, regarding the President of Pakistan, Asif Zardari. While biased journalism may be tolerated in many circles, Daphe Barak crossed the line into complete fiction. Sanam Bhutto, outraged and distressed at the lies attributed to her, vigorously denounced the fiction produced by Daphne Barak, via print and video ."
The article also mentions how she "cozied" up to the parents of Amy Winehouse, "feeding off their grief and concern for their daughter" in order to get a story on Amy Winehouse.
Her methods have been consistent: befriending a person for the purpose of interviewing them so that she can then put a spin on said interview.
Is that what happened with Aaron Carter? Note her tweet about him on May 29th:
This speaks volumes about Ms. Barak's ethics and values as a journalist.
Furthermore, it is disturbing that we live in a time when our media is willing to blindly copy and paste a story without first verifying its accuracy and veracity. No mention was made of Carter's previous denials, nor of the reputation of the interviewer. This becomes even more disturbing when this practice is adopted by news outlets that are supposed to report factual stories, such as CBSnews, USA Today and CNN.
Although the slanderous story about this interview originates from OK! Magazine, which is all but a reference known for being a reputable publication, it hasn't taken long for over 150 media outlets to copy the story and run with it. It is frustratingly apparent that facts are not of great concern to the media, which is shameful.
Now that some aspects of the interview have been denied, we can only hope that there will be a more rigorous screening process before stories are aired or published, especially when the source is a tabloid and the author has a questionable reputation (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Dz7rs8VfA).
We call on all Michael Jackson fans to boycott the magazine and to express their disagreement to the editors of OK magazine and distress to Daphne Barak (the author). Fans also need to let their sources of news and information know that they are no longer interested in uncorroborated, salacious stories.
Michael Jackson was defamed and maligned in life. His fans are committed and determined to see that this defamation does not continue in death.
