Recently the MPAA have been suggesting all sorts of new statistics to the media to encourage a witch hunt against countries like Canada and China among others, the problem is the stats just dont add up.
http://www.slyck.com/story1472.htmlOn January 15th, 2007, the Globe and Mail printed that 50% of all Camcorded piracy originated in Canada
On February 5th, 2007, Michael Geist cited the MPAA’s (Motion Picture Association of America) claim that 23% of all camcorded pirated movies are sourced from Canada.
Shortly after Geist's report, a different number emerged in the New York Times (NYTimes members only) that suggested that there's a 30 - 40% piracy rate in Canada. This claim was made on February 19, 2007
On March 1st, 2007 (posted the next day) US Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Cornyn wrote a letter pressuring Canada on the issue. While the demand on reforming Canadian copyright laws to mirror the US's controversial DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) isn't exactly new, the claim that 50% of all camcorded piracy was.
On May 1st, 2007, the MPAA issued a press release, not on Canada, but on New York. In the press release, it states that in the United States, 43% of all camcorded piracy came from New York.
So in conclusion at this point, over 90% of piracy comes from Canada and the United States - a number that would have some scratching their heads
Also on May 1st, 2007, the press release, for operation Tripod, contains the following:
“Worldwide, camcorded copies comprise around 90 percent of early release pirate discs,”
said Mike Ellis, Senior Vice President and Regional Director, Asia-Pacific for the Motion
Picture Association.
On May 7, 2007, Variety reported that 70% of piracy is sourced in Canada
On May 9, 2007, the Globe and Mail reported (Members only) that 75% of the piracy in the world could be blamed on Canada. A new number, a new mathematical impossibility.
From the above it becomes clear that certain publications are used as launch pads for the fake figures along with the MPAA site itself that then seeks to justify its claims based on those same reports, it seems a nice way to avoid having to prove any claims made.
Simply leak any statistic you choose and then wait until its reported and then claim it as an independent source of enquiry into the problem, it would be nice to see those who "report" these fake statistics singled out and named as they are certainly not reporters, merely paid for rumour/gossip mongers who abuse the public trust of the organisation on whose behalf they "report".
