Is a high-fat, low-fibre diet linked to heart disease and cancer?
Are children being exploited by advertising?
Do McDonald's exploit their low-paid, non-unionised workers?
judge for yourself!
judge for yourself!
Can mountains of disposable packaging be justified?
Are McDonald's responsible for rainforest destruction?
Do the billions of animals raised for the food industry suffer?
Should cattle have priority over indigenous people for land?
"It is claimed to be the 'most comprehensive source of information on a multinational ever assembled' - and that doesn't sound like an exaggeration."
The Guardian
THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF McDONALD'S GLOBAL CENSORSHIP STRATEGY
The McSpotlight worldwide web site was launched on Feb 16th 1996 in London, Chicago, Helsinki and Auckland.ÊIts 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 their ongoing attempts to silence their critics). In its first month it was accessed over a million times (including 1,300 times by McDonald's themselves) and it has received press coverage all over the world: USA Today (front cover), Channel 4, Times of India, Chicago Tribune, BBC Radio 4, NBC TV, Die Tageszeitung, The Australian, Stem Magazine, The Observer, Independent, LA Weekly, Helsingen Snomat (Finland) etc.
As one of the new breed of Internet sites starting to make full use of the world's most powerful communicating 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.
The infamous McLibel Trial and the issues at its heart (diet and health; destruction of the environment; animal welfare; exploitation of children through advertising and workers through low-pay) provide the focus for the site - but it's not just McDonald's in the McSpotlight. As the most carefully manicured, defensive and possibly the most arrogant ccorporation, they have been used as a symbol of all transnational corporations maximising their profits at he expense of people, animals and the environment.
McSpotlight Key Features:
- 1,800 files - approx 90 McLibel witness staements, scores of other documents about the case, company publications, scientific reports, newspaper articles, cartoons, extracts from books, transcripts of TV and video appearances, plays, internal company memos and so on.
- The Debating Room - a moderated discussion group within the wbsite, providing a global forum for discussion and debate about McDonald's and all they stand for.
- RealAudio Guided Tour - the McLibel Defendants tak 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 (using 'Frames' for Netscape 2.0) 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 startegy and attitude.
- Previously suppressed material - escapees from earlier censorship attempts by McDonald's (including 'Working Against Big Mac')
- 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, Burger King, Kodak, Marlboro and ICI.
McSpotlight has been constructed by the McInformation Network, an international network of volnteers working from 14 countries.
It is autonomous from, but supportive of, the McLibel 2 and the McLibel Support Campaign.
Email: info@mcspotlight.org
Snailmail: PO Box 10792, London N10 3PQ, UK
Mailing List: email to listproc@envirolink.org with the message subscribe mcspotlight