McSpotlight: Start Here

Start
Here

Hello. And welcome. To McSpotlight. The biggest, loudest, most red, most read Anti-McDonald's extravaganza the world has ever seen. Anything you could possibly want to know about McDonald's or McLibel nestles somewhere in our 21,000 files. Don't get us wrong, though, we're not telling you to give up your Big Macs. We just provide the info for you to judge for yourself.

whodunnit McSpotlight is constructed by the McInformation Network, an independent network of volunteers working from 16 countries. Email us, if you like, or join the Mailing list to get all the latest news.
McSpotlight opened for non-business in Feb 1996 and now gets well over a million hits a month. We like to claim that we've had the most press coverage of any website in the world ever, which may well be true. And the most awards, which almost certainly isn't.
It all started with the McLibel Trial. Of which much, much, much, much, much more.

and why. Yes, we appreciate that McDonald's only sell hamburgers and loads of other corporations are just as bad. But that's not the point. They have been used as a symbol of all multinationals and big business relentlessly pursuing their profits at the expense of anything that stands in their way.
McDonald's were chosen for this dubious honour because a) everyone's heard of them, b) they're bullies who threaten legal action on almost anyone who dares criticise them, c) there's stacks of in-depth information available about them (thanks to the research that's gone into the McLibel Trial), d) the nature of their business means loads of contemporary issues are relevant, e) they pioneered various unwelcome practices which other companies have followed and f) they take themselves far too seriously.

Getting about/
finding stuff Wading through this mass of information (120Mb last time we checked) may not be everyone's idea of fun. So we've made some helpful tools to smooth your journey.
Mirror Sites - first things first, access the best mirror site (= complete copy of McSpotlight placed in various locations around the world). Go to the one that's fastest for you (usually the nearest), save on download time and therefore your phone bill.
Navigation buttons - links to the main sections of the site. You click on them, they do the rest. They attempt to look the same on every page and tend to lurk in similar places (usually the bottom of a page). The one on the left always links back to the home page.

Site Map - all the sections of the site laid out on a suspiciously simple looking flow chart. Click on a name, tap your heels together three times and you're there. Loverly colour scheme and dead easy to use. A good place to return if you get completely lost.
Guided Tour - a friendly way to get to know the site. Sit back as the McLibel defendants guide you round the pages (using RealAudio), pointing out highlights and lowlife. Sorry about the dodgy acting. They were tired.
Search - the place to go if you're looking for something specific. Type in keywords and get a list of relevant documents. Became a lot smarter since we got a fancy new, all-powerful one with clever options.

Keeping up After reading just a few pages of McSpotty, you will no doubt be desperate to keep bang up-to-date with every move we make. It's easy when you know how.
What's New? - All the latest additions to the site as they're uploaded. You can get an email each time this page changes by subscribing to the url minder situated here.
Mailing list - subscribe to the McLibel and McSpotlight mailing lists to receive regular emails with all the latest news, gossip, scandal and events from the Anti-McDonald's world.

Off your butt It aint all just staring blankly at screens round here. There's loads of stuff to get involved in - both from the comfort of your own computer and in a more realpeople reallife TM sort of fashion.

$ $ $ Donations - cash comes in handy when your opponent is a 30 billion dollar a year corporation. Both to fight the McLibel case (even after the verdict there'll be plenty of appeals and other costly stuff going on) and to run McSpotlight. Can't be bothered to do anything yourself? Send us a cheque and we'll do it for you.

Debating Room - a global forum for uncensored discussions and debate about McDonald's and all they stand for. It is too.
Adopt-a-Store - sign up to help leaflet every UK McDonald's after the verdict in the McLibel Trial.
McSpotlight Kit - download this compressed version of the whole site to help ensure that McDonald's will never be able to stop the dissemination of this information.

Main sections These are the big boys: McSpotlight's 120 Mbs of information stored neatly into the following oh-so-logical sections.
McLibel Trial - McDonald's surely rue the day they sued Helen Steel and Dave Morris for distributing some leaflets called "What's Wrong with McDonald's?" and thus spawning the UK's longest ever libel trial.
This section contains more than you could ever possibly want to know about the trial, including the official court transcripts from each of the 313 court days, over 60 witness statements, the original writ, excerpts of the evidence and loads of other official documents.
Issues - The most significant issues examined in the McLibel trial and by critics in general: nutrition, advertising, animal welfare, environment, employment, censorship, global trade, international expansion and capitalism.

Media - selling vast quantities of hamburgers is a surprisingly newsworthy business. Not to mention protecting the reputation of companies that make hamburgers. Everything we come across relating to McDonald's, McLibel, Multinationals and McSpotlight goes in here. Includes newspaper and magazine articles, scripts from plays, details and excerpts from books and reports, transcripts of TV and radio programmes, cartoonsand even video footage.
Campaigns - a monster section of worldwide protests and campaigning events against McDonald's and other multinationals from over 20 countries around the world. Contains comprehensive resources for activists (including ready-to-print 'What's Wrong With McDonald's leaflets' in more than a dozen languages), a guide to Internet Action and the increasingly successful Residents Against McDonald's.
The Company - Information about McDonald's, unsurprisingly. Company history, a 'who's who', a link to their official web site and all the latest news about the company's activities. Best of all, a catalogue of their past legal actions. Would you sue a shopkeeper who deigned to call her cafe 'McMunchies'?
Debate - provides a forum for discussion about the issues raised by McSpotlight. People from all over the world arguing about everything from the foundations of capitalism to the best way to mass print leaflets.
Fundraising and Merchandise - get your t-shirts, stickers, videos, posters, badges and other desirable items here. Or just make a donation.
Beyond McDonald's - it's not just McDonald's in the McSpotlight. This section focuses on other companies from the oil, babymilk, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, soft drinks and tobacco industries. Not as comprehensive as we would like, but hey.

Highlights These are the bits we're particularly fond of. For no particular reason and in no particular order. Send us yours and we'll add 'em to the list.
Guided Tour of McDonald's Website - a McSpotlight all-time classic. McDonald's own website enclosed inside ours with a chirpy commentary pointing out their omissions and inaccuracies. Won some awards for this one.

Subverts - bad things happening to McDonald's adverts in the middle of the night.
Czech action - blinding picket involving all sorts of dressings-ups and strange goings on on the streets of East Europe. With the pictures to prove it.
McDonald's spy speaks - an exclusive interview with one of the spies who infiltrated the activist meetings and collected evidence for the McLibel Trial.
Caught in the McSpotlight - Ronald's back against the wall. A cartoon classic.
Animation - sit back and watch as the world takes action against the curse of the giant M.
Japanese Campaigns page - leading the way with all sorts of resources and translations.
MacBurger: Real Neat Scottish Fare - the complete text of a play McDonald's thought they'd seen the last of.

Reconstructions - exclusive images from the filming of the McLibel documentary.
Mountains Against McDonald's - an inspiring tale of an Australian mountain's successful campaign to keep McDonald's off it's toes.
Other McLibels - you thought the McLibel Trial was an isolated incident? Have a look at some of the other people they've threatened with legal action.
The McQuiz - if only for the nonsense McDonald's executives came out with in the witness box.

That's it. If your lust for trivia is still not satisfied, have a look at the Frequently Asked Questions, or email us with specific queries. Journalists and other media folk are more than welcome to contact us for interviews or 6-page colour features.
Have a nice day.

Hello.	And welcome. To McSpotlight. The biggest, loudest, most red, most read Anti-McDonald's extravaganza the world has ever seen. Anything you could possibly want to know about McDonald's or McLibel nestles somewhere in our 21,000 files. Don't get us wrong, though, we're not telling you to give up your Big Macs. We just provide the info for you to judge for yourself.
whodunnit	McSpotlight is constructed by the McInformation Network, an independent network of volunteers working from 16 countries. Email us, if you like, or join the Mailing list to get all the latest news. McSpotlight opened for non-business in Feb 1996 and now gets well over a million hits a month. We like to claim that we've had the most press coverage of any website in the world ever, which may well be true. And the most awards, which almost certainly isn't. It all started with the McLibel Trial. Of which much, much, much, much, much more.
and why.	Yes, we appreciate that McDonald's only sell hamburgers and loads of other corporations are just as bad. But that's not the point. They have been used as a symbol of all multinationals and big business relentlessly pursuing their profits at the expense of anything that stands in their way. McDonald's were chosen for this dubious honour because a) everyone's heard of them, b) they're bullies who threaten legal action on almost anyone who dares criticise them, c) there's stacks of in-depth information available about them (thanks to the research that's gone into the McLibel Trial), d) the nature of their business means loads of contemporary issues are relevant, e) they pioneered various unwelcome practices which other companies have followed and f) they take themselves far too seriously.
Getting about/ finding stuff	Wading through this mass of information (120Mb last time we checked) may not be everyone's idea of fun. So we've made some helpful tools to smooth your journey. Mirror Sites - first things first, access the best mirror site (= complete copy of McSpotlight placed in various locations around the world). Go to the one that's fastest for you (usually the nearest), save on download time and therefore your phone bill.
	Navigation buttons - links to the main sections of the site. You click on them, they do the rest. They attempt to look the same on every page and tend to lurk in similar places (usually the bottom of a page). The one on the left always links back to the home page.
	Site Map - all the sections of the site laid out on a suspiciously simple looking flow chart. Click on a name, tap your heels together three times and you're there. Loverly colour scheme and dead easy to use. A good place to return if you get completely lost.
	Guided Tour - a friendly way to get to know the site. Sit back as the McLibel defendants guide you round the pages (using RealAudio), pointing out highlights and lowlife. Sorry about the dodgy acting. They were tired.
	Search - the place to go if you're looking for something specific. Type in keywords and get a list of relevant documents. Became a lot smarter since we got a fancy new, all-powerful one with clever options.
Keeping up	After reading just a few pages of McSpotty, you will no doubt be desperate to keep bang up-to-date with every move we make. It's easy when you know how.
	What's New? - All the latest additions to the site as they're uploaded. You can get an email each time this page changes by subscribing to the url minder situated here. Mailing list - subscribe to the McLibel and McSpotlight mailing lists to receive regular emails with all the latest news, gossip, scandal and events from the Anti-McDonald's world.
Off your butt	It aint all just staring blankly at screens round here. There's loads of stuff to get involved in - both from the comfort of your own computer and in a more realpeople reallife TM sort of fashion.

$ $ $	Donations - cash comes in handy when your opponent is a 30 billion dollar a year corporation. Both to fight the McLibel case (even after the verdict there'll be plenty of appeals and other costly stuff going on) and to run McSpotlight. Can't be bothered to do anything yourself? Send us a cheque and we'll do it for you. Debating Room - a global forum for uncensored discussions and debate about McDonald's and all they stand for. It is too. Adopt-a-Store - sign up to help leaflet every UK McDonald's after the verdict in the McLibel Trial.
	McSpotlight Kit - download this compressed version of the whole site to help ensure that McDonald's will never be able to stop the dissemination of this information.
Main sections	These are the big boys: McSpotlight's 120 Mbs of information stored neatly into the following oh-so-logical sections.
	McLibel Trial - McDonald's surely rue the day they sued Helen Steel and Dave Morris for distributing some leaflets called "What's Wrong with McDonald's?" and thus spawning the UK's longest ever libel trial. This section contains more than you could ever possibly want to know about the trial, including the official court transcripts from each of the 313 court days, over 60 witness statements, the original writ, excerpts of the evidence and loads of other official documents.
	Issues - The most significant issues examined in the McLibel trial and by critics in general: nutrition, advertising, animal welfare, environment, employment, censorship, global trade, international expansion and capitalism.
	Media - selling vast quantities of hamburgers is a surprisingly newsworthy business. Not to mention protecting the reputation of companies that make hamburgers. Everything we come across relating to McDonald's, McLibel, Multinationals and McSpotlight goes in here. Includes newspaper and magazine articles, scripts from plays, details and excerpts from books and reports, transcripts of TV and radio programmes, cartoonsand even video footage.
	Campaigns - a monster section of worldwide protests and campaigning events against McDonald's and other multinationals from over 20 countries around the world. Contains comprehensive resources for activists (including ready-to-print 'What's Wrong With McDonald's leaflets' in more than a dozen languages), a guide to Internet Action and the increasingly successful Residents Against McDonald's.
	The Company - Information about McDonald's, unsurprisingly. Company history, a 'who's who', a link to their official web site and all the latest news about the company's activities. Best of all, a catalogue of their past legal actions. Would you sue a shopkeeper who deigned to call her cafe 'McMunchies'?
	Debate - provides a forum for discussion about the issues raised by McSpotlight. People from all over the world arguing about everything from the foundations of capitalism to the best way to mass print leaflets.
	Fundraising and Merchandise - get your t-shirts, stickers, videos, posters, badges and other desirable items here. Or just make a donation.
	Beyond McDonald's - it's not just McDonald's in the McSpotlight. This section focuses on other companies from the oil, babymilk, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, soft drinks and tobacco industries. Not as comprehensive as we would like, but hey.
Highlights	These are the bits we're particularly fond of. For no particular reason and in no particular order. Send us yours and we'll add 'em to the list.
	Guided Tour of McDonald's Website - a McSpotlight all-time classic. McDonald's own website enclosed inside ours with a chirpy commentary pointing out their omissions and inaccuracies. Won some awards for this one.
	Subverts - bad things happening to McDonald's adverts in the middle of the night. Czech action - blinding picket involving all sorts of dressings-ups and strange goings on on the streets of East Europe. With the pictures to prove it. McDonald's spy speaks - an exclusive interview with one of the spies who infiltrated the activist meetings and collected evidence for the McLibel Trial.
	Caught in the McSpotlight - Ronald's back against the wall. A cartoon classic. Animation - sit back and watch as the world takes action against the curse of the giant M. Japanese Campaigns page - leading the way with all sorts of resources and translations. MacBurger: Real Neat Scottish Fare - the complete text of a play McDonald's thought they'd seen the last of.
	Reconstructions - exclusive images from the filming of the McLibel documentary. Mountains Against McDonald's - an inspiring tale of an Australian mountain's successful campaign to keep McDonald's off it's toes. Other McLibels - you thought the McLibel Trial was an isolated incident? Have a look at some of the other people they've threatened with legal action. The McQuiz - if only for the nonsense McDonald's executives came out with in the witness box.
That's it.	If your lust for trivia is still not satisfied, have a look at the Frequently Asked Questions, or email us with specific queries. Journalists and other media folk are more than welcome to contact us for interviews or 6-page colour features. Have a nice day.