Viral Marketing
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By h.b. - Jul 22, 2007 - 11:29 AM
The cartoon of the Prince and Princess of Asturias in the El Jueves magazine has opened a fierce debate on the freedom of expression in Spain

It’s not often that this editorial agrees with the opinions of the Partido Popular spokesman Angel Acebes. But there is a first time for everything.

Acebes has said that the Attourney General, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, has ‘prejudiced freedom of speech’ by his decision to withdraw from sale this week’s edition of the satirical magazine El Jueves.

We are reminded about similar cases in Britain for the magazine Private Eye, which has found itself in court on several occasions.

Satirical humour is such that some people are bound to be offended on occasions. The difference here is that Conde-Pumpido considers that a crime has been committed in the form of slander against the Prince and Princess of Asturias.

His decision to withdraw the copies of the magazine from sale, by an order issued by Judge Juan del Olmo, has, by all accounts, been taken without any representations made to him from the Palace or elsewhere. He contends that the publication of the offensive cartoon is ‘clearly a criminal act’ and ‘an unnecessary vulgarity’.

Unfortunately for him there are two things he appears not to have considered. Firstly the Internet has changed the way and the speed at which news is published. Within minutes of his order other media had the cartoon and all the details on their webpages. It was only later that an order to close the El Jueves website was issued, and then that order was specific only to the magazine. Already practically all the main news webpages were carrying the story, many of them with the offending cartoon, or a link to it.
And secondly the magazine goes on sale on Wednesday, and the interest generated in this week’s edition ensured that it had sold out in practically all cases, before the police could act to physically remove any copies. The story and cartoon had become a clear case of viral marketing. Emails and links multiplied by the second and generated interest in the story within minutes. 'El Jueves' could not have hoped for a better publicity campaign, spreading across the world.

Most of the media printed the cartoon, considered funny by some and offensive by others, saying that Freedom of Speech is paramount. After the repression and censorship of the Franco years, there remains in Spain a general belief that any kind of censorship is bad. One can clearly remember the explosion of pornography at newsstands which marked the arrival of democracy.

Spain’s new left wing Justice Minister, Mariano Fernández Bermejo, refused to comment on the ruling, saying the Government did not comment on judicial resolutions, but the Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, was a bit more forthcoming. She said that the decision made by Judge Juan del Olmo had been taken in respect for the institutions. She said that one of the basic pillars of any democratic system, freedom of expression, had to coexist with the needed respect for the institutions of the State.

Where the line between freedom of expression and respect is placed is best kept as a personal decision. We’ve decided not to publish the cartoon having drawn our own line. It’s generally an error however when the state tries to tell the public where that line is.

The Attorney General must be more than clear that in this case he has made an error, and his efforts have backfired in spectacular fashion. It remains to be seen whether he moves ahead with the prosecution against 'El Jueves', or realises that he should lick his wounds and quietly retire.

(EDITORIAL COMMENT)

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