Pranksters sentenced to apologise on YouTube

Sophie — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:52:44 +0200

Two Florida teenagers who threw a drink in a drive-thru worker's face have been forced by a judge to post an apology on YouTube. But will the punishment work?

The 15 and 16-year-olds drove up to a Taco Bell fast-food restaurant last summer and threw a cold drink onto their drive-thru waitress. They then posted a video of the assault on YouTube, which became a massive hit online, adding to a collection of similar clips. Last October they were charged for battery and criminal mischief, and sentenced to 100 hours of community service and a fine of $30 (€20) each. But the judge also asked them to post an apology on YouTube, which they did, along with a reconstruction of the event. While their original video received millions of hits, the apology has so far only been watched 24,000, in over a month. Our Observer assesses the new-fangled punishment.

YouTubers will be let down by the Queen of Jordan

Julien — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:05:29 +0200

The latest member of the YouTube community is none other than Queen Rania of Jordan. In an effort to challenge western stereotypes about the Arab world, the net-surfing monarch decided to launch an online debate. Yet, after attracting almost 5000 responses, she seems to have lost interest in the scheme.