The Da Vinci Cole

Does seeing parallels make me a conspiracy theorist? A while back I blogged on the Da Vinci Code plagiarism case, doubting whether it was possible or desirable to sue someone for stealing the 'architecture' of an idea. Now the Arsenal and England footballer Ashley Cole is suing two newspapers, claiming "libel, harassment and breach of privacy". The Sun and News of the World both alleged that two premiership footballers - un-named - and a music promoter engaged in gay sex and used a mobile phone as a sex toy. Certain characters with too much time on their hands have convinced themselves Cole was involved, so he has gone to court. Not against the chatrooms, you understand, but against the Murdoch press.

What's interesting is that neither paper actually named the footballers, but allegedly gave enough detail for speculators in internet chatrooms to insert Cole's name into their view of the story. In the light of the Da Vinci Code case, one of the parties involved could claim that the tabloids merely provided the 'architecture' of the story, leaving everyone else to fill in the details (and names). You can't libel the dead, but can you libel those you leave anonymous? Watch this space...