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Jail Sentence For Popular YouTube Pranksters (bbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the prank-gone-wrong dept.

Turns out crossing a line, even for a prank by a YouTube star, can go bonkers. An anonymous reader cites a BBC report: Four members of the controversial Trollstation YouTube channel have been jailed in connection with fake robberies and kidnappings. The group were involved in a fake robbery at London's National Portrait Gallery and a fake kidnapping at Tate Britain in July 2015. The channel, with 718,000 subscribers, has built a reputation for filming staged pranks around the city. A fifth member was imprisoned in March following a bomb hoax.The Crown Prosecution Service's Robert Short said: "The hoaxes may have seemed harmless to them, but they caused genuine distress to a number of members of the public, who should be able to go about their daily business without being put in fear in this way. We hope these convictions send a strong message that unlawful activities such as these will not be tolerated in London."

20 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. So when will the house of lords be arrested? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    People of London should be able to go about their lives without being put in fear by the illegal antics of the fucktards filling those offices.

    1. Re:So when will the house of lords be arrested? by Whibla · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Care to share some specifics? Which Lord / Lady would you like arrested, and for what crime?

      If anything the House of Lords acts as a valuable 'brake' on some of the ludicrous legislation that comes out of the House of Commons. They come from a wide range of backgrounds, have a diversity of skills and education (unlike most career politicians, who invariably studied law at a prestigious university), and show, for the most part admirable restraint when it comes to knee-jerk media fed populist reactions.

      To, tangentially, digress, I'd heartily recommend the book "Mind Change - How digital technologies are leaving their mark on our brains" by Baroness Susan Greenfield, just one member of that House which you apparently so despise. How do your contributions to society rate, in comparison?

  2. Famous last words... by TWX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm really surprised that, "It's just a prank bro!" hasn't been documented on-video as famous last words.

    I guess I look at pranks on strangers as something that has to be limited enough that the person pranked will themselves laugh about it. It's one thing to prank your friends that you have an understanding with, but it's an entirely different matter to do something that affects otherwise-uninvolved third parties.

    This is a case of, "play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:Famous last words... by houstonbofh · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Have you noticed that you never see any of those prank videos in places like Texas, where many people in the general population are armed?

    2. Re:Famous last words... by twotacocombo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I guess I look at pranks on strangers as something that has to be limited enough that the person pranked will themselves laugh about it.

      Sure, like gluing a quarter to the ground or the ol' dollar bill on a fishing line trick; something that most people will instantly recognize as a silly, light-hearted prank and move on. One of my favorite memories was spending some time on a pier on Catalina island with a whoopie cushion, some friends, and some unsuspecting passers-by. However, many of these "pranks" I've seen recently involve some sort of direct interaction with the offender, and aren't easily escapable situations. If a prank starts making people feel uncomfortable, you've completely missed the mark. When a prank starts making people feel threatened, prepare to get your chops busted one way or another.

    3. Re:Famous last words... by 110010001000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No I haven't, because one of the biggest MTV prank shows is filmed in Texas. But oh yeah: everyone is afraid of your peashooter. I'm sure you will be protecting us all real soon now.

    4. Re:Famous last words... by MitchDev · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "If a prank starts making people feel uncomfortable, you've completely missed the mark."

      You've just banned ALL comedy, especially in the pathetic world we live in where someone is offended by/uncomfortable with everything...

    5. Re:Famous last words... by DerekLyons · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I guess I look at pranks on strangers as something that has to be limited enough that the person pranked will themselves laugh about it.

      Sure, like gluing a quarter to the ground or the ol' dollar bill on a fishing line trick; something that most people will instantly recognize as a silly, light-hearted prank and move on.

      This. But, looking at their channel, they had an awful lot of much more dangerous 'pranks' (faking shots fired in a parking garage, faking a street shooting in public). These are going to get The Man involved, and The Man (quite rightfully) takes a dim view of incidents deliberately designed to panic people. They also had more than a couple where they deliberately placed people (complete strangers) in fear of their lives... for amusement. Yet another crossing of the line of reasonability.

      Their channel name, Trollstation, gives the game away though... They weren't looking for laughs (a prank), they were (like all trolls) looking for attention. And they got the attention they deserved, the IRL equivalent of a banhammer.

    6. Re:Famous last words... by myowntrueself · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No I haven't, because one of the biggest MTV prank shows is filmed in Texas. But oh yeah: everyone is afraid of your peashooter. I'm sure you will be protecting us all real soon now.

      Dunno... if I were in one of those 'stand your ground' states and had a firearm and some fucker came up to me and slapped me while his pal filmed it, I'd feel pretty safe shooting them both in the guts.

      "Officer, I honestly felt my life was in danger".
      "Yep, nothin' to see here, move along."

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  3. Re:Never moving to the UK by houstonbofh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Fun for who?

  4. Idiots... by slasher999 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Pranks cross the line when emergency services (police, EMS and fire primarily) need to get involved, even to disprove a situation as an actual event. Real lives and property may be at stake and if these services are distracted by bs like this there absolutely should be consequences.

    1. Re:Idiots... by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Who's inventing a law? It's clearly a breach of the peace and arguably wasting police time.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  5. Re:Why do we always get this from the UK? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So weird. Am I the only person here who thinks it's odd that people who staged crimes and uploaded the video evidence to YouTube wouldn't be prosecuted for something just because they said "Just a prank lol! Lighten up lol!"

    Personally if somebody "pranked" me like that, I'd probably beat the shit out of them once I'd figured out I was in no real danger.

  6. Well.... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There are pranks and then there are *pranks*...and when the latter crosses the line into destruction of property or causing real fear among an unsuspecting group of people (Burger King employees, crowds, shoppers, whatever) then it's time to drop the ban hammer and prosecute them.

    A fake robbery and a fake kidnapping? They're fucking lucky someone didn't step in and shoot them. Over here in the US that kind of shit is likely to get you shot dead by someone who's not in on the "joke".

    If I saw someone that I thought was actually being kidnapped, you can damn sure bet I'd try and stop it.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    1. Re:Well.... by Vermonter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sure, take some photos (hope you're quick with your phone, you may only have a few seconds before the perpetrator is in their car and driving off with the victim), call the police, wait for them to get to where you, give them the pictures, and then let the police do their jobs (meanwhile the perpetrator has been driving away for 10-15 minutes, depending on how seriously the police take your phone call). Or, if you're physically able, you could actually try to stop the perpetrator while their location is known (i.e., right near you), and while you know the victim is still alive. But I get it... saving a life is "not my job" (tm)

    2. Re:Well.... by AlanBDee · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I remember once when I was working with juvenile kids who lived in a group home. We were at a park and one of the kids tried to run away. My co-worker ran to the van while I ran after the kid. About two blocks away I tackled the kid, my co-worker pulled up and put him in the van.

      To strangers what they saw was a teenager being run down by a much larger adult, tackled, and thrown into an unmarked van. The police were called, our license plate written down and it still took the police over an hour to find us.

      Had that been a planned abduction, with a stolen car and a quick switch to another vehicle they never would have found us. The police can't always reasonably respond to situations quickly enough. It's not their fault but as JustAnotherOldGuy said: in the US, you very could get shot doing pranks like that.

      At the same time, what if someone had intervened? What if I had been shot, shot at or another person tried to stop me "beating up the kid". What I did was completely legal, despite how bad the situation looked. The "good citizen" could have found themselves in a rough position to defend.

  7. Re:Good! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, how about it boys, let's see these young me get raped!
     
    What kind of life experiences led you to cheer on rape?

  8. Re:Harassment and abuse are never ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This.

    I have absolutely zero sympathy for these stupid prankster-generation retards.
    Unsolicited pranks are the height of awful. They are anti-social.

    Some people have even seriously broken down in some cases of people pranking them.
    Not those blatantly stupid fake breakdowns that is, I mean legit cases where police got involved, like this occasion as well.

    If it is harmless jokey funny pranks, fine.
    But if it is full-on anti-social, fake criminal scenarios, baiting people for attention and similar, then it becomes an issue.
    Keep that shit to friend groups.
    Friendly banter to one can be abusive to others.

  9. Re:Harassment and abuse are never ok by myowntrueself · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Just like the people who created Borat should have been jailed.

    Harassment and abuse are never ok.

    There are a lot of other videos like these also. I saw one where a woman went in public deliberately with her ass showing, then filmed guys reacting to it and she confronted them to embarrass them and accuse them of being perverts.

    There are a lot of sick creeps out there. I think the movie Borat unleashed a lot of this.

    I don't understand how Borat is not hate speech.

    --
    In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  10. Re:At least the got a trial... by HornWumpus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You don't prank do you?

    What you want is something that will only fool 1 in 100, who will see him/her self as a dummy when they finish panicking.

    When 99 people are laughing, or at least smiling, and the 'victim' is just mildly embarrassed for having pissed herself, you have a good prank.

    Good pranks: Radio controlled alligator head at snow melt fed lake (mine). Running out the door of a museum with a replica masterpiece.

    Not good prank: Fake kidnapping.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'