This morning there was an article on the front page of the Guardian saying they had received a gagging order preventing them “from reporting parliamentary proceedings” so as soon as I could get to a computer I went on Twitter and sure enough Guardian and #Trafigura (the supposed relevant story) were trending topics. Stephen Fry with his 800,000+ followers is talking about it and there are countless blogs where you can find the relevant information.

All the gagging order has done is brought more attention to the story than it might have had otherwise. I mean how stupid do you have to be? You can’t manipulate what is said about you anymore, if the papers don’t say it then the blogs or Twitter will. You only have to look at the embarrassment the British Chiropractic Association’s case against Simon Singh has caused them and the now calls for libel reform to understand the power of social networking and the internet. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson to any one in the future that tries to silence the press; you can’t gag the internet.

Have some links:

Guardian Gagged from Reporting Parliament

What The Guardian’s Banned From Telling You

The Parliamentary Question Carter Ruck and Trafigura don’t want you to see