![]() This is a story, first and foremost, about a photograph - a two-dimensional still image of a single moment in time. And all because one Philadelphia woman decided she’d had enough. It’s a case that has the potential to fundamentally change the way the internet works at a time when both sides of America’s raging culture wars seem to think business as usual on the internet should change-and when public opinion has never been more stacked against Facebook and its ilk. More than two years and one pandemic later, her case against Facebook is still alive, and it could wind up in the U.S. Though I thought it was an interesting case when I first reported on it, I wasn’t exactly willing to bet on Hepp, either.īut don’t count Karen Hepp out just yet. But at the end of the day, not too many people seemed to think she had a chance. Yes, there were supporters who gave Hepp virtual high fives, along with the trolls who come out whenever a local celebrity says anything about anything. When news of the lawsuit broke, many social media pontificators had the same perspective. I know what you’re thinking: Good luck with that, Karen. So in September 2019, Hepp filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia’s federal court seeking $10 million in damages. She says that after getting nowhere sending cease-and-desist letters and takedown requests to the internet behemoths involved, she found a lawyer who was willing to go after them for her. “‘Did you know your picture is on this website?!’ I was horrified.” “I would even get emails from viewers once in a while,” Hepp, 51, recalls. And, proving that some people on the internet have way, way, way too much time on their hands, somebody edited the photo to include video of a man masturbating in the background and then uploaded the animated gif to Giphy. It appeared in a subreddit called OBSF, another not-safe-for-work acronym that stands for - well, you can just google it. It was in the “MILF” section of image-hosting-and-sharing service Imgur. It was in an ad for erectile dysfunction treatment. The photo turned up in other places, some of which were uncovered by investigators at Fox’s corporate office in New York City.Īn exhibit from the Karen Hepp lawsuit against Facebook showing the photo and the ad at the center of the suit (image courtesy Karen Hepp) Those were bad enough, especially considering that Hepp is a very happily married mother of three - a fact that’s a big part of her professional brand. You think to yourself, ‘What did I do?’ And then it’s just… ‘Why am I in these dating ads!?!’”īut it wasn’t just ads for dating sites. “When that happens, you think you’re in trouble. “Usually, the last people you want to find out about something like this are the people you work with.”Įventually, a Fox 29 manager called Hepp into a conference room with a deeply concerned look on his face. “ Everybody at work knew about it,” Hepp says. And as we all know, local TV news personalities are pretty much the only non-sport celebrities in Philly. Gossiping about co-workers is standard operating procedure in almost any workplace. Another colleague happened to see a similar ad. “View Single Ladies,” the button at the bottom of the ad coaxed the viewer. Keeley had been interacting with her five days a week for years. “Meet your girlfriend,” read the ad, just below Hepp’s smiling face and a bit more cleavage than she shows on the morning news. It was Karen Hepp’s photo … in an ad for a dating app. According to Hepp, Keeley was scrolling around on his cluttered Facebook feed when an image jumped out at him. show, and later joins Alex Holley and Mike Jerrick for the 9 a.m. The video went viral.īut the Keeley moment that sticks in Hepp’s mind is from 2018, eight years after she joined Fox 29, where she co-anchors the earliest morning broadcast, the 4-to-6 a.m. You know Steve Keeley: He’s the perpetually tanned, square-jawed Fox 29 breaking-news reporter whose most memorable moment at the station may have been when he was almost run over by a snowplow while covering a local 2014 snowstorm. Photograph by Emily AssiranĪs best as Karen Hepp can remember, Steve Keeley was the first to see it. Fox 29 news anchor Karen Hepp is fighting back against Facebook.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |