The curious case of Alex Belfield and my experience with airsoft trolls…
This month internet troll Alex Belfield (pictured left) was sentenced to 4 years in prison by a British court for internet stalking of BBC presenter Jeremy Vine. Such a harsh punishment can be attributed to his refusal to put forward a defense in court, probably not a good idea when facing a jail sentence, but the most interesting aspect of this case is the relevance it has to the wider phenomenon of online trolling and ‘freedom to offend’ and the ‘freedom to lie’ about people on the internet.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-62925746
Alex Belfield’s misconstrued confidence in his position was that he believed, as many do, that the rules on the internet are different to everyday life. For example, nobody would believe that it is ok, or legal, to go up to somebody’s door every day and post through letters containing insults, threats, slanderous accusations or expressing a hope that the person will die or get beaten up walking down the street the next day. But seemingly Alex Belfield felt it was ok to do such a thing on the internet, as do many others. It is very common to see people behaving as if it is a perfectly normal thing to do, as long as it is done from behind a keyboard, on the youtube comments section, in facebook groups, on reddit, on the person’s facebook posts or their instagram feed.
We have become so accustomed to it, it is now so common, that we have become numb to it, it has become almost accepted, as if ‘oh well, that’s just the internet, nevermind’. But this behavior is not normal and, as the Alex Belfield case has shown, brings many people in breach of the law.
If for example a person wrote 100s of letters, every day, over the course of 2 or 3 years, to a person, or where that person works, accusing them of being violent, criminals, or a liar and a thief. Does anybody expect that person to sit quietly and accept it, or would it be normal for them to contact the police. And would we expect the police to investigate such a case? And what if that person went further, and sent thousands of letters to people encouraging them to do the same, inciting hatred in the community. That person would, without doubt, be facing arrest. and would be asked to defend their actions in a court of law.
But why, or how, is it different if it takes pace on the internet? According to the Alex Belfeld case, it is not. The judge in the case stated that Belfield had “weaponised the internet” as he sentenced him to years in jail.
The importance of the case shows that, as it is not ok to stand in the middle of a busy high street and shout out slanderous accusations and spread lies about people, in the same way it is illegal to do that on the internet. Slandering, threats and harassment is just as much a matter for the police to get involved as it is if it happens on the street.
So why is this relevant to myself, and other airsoft youtubers like me? Well perhaps it will deliver a truth to many of the keyboard warriors in the community.
People like Jack Wastnidge, real name Jack Blackett,(pictured right of the pdf he distributes around the internet), an assistant at Lincolnshire Airsoft Club, a person who I have never met, and an airsoft field I have never visited. Mr. Watsnidge has spent a number of years obsessively writing 100s, perhaps now into the thousands of posts about me, on facebook, Reddit and instagram. Spreading lies that I have used illegal airguns at events, injured children, ambulances being called because of the injuries I caused, I cheat, lie and break the law. And that I am a racist. He messages fields, which I have never attended, pressuring them to ban me, explaining to them the crimes he accuses me of, and how the field he works for has banned me, as have other fields I have not visited who he has persuaded to ban me. He encourages others to join his campaign, organising hate groups on facebook, spreading elaborate PDFs of his accusations on reddit and trawling the comments on my content to invite people into his groups. Wastnidge’s harassment is so public, continuous and has taken place over a number of years that it causes many of the followers of his campaign to become so enraged that they make threats of violence against me or wish that others would do the same, such is their belief in his claims that, among other things, I use air weapons and injure woman and children. His behavior, and the behavior of a handful of others like him, is not just reprehensible, it is as the case of Alex Belfield shows, illegal.
These people, like Alex Belfield, have fallen for the idea that just because it is said on the internet you can escape the law if you sit at home in your bedroom typing it out on facebook, instagram or making a video on youtube. Perhaps the case will bring home this uncomfortable truth to the likes of Watsnidge and all the other keyboard warriors who infest the airsoft community in the UK. It is not ok. It is illegal.
Ps. If anybody knows Lincolnshire Airsoft Club Employee Jack Wastnidge’s contact details, would you please forward them to me as Linconshire Police need them to have a chat with him. Thank you.
