A new verb: to usmanov

I’ve just invented a new word:

usmanov /’us mə nɒv/ verb to unsuccessfully attempt to stifle undesired content on the Internet by taking legal action against websites where the content appears, with the result that the undesired content becomes more widespread and better known. [named after Alisher Usmanov, a Russian/Uzbek billionaire who did this regarding allegations made against him by Craig Murray. First use 2007.]

Here’s an example of usage:

Left Behind Games, a company making religiously-themed computer games, were annoyed by the negative reviews that their games were getting, so they usmanoved some bloggers. As a result, the negative coverage of their games got more publicity.

(via Techdirt; also published on The Sharpener)

Craig Murray is back

Here.

Usmanov and Schillings couldn’t gag him forever!

(via Bloggerheads)

Usmanov and Schillings can go fuck themselves

Who’s heard the phrase “when you’ve dug yourself into a hole, the fist thing to do is stop digging”? Not Alisher Usmanov, the Russian/Uzbek billionaire who’s been described as a “gangster and racketeer” in the European Parliament. Nor his lawyers, Schillings, who apparently specialise in attempting to gag free speech.

This time Schillings have issued a takedown notice against Indymedia:

Indymedia UK has been issued with a takedown notice [10th of September & 21st of September] from lawyers acting for Alisher Usmanov. The notice served to Indymedia charged Indymedia with publishing allegedly libellous accusations about Usmanov, one of the richest men in Russia, recently linked to a possible hostile takeover of Arsenal FC.

As Obsolete points out:

This only makes Usmanov’s charm offensive this week, involving the flying via private jet of at least 9 British journalists to his offices in Moscow, then putting them up in a five star hotel all the more shallow. He says he’s not a vindictive man and that some of Murray’s allegations are beneath his dignity to respond to, yet his lackey of legal brown-nosing sycophants are still trying to remove all mentions and republishing of Murray’s original post, while still failing to respond either to Murray’s request for them to sue him or to even explain how inaccurate his allegations are, apart from their completely untrue argument that Usmanov was pardoned by Gorbachev.

If either Schillings or Usmanov think we’re going to continue to take their attempts to silence all criticism of this deeply unpleasant man lying down, then they’ve got another thing coming.

Do Schillings and Usmanov really think they can browbeat the entire Internet into submission? Including those parts of it with more sensible libel laws than the UK?

(via Chicken Yoghurt)

Usmanov buys favourable coverage in newspapers

Bloggerheads is reporting that Alisher Usmanov has paid for a planeload of British journalists to go to Moscow on his private jet and stay at the luxury Kempinski Hotel. The journalists then wrote articles about him and his attempt to buy Arsenal FC. Most of the subsequent articles didn’t mention that the journalists got a free trip and hotel stay. Details:

Via Arsenal News Review (with one extra added by moi) a list of 9* 8 of the 10 journalists reported to have been flown to and from Moscow by Alisher Usmanov on a Gulfstream 550 private jet and put up at the five-star Kempinski Hotel:

David Bond (The Daily Telegraph): The resulting article makes much of Usmanov’s ‘knowledge’ of Arsenal, describes Murray’s allegations as “an extraordinary attack” and our only hint about travel and accommodation is given in the following passage; “…in an effort to dispel the mystery and set the record straight, Usmanov invited British journalists to Moscow, to explain his side of the story.”

Jason Burt (The Independent): Two articles here and here, but no mention of travel or accommodation.

Shaun Custis (The Sun): The resulting article is very light on detail when discussing Usmanov’s past, which this ‘journalist’ describes as ’smears’. There is no mention of travel or accommodation.

Matt Dickinson (The Times): The resulting article mentions travel, but not accommodation. [MINI-UPDATE: Another article gives readers some clue as to what's going on by using the words "charm offensive".... but makes no mention of some rather important specifics that show how offensive it is.]

Martin Lipton (The Mirror): Articles headed ‘Martin Lipton in Moscow’ here and here, but no mention of how he got there, and no mention of any fuss over Usmanov’s past. All the folks at home get is “Alisher loves Arsenal.” Way to go, Martin Lipton.

Charlie Sale (The Daily Mail): Sale is quite specific about travel and accommodation here and here, but he dutifully states in his main article that; “Usmanov was pardoned by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev” (all that jetting about can’t have left much time for research).

Matt Scott (The Guardian): The resulting article airs more detail than most, but does not mention travel or accommodation.

Personally, from now on I’m going to trust blogs over the mainstream press regarding stories about Usmanov.

(via Mr Eugenides)

Three hundred and two (302)

That’s the number of blogs currently covering the story that Alisher Usmanov censored Craig Murray’s articles about him, which suggested that he isn’t a very nice person. (On the contrary, Mr Usmanov is in fact a very nice person, despite the fact that he is close to the brutal Uzbek dictator Islom Karimov).

The list is available over at Chicken Yoghurt …