I love living in Orlando and we have a proud gaming culture here. We have conventions and gatherings where many of us can get together and celebrate our hobby and passions. We also have Lan Gaming Centers, Tournaments and even a fairly fantastic arcade where we can form friendships and rivalries through both completive and cooperative play. We also have a couple of great Universities here that offer amazing degree programs for those wanting to make a living in with the creation of games(though my University is way more awesome!). You’d think with all the gamers in this town we’d get some great and well-researched coverage when it comes to anything relating to the culture. But after reading a story picked up on Kotaku that was reported by Orlando’s own Local 6 news, I am sad to say that is not the case.

‘Video-Gaming’ Child Predators Offering Points for Nude Photos, says Detective

The above article has a a text version of the article and a link to watch the video goes into detail but is incredibly absurd. It almost could have passed as a video for The Onion with it’s level of theatrics and and misinformation. But unfortunately, its a news story coming out of my own city. I can’t find any real information of who “state attorney Cybercrime Detective” Lt. David Maurer is but if you watch that video, you can clearly see that he is a lair. I decided to e-mail Local 6 news about the story and I urge that you do the same as well. This link will take you to their e-mail field where you can send your thoughts to any department that you find relevant. I sent it to anything that had “news” or “web staff” in the title.

Below the jump is a copy of the e-mail I have sent to the various departments. Hopefully it will inspire you on what you can write.

I am writing in absolute disappointment upon reading the article “‘Video-Gaming’ Child Predators Offering Points for Nude Photos, Says Detective” which can be read at http://www.local6.com/family/16995600/detail.html and watching the video that the article is based on. I have never seen such misleading information presented as fact when it comes to coverage on videogames. You guys have managed to stoop lower than Fox News’ coverage of “Mass Effect.” Congratulations. I am going to keep things simple; “state attorney Cybercrime Detective” Lt. David Maurer is a liar.

In the story, he claims that pedophiles can give kids “game points” for submitting nude photos of themselves. While I agree that it is possible that games, like any other form of communication, can be exploited to take advantage of children, it cannot be done in a manner Lt. David Maurer has described. There are no such things as “Game Points” that can be given by game players to other game players. It does not exist on Sony’s Playstation 3, Playstation 2 or Playstation Portable. It does not exist on Microsoft’s Xbox360 or Xbox. It does not exist on Nintendo’s Wii, DS, or Gamecube console platforms. It is a not a feature of “World of Warcraft,” a game that was featured prominently in the news story.

I really don’t know why Lt. David Maurer made up false information for the news story, but I will let you know that it is wrong. To help clear things up, in games for consoles such as Microsoft’s Xbox360, gamers can unlock achievements for their games and increase a gamer score that would be displayed on their Xbox Live profile. These achievements are only granted by the game program itself and no other source. Also, the Xbox 360’s online gaming service, known as Xbox Live, has to be paid for by credit card. So if parents are buying the service for their children, then they will know that their kids are playing online.

I could cite more examples that would further prove the news story’s complete lack of credibility, but I think I have proven my point. I have seen stories that were totally fabricated out of false information before and then enhance the theatrics of the presentation to make the misleading information seem more convincing to the average viewer who may not be as informed of the subject matter as I am, but this whole story is just sad. You have made Orlando look bad with this coverage and now I can no longer watch Local 6 or visit the website anymore.

I don’t know if Local 6 staff will read their e-mails but I think that i got the point across. Hopefully, you guys will too.