Synopsis

The video investigates how McDonald’s libel campaigners to silence.

The video begins in Woolwich, South London, during a Greenpeace protest of the 20th anniversary of McDonald's in the UK. They accuse McDonald's of damaging the environment, being cruel to animals, exploiting their staff and silencing their critics. So McDonald’s is threatening to sue them. Another activist from a vegetarian grassroots activist group says McDonald’s is threatening to sue them for their research into the company’s active participation in deforestation. McDonald’s has also threatened to sue BBC Nature, Spitting Image, The Militant, The Guardian, Today Newspaper, Channel 4, Veggies Nottingham, World Wildlife Fund, Scottish TUC, Bournemouth Advertiser, TIC London, The Vegetarian Society. Two activists Dave Morris and Helen Steel refused to back down and we see a video of protestors outside court for McDonald’s vs Morris and Steel in July 1994. John Wadham from Liberty points out that MCDonald’s is using all their resources to sue two unemployed people, while Wadham also highlights the need for Legal Aid for defamation and libel cases especially for individuals standing against massive corporations.