This has been a long week for Amanda Knox. On Tuesday, July 1, 2014, her ex-lover Raffaele Sollecito held a press conference where he withdrew her alibi. Soon after, a news story about her cell phone connections to cocaine dealers along with her bank statements suggesting that she had an expensive drug habit at the time of Meredith Kercher’s murder were released. The recent stories are very serious and could lead to Knox’s extradition from the U.S.
Knox and her PR firm have remained silent throughout these bombshell revelations. Instead of an official comment from the Knox camp, some “World Exclusive pictures” of Amanda Knox have been published on the Daily Mail UK news website. The photos show Knox walking through a park and ostentatiously handing a clump of twenty-dollar bills to her friend, James Terrano. This latest article on Knox was prominently displayed on the top front page of the Daily Mail UK’s website.
“Exclusive” is a word used repeatedly in the press for Amanda Knox. Nearly all of the many interviews she has given over the past year have been called “exclusive.”
People familiar with Knox and her PR know that they like to use the Daily Mail to spread sympathetic stories about her. Shortly after her guilty verdict was upheld, back in January 2014, Amanda Knox tweeted a selfie holding a sign which said in Italian, “We are innocent.” People all over the internet began parodying this picture and photoshopping new messages in the sign she held.
The Daily Mail UK chose not to cover this side of the story. Instead, they ran an article supportive of Knox, showing mostly her friends and family holding signs which repeated her message of innocence. The Daily Mail UK was the only news website to run a piece with pictures of Knox’s supporters holding selfies with signs.
Now the Daily Mail UK is displaying a “world exclusive” exposé which includes pictures of Knox holding up a wad of cash in front of James while allegedly “sobbing and speaking animatedly” however, a cursory glance at the photos fails to show a tear or any clear sign of “sobs” or “animation.”
Is this latest “exclusive” news item simply an attempt to garner sympathy for Knox? Comments below the article show some support for the convicted felon with cries of her privacy being invaded.
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