OTTAWA – A class action lawsuit has been filed against the media website TimeSuck by a group of users who viewed an online video and found it to be well within the realm of believability, contrary to claims made in the video’s title.
The clip, titled “When This Cat Catches a Mouse… You Won’t Believe What Happens Next”, features a small domesticated cat timidly playing with a cornered mouse instead of killing it, which the people bringing forth the case say they found well within the realm of believability.
“It’s entirely plausible that a domesticated animal might behave in this way,” says Robert Chen, the lawyer who filed the suit, “Many pet cats have the killing instinct bred out of them, or have had their claws clipped or removed. This cat was probably fed well enough that it would not be worth the trouble of killing a mouse – in fact it may have never seen a mouse before. At no point did my clients doubt the credibility or reality of the event they were witnessing.”
None of the plaintiffs in the case were compelled to consult animal experts or special effects firms regarding the authenticity of the video, though they do agree that the clip was slightly to moderately cute. “But that’s not what they were promised,” says Chen.
Sara Balfour, a spokesperson for TimeSuck, says they’ll be backing their case in court. “You’ll never look at this lawsuit the same way again after you see our defence,” she says, maintaining that TimeSuck adheres to high standards when creating content headlines. She adds there are at least “9 ways TimeSuck’s editorial policy will restore your faith in humanity,” and is confident that the company can beat the suit using “one weird trick that judges don’t want you to know about.”
According to Chen, it’s all about clarity. “Just call it “Cat and mouse kind of stare at each other in a weird way,” he says, “my clients still would have watched it. These people watch six hours of internet videos every work day. They’ll literally watch anything, they’re just tired of being told how to feel.”
TimeSuck recently settled a similar lawsuit out of court after viewers read an article on the site but continued to look at their favourite Disney characters the same way again. The company is also investigating a complaints regarding a two minute video clip in which this 12 year old girl fails to completely dismantle the patriarchy, and another piece in which readers complained J. K. Rowling did not totally destroy Trump’s presidency with just one tweet.
