Monday, June 2, 2014
The mass murder of six individuals by Elliot Rodgers has led to much speculation about the causes of such horrific violence. Some people have blamed mental illness while others have pointed to a gun culture and/or a misogynistic society as contributors to the tragedy. But some reporters have even blamed creatine for Rodgers' actions!
A headline titled “Virgin killer 'hooked' on bodybuilder pill'” written by Christopher Bucktin appeared in the print edition of the UK newspaper the Daily Mirror. It claimed that Rodgers went berserk after he started using the popular bodybuilding supplement creatine.
The Mirror alleged that Rodgers was a frequent contributor to the Bodybuilding.com forums and was considered “a serial killer in the making” by many forum members. But it was his creatine use that was said to have concerned a friend contacted by the Daily Mirror.
Emma Foster, a journalist for the Daily Mirror, had been browsing Facebook looking for friends of Rodgers. She stumbled upon a fake Facebook account for Rodgers and proceeded to contact the people on his friends list via private message.
This was how Foster came into contact with “Chris Akin”. Akin claimed to have met Rodgers at the Isla Vista GNC; they allegedly struck up a conversation and became friends.
“[Rodgers] would also tell me how he wanted to get into the bodybuilding lifestyle and started on creatine around four months ago,” Akins wrote. “I could notice the anger and changes everytime we spoke on skype.”
Foster seized upon the creatine link to the tragedy.
“It must have been hard to see the changes in him when he started taking creatine,” Foster wrote. “Did he ever get angry with you or was his anger directed at his issues with girls and fitting in? Did he take creatine every day?”
“Akin”, who really never knew Rodgers and was nothing more than an internet troll who posted on online bodybuilding forums under names like “ghettocandyman”, knew he had a gullible reporter on the line.
“Anyway as for creatine, I believe he took it everyday, he wouldn't answer my questions about his usage but as time went on you could totally tell the changes in his character,” Akin continued. “He wasn't very different at first, but then as time went on it seemed like he was getting into dark places emotionally.”
Despite such a ridiculous assertion that creatine could have contributed to such a tragedy, the story gained credibility as several other Murdoch-owned newspapers continued to report the “exclusive” story as fact. The NY Post, the Daily Mail, The Herald Sun, and news.com.au all ran with the story.
The internet story that launched the news cycle – “California shooting: British serial killer Elliot Rodgers was 'hooked on bodybuilding supplement pills” – was eventually taken down.
But this was not before various dietary supplement industry groups responded to the story and gave it even more credibility through their denials.
Dr. Adam Carey, the chair of the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA), wanted to make it clear that creatine couldn't possibly have contributed to Rodgers' actions. After all, creatine is not an anabolic steroids and can not be linked to “roid rage”.
“It is crucial that people know that creatine is not an anabolic steroid and therefore has no association with what is commonly referred to nowadays as 'roid rage', as is implied in this very unfortunate scenario.”
Duffy MacKay, the senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), also wanted to emphasize that creatine is not an anabolic steroid.
“Creatine is not an anabolic steroid, nor is it a hormone,” MacKay wrote in a statement. “There is no reason to believe that using creatine would lead to psychological changes or side effects, to addiction or dependence, or to other safety risks.”
“We extend our sympathies to the families and friends who lost their loved ones, and we regret having to step into the story. We urge the press to more carefully check their facts and more cautiously rely on their sources.”
And we certainly encourage the ESSNA and the CRN to also check their facts when throwing anabolic steroids under the bus. After all, ESSNA and CRN have no greater credibility when suggesting that the story would have been entirely plausible if steroids were identified as the culprit instead of creatine.
The fact that this story gained any sort of traction in the media is a sad reflection of the many so-called “journalists” who are willing to suspend any and all critical journalistic skills in the quest for a sensationalistic angle on a breaking news story.
Source:
Americanluxurymag.com. (May 28, 2014). Hooked on ‘Creatine’? Major News Outlets Fall for Elaborate Elliot Rodger Hoax. Retrieved from: http://www.americanluxurymag.com/2014/05/28/major-news-outlets-fall-for-elaborate-elliot-rodger-hoax/
Starling, S. (May 28, 2014). Serial killer's creatine use no link to 'roid rage'. Retrieved from www.nutraingredients.com/Consumer-Trends/Serial-killer-s-creatine-use-no-link-to-roid-rage/
.jpg)
