Andy Parker, the father of former WDBJ reporter Alison Parker, is attempting what he’s calling a “hail mary” attempt to get the video of his daughter’s murder removed from the internet.
Parker has created an NFT of his daughter’s murder in an attempt to gain control of the video’s copyright. Alison Parker and station cameraman Adam Ward were murdered live on WDBJ, Roanoke’s CBS station, in 2014.
WDBJ parent company Gray Television reportedly owns the copyright to the original video, which has been viewed millions of times on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and other sites.
Parker complained to the FTC in October that companies like Facebook misrepresent the safety of their platforms and how hard it is to get harmful and traumatic content removed.
“Alison’s murder, shared on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, is just one of the egregious practices that are undermining the fabric of our society,” he said last year.
Kevin Latek, chief legal officer for Gray, told the Post the clip doesn’t show Parker’s murder since the “video does not show the assailant or the shootings during the horrific incident.”
He told the paper in a statement that Gray has “repeatedly offered to provide Mr. Parker with the additional copyright license” to call on social media outlets to remove the video “if it is being used inappropriately.”