– No one knows if it is an illegal substance, and the picture was deleted quite quickly, says law professor at the University of Bergen (UiB), Hans Fredrik Marthinussen, to Dagbladet.
On Sunday, influencer and NRK profile Sophie Elise Isachsen (28) published a picture on Instagram that has created discussions in social media.
In the picture, she was pictured with a friend, the latter holding a small plastic bag in her hand with white contents. Underneath the post, she has written:
“Life becomes about a billion times more fun when you just give a damn”.
The image was quickly deleted from the influencer’s Instagram profile.
So far, 800 complaints have been received by the Broadcasting Council about the NRK podcast “Sophie og Fetisha”.
– Jumping to conclusions
The law professor – who has previously been critical of the Norwegian Narcotics Police Association – believes the media storm surrounding Sophie Elise is special.
– I’m no expert on press ethics, but I don’t see what public interest this has, says Marthinussen and adds:
– It’s not Sophie Elise holding the bag either.
The UiB professor believes that the harsh exchange of words around the influencer reflects the drug debate in society.
– This is a general problem in the drug debate. There is a stigma there – and people jump to conclusions without having the facts on the table.
CRITICAL: Law professor Hans Fredrik Marthinussen is critical of the media coverage of Sophie Elise in recent days. Photo: Alice Klokkeide
sea view
– Worse to drive on red
Marthinussen explains to Dagbladet that if the contents of the bag were to be of an illegal nature, it would not be particularly punishable anyway.
– It depends on which substance, and in what quantities, but basically this is not very serious. In such a bag there is hardly more than a failure to prosecute. It is considerably worse to run a red light, he says.
Marthinussen repeats that Isachsen – who posted the picture – has not done anything wrong according to the law anyway.
– Sophie Elise has done nothing wrong. To the extent that someone has done something wrong, it is the other person. You cannot sanction someone because they know someone who is wearing something suspicious in a photo. It would be difficult if someone were to be legally sanctioned for such a picture.
On Monday evening, Christina Rezk Resar, acting editor in NRK Entertainment, announced that NRK should have “a thorough talk with Sophie Elise” before they wanted to make a statement.
On Tuesday, the message came that the conversation had taken place and that the photo sharing would not have any consequences for the cooperation between the state channel and Isachsen.
