| Mark Meechan | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.png) Meechan during an interview in December 2017 | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | 19 October 1987[1] Coatbridge, Scotland
| |||||||||
| Political party | Scottish Libertarian Party | |||||||||
| Other political affiliations | UKIP (2018–2019) | |||||||||
| Occupation | YouTuber | |||||||||
| Spouse |
Suzanne Kelly
(m. 2019; div. 2024) | |||||||||
| Children | 2 | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Also known as | Count Dankula | |||||||||
| Channels | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2015–present | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 1.09 million (Count Dankula) 345,000 (Count Dankula 2) 17,600 (Count Dankula Streams)[4] | |||||||||
| Total views | 174 million (Count Dankula) 41.4 million (Count Dankula 2) 434,000 (Count Dankula Streams)[4] | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
Last updated: 29 November 2023 | ||||||||||
Mark Meechan (pronounced [miːkæn]) (born 19 October 1987[1]) is a Scottish YouTuber, comedian, and former candidate for the European Parliament. He uses the pseudonym Count Dankula.
Meechan received press coverage when he posted a video showing him teaching his girlfriend's dog how to raise its paw in the manner of a Nazi salute, and to react to the phrase "Do you wanna gas the Jews?"[5][6][7][8] Meechan was arrested and convicted of being "grossly offensive" under the Communications Act 2003, following a trial in March 2018. The arrest generated controversy and discussions about free speech.[9][10] In April 2018, Meechan was fined £800.[11][12] Meechan stated he would not pay the fine,[13] and instead donated £800 to the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity.[14] In March 2019, the money was seized from his bank account by an arrestment order.[15]
- ^ a b Meechan, Mark [@CountDankulaTV] (17 October 2018). "It's My Birthday" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 May 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ @SUEHULK (16 June 2019). "Look how handsome @CountDankulaTV is!" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ https://x.com/CountDankulaTV/status/1805206968988045813 [bare URL]
- ^ a b "About Count Dankula". YouTube.
- ^ Norton, Oliver (20 April 2016). "Shocking video shows man training 'Hitler dog' to perform a Nazi salute". Mirror Online. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ "Video of man teaching dog Nazi salute meets outrage". Times of Israel. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Hate crime trial of YouTube user over video of dog 'taught to do Nazi salute'". The Telegraph. 12 September 2017. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Man guilty of hate crime over 'Nazi pug'". BBC News. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Man convicted of hate crime for video of dog giving Nazi salute". NY Daily News. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "YouTuber Count Dankula could face year in jail for Nazi dog video". Newshub. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ Dearden, Lizzie (23 April 2018). "Man who filmed girlfriend's dog giving Nazi salutes fined £800". The Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ Count Dankula (15 November 2018). Young Independence 2018 – Count Dankula. Retrieved 15 November 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Nazi dog Youtuber donates court fine to charity". HeraldScotland. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:6was invoked but never defined (see the help page).