So i hope at least a few read the paper and assess their method

I did, which is what made question the journal's quality for publishing something so easily picked apart.

My comment was honestly less for you than anyone else clicking through, to save them a click. This is "peer reviewed" only in the sense that the author paid $260 for a "publish review" because they couldn't get into a reputable journal.

https://beallslist.net/standalone-journals/

Might want to check if you're reading a predatory journal next time and save your reading time for something more worthwhile.

All broadcast television shows are aired for free too, but that doesn't keep them from being easily pirated.

That "you wouldn't download a car" became the meme while the ad itself said "you wouldn't steal a car" drives home exactly how effective these ads were at conflating the two.

Yeah, I guess so. Best I can recall, most people I knew were either avid pirates or casually saw it as low-level criminal activity by the early 2000s.

You've never seen this? Never heard "home taping is killing music" or "don't copy that floppy"?

I blame the "piracy is stealing" advertising/propaganda. It was super effective, given that we all remember it.

Editing to add one of my favorite videos in the other direction, Copying is Not Theft.