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Last month there was an anti-lockdown rally in London with circa 150,000 marching. Some were saying that it was a similar size to the Iraq war rally.
As I recall the Iraq war rally was 1.5m. Bit of a difference, though to be fair 150k is not no one.
A quick google reveals that to be slightly wide of the mark.
Get out of here with your relevant fact checking.
Right wingers want a full house of poodles.
Not satisfied with the majority of high circulation newspapers, they have gone after the state broadcaster, who's audience is generally older and increasingly so (licence payers) i.e. people who actually vote, not festival goers who get trollied the night before and can't be arsed.
Strap in for a full Fox News makeover. The thirsty simpletons (think Mad Max Fury Road water) are ravenous for it.
The BBC's use as a mouthpiece for the government is not to join the rabid right wing media, but to legitimise the shift of the "overton window" by being in the middle of it.
If anyone doubts the BBC's descent into Pravda - after the blanket coverage of Labour's anti semitism issues, the Tory report into Islamophobia, which has been described by some within their own party as a whitewash and a disgrace, is three page scrolls down, and titled thus:
Report says PM burka remark suggests insensitivity
the Tory report into Islamophobia, which has been described by some within their own party as a whitewash and a disgrace, is three page scrolls down,
5th headline on the BBC News app, and my Samsung phone screen shows the first four. And it's been 4th or 5th headline all day.
So I'm not sure what device you are having to do 3 page scrolls on, or how you've got your screen laid out.
And 2nd story on the TV news, after the story about the government cocking up guidance on the pandemic.
Bloody government propaganda machine!
I go to the BBC news website now and I can't find any mention of it at all. I'm sure I could find it by searching but it doesn't seem to be anywhere amongst the headlines.
Front and centre on the politics page, didn't even need to use the search function. To be honest it's not really news is it, Boris turns out to be a bit racist, who'd have think it. The BBC is not right wing, it's very centrist and a bit too magazine program, although I do worry about the man the Torys have put in charge, that was blatantly political.
Biggest issue with the BBC is the level of emotionalism and lack of critical thinking. The number of times they've had some member of the public bawling their eyes out to illustrate some story, or the vox pops from idiots is really not news reporting. I don't care what some idiot from Bolton thinks of the pandemic, I want news of the vaccine effectiveness, a balanced view of the current spikes in Bolton, deeper discussion of the implications of the Belaraus plane incident.
Biggest issue with the BBC is the level of emotionalism and lack of critical thinking. The number of times they’ve had some member of the public bawling their eyes out to illustrate some story, or the vox pops from idiots is really not news reporting. I don’t care what some idiot from Bolton thinks of the pandemic, I want news of the vaccine effectiveness, a balanced view of the current spikes in Bolton, deeper discussion of the implications of the Belaraus plane incident.
I'll agree with that, but all news media is guilty of the same thing. Becomes a bit chicken and egg - is the news dumbed down to suit the viewers or have the viewers been dumbed down by the news?
The BBC is not right wing, it’s very centrist and a bit too magazine program
See this is what I mean by the legitimizing the shift of the “overton window” by being in the middle of it. The right wing press do the bat shit crazy stories, the window shifts to the right and the BBC legitimizes the shift by moving to the new central with their veneer of balance and respectability.
Thus tory racism is normalized and unquestioned.
Boris turns out to be a bit racist, who’d have think it.
If anyone doubts the BBC’s descent into Pravda – after the blanket coverage of Labour’s anti semitism issues, the Tory report into Islamophobia
It seems to me that the press (not just the BCC) are treating the Tory report into anti-Islamic issues in the same way that it reported the Shami Chakrabarti Labour anti-Semitism report. Both of these reports essentially are intended to serve the same purpose.
The fact that people here are so comfortable with the ludicrous double standard just shows how desensitized we've become to it.
The story isn't 'Boris is a bit racist, who'd have thunk it' but you've successfully fallen for the scam if you think that.
Look at these stats and tell me how one party has been crucified for racism and the other gets away scot free:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/conservative-islamophobia-labour-antisemitism-poll
Front and centre on the politics page, didn’t even need to use the search function.
Nowhere to be found (without searching) on https://www.bbc.co.uk/news for me - and I'm not logged in so I haven't got it set up strangely.
I usually (and correctly) defend the BBC against the hell-in-a-handcart claims on here and elsewhere, but they could have done a bit more on the Tory Islamphobia report.
Only mitigating circumstance may be that Keir has decided not to go on the attack about it, for reasons best-known to himself.
“It must step up to project British values as our national champion.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden
The MP for Hertsmere praised the “more powerful Board” the BBC now has – which includes Robbie Gibb, a Brexiteer with close ties to the Tories.
“The new leadership deserves credit for setting up an independent investigation and accepting Lord Dyson’s findings in full, and I expect them to act swiftly on all of his recommendations.”
The culture secretary said the government is looking into strenghtening the regulation of the BBC. “Its purpose is to look at issues such as the performance of the BBC Board and the effectiveness of the regulation by Ofcom,” he said, adding:
“We will need to be reassured that this system of governance and oversight is now sufficient.”
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/bbc-dowden-oliver-project-british-values-dyson-271087/
‘British values’ heh
And, battering the Beeb over a ****-up back in the mid-90s is bizarre.
BBC are in a bit of an impossible situation. They're bound to be impartial, but most people think that means not criticising their side. Of course, you can't offer an opinion on anything divisive without being seen to criticise one side or the other. That raises the question of how should you approach this? Do you simply not criticise anyone? Or praise both sides? You're damned if you do either of those things.
And it's not a case of 'simply reporting facts' because that's never simple, and any given set of facts you report will have people on one side or the other blaming you for not reporting other facts. And you cannot report every fact you'd be there forever, literally.
If they report a majority opinion, then the minority view will complain about victimisation and bias. On climate change, they show (or did show) view from 'both sides of the debate' which should be considered a good thing, however it resulted in damaging looney viewpoints getting the same airtime as the scientific consensus. People who don't want to change their lifestyle therefore end up latching onto the looney fringe and it does far more damage than good.
It's basically an impossible position.
I don’t care what some idiot from Bolton thinks of the pandemic, I want news of the vaccine effectiveness, a balanced view of the current spikes in Bolton, deeper discussion of the implications of the Belaraus plane incident.
Ah, so you're being elitist then? And you want the news to be inaccessible and for no-one to watch it? Wah wah etc.
Last month there was an anti-lockdown rally in London with circa 150,000 marching. Some were saying that it was a similar size to the Iraq war rally. Two days ago was the worldwide freedom day rally, around 100,000 marching in London along with other rallies in Manchester, Bristol, Glastonbury etc etc. as well as cities around the world. At the end of this month will be the largest rally in London.
This depresses me hugely. I know that some folk are unhappy about being asked to wear masks and that the person who posted this has referred to a "plandemic", but the human cost of Covid is to me very, very real. On the 8th May last year I lost an uncle - my last uncle in fact. Seven months later, his sister - my mum - was claimed by covid. My last conversation with her was horrible, she was on oxygen because her lungs were knackered and they were turning off her life support gradually to let her slip away. She fought for twelve more hours, until the dreaded phone call came through.
And here's the rub:
The child that is Marianna Spring tweeted after the April anti-lockdown rally that there were a couple of thousand anti-vaxxers and QAnon types there. Oh how predictable.
It's a very long and convoluted story, but I happen to know one of Marianna Spring's colleagues viz a viz some mutual friends. Ms Spring has done a lot of work researching disinformation, I follow her on twitter and have been subjected to abuse from people who've taken exception to me posting that I've lost loved ones to the virus. It must be shit for Ms Spring and her colleagues to have to sift through dozens of messages like these (abusive language warning) Here
It's simply not nice, is it?
So you see, I take a very dim view of covid skeptics. As it happens an old mate of mine from Sixth Form is in charge of an HDU in the midlands and has been working extended shifts to care for covid victims. He and I have mutual friends who've fallen into the conspiracy theory trap who've spouted endless bollocks about "plandemics" and whatnot - usually they're the same folk who've posted about election fraud or whatever conspiracy theory is currently fashionable - but they never think to just pick up the phone and talk to someone who might be in the front line, doing their bit to help people desperately sick from covid.
cinnamon_girl - I am very happy to put you in touch with my mate Matt (for that is his name) and you too can hear from him what it's like treating people drowning in their own lung fluid. Oh, and maybe ask your pals to leave Marianna Spring alone, eh?