Friday 13 December 2019

The Problem of Partisan Propaganda Peddled by the British Media

What has the nation needed since the 2016 referendum was announced ?

Indeed, what is the media there for ? To serve narrow interests? To act as an outlet to a vocal, elite few ? To persuade a quiet majority to a particular view that results in a particular parliamentary make up ?

Surely the media is ultimately a public service. The media should serve the public. What we needed was a broad, well informed and balanced debate with views expressed from all sides. Like a Roman forum, a place where all opinions are heard.



There were so many questions that we needed to address and consider. What could we expect over the next five years if we remained in the EU ?

What could we expect over the next five years if we left the EU ?

If the EU is like a train on a track, where is it headed ?

What opportunities might we find if we left the EU against if we stayed ? What level of corruption is there in the EU ? How well do they steward the resources that we contribute from the public purse ?

The Daily Mirror front page yesterday read : VOTE LABOUR. If that is not unequivocal propaganda, what is ? The BBC made plain its’ opposition over the period to Leavers in general and to Boris in particular. Interviews ranged from the sympathetic and appreciative of Remainers to the openly hostile and combative of Leavers. There was one minor BBC report investigating the question of how porous is the border between Sweden and Norway: Norwegians in their hundreds drive across the border to the EU to buy cheaper food and drinks; the authorities turn a blind eye. What about the thousands of miles of border to the East of the EU ? Not a squeak. No one was despatched to Latvia  to enquire on the on the porosity of the border with Russia. The latter report was the exception. The rule was to focus on the immediate and latest updates on the machinations and plots by Remainers to thwart the 2016 referendum result. The focus was only part of the picture. The emphasis gave voice to a select few in the forum.

The election was divisive. The media was partly responsible for accentuating that divisiveness. The media was effectively anti-democratic; it did not respect the demos sufficiently to give us the full breadth of the debate. Many of the Remainers did not respect the majority of the demos. As Johnny Mercer MP pointed out during the night on Sky News, the result was not shocking if you had spoken to people on doorsteps; it was only shocking if you had followed the British media.

Of note, the French.and American press are reporting, on the whole, with support, encouragement and a view to the future.

The need to address the appalling anti Semitism looked at another day. Democracy has won. A beautiful  thing.

This is the beginning of a new chapter. Let there be less bigotry and more open debate in the Forum. 

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