The last few months has seen many voices produce or repeat misinformation and disinformation. Lie after lie is told with some getting very wealthy as a result. Many are rejecting a nutritious diet of facts for the offal of lies. The following is an incident that occured before the far right riots. It happened in Australia and was allowed by the media regulatory bodies to go unpunished. As a direct consequence other voices were liberated to spread misinformation, disinformation and lies that caused havoc and mayhem across the country and beyond.
If OFCOM and other regulatory bodies had the authority to shut these voices out of our consciousness we would all be psychologically much healthier.
‘British journalist and presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer suggested the stabbings were “another terror attack by another Islamist terrorist”, while TV presenter Rachel Riley said it was part of a “Global Intifada”. They both later retracted their posts.’ (BBC)
The British media regulator, Ofcom, recently chose not to pursue an investigation into a British news presenter who made derogatory remarks to her Arab talk-show guest, including suggesting that he was unaccustomed to women speaking. This decision has raised questions about the regulator’s efficacy.
Julia Hartley-Brewer, on her Talk Radio show, suggested that an individual who attacked and killed Australians at a Sydney mall was an “Islamist terrorist”?
Journalists used to be proud of facts. Now many are paid top dollar just to spread propaganda and be the purveyors of falsehoods and hate. Twenty four hour media tends to go largely unregulated. That is not to say that they do not belong to regulators. It is safe to say that regulators like OFCOM are not protecting the public interests. Something else has grabbed their groins and they simply do what they are told. If this were not the case, GB News would have had their licence removed a long time ago.
For example, research indicates that over 50 percent of reporting and discussions concerning Muslims on British television in the past year emanated from just two right-leaning channels. Much of this coverage perpetuated conspiratorial narratives portraying Muslims as infiltrators bent on converting Britain into an Islamic state.
A former BBC journalist, after observing GB News for a month, characterised the channel as a space where different factions within the right-wing spectrum operate with little cohesion or accountability.
Julia Hartley-Brewer was not alone in hastily drawing conclusions about the Sydney incident. Rachel Riley, a presenter on Channel 4 known for her pro-Israel stance, also made assertions linking the attack to increased support for Palestine, dubbing it a “globalised intifada.”. Riley later expressed regret for her remarks, claiming they were misconstrued.
In response to Riley’s comments, Channel 4 issued a statement reminding her of her responsibilities as a contributor to their programming. Where were OFCOM? Why were they not issuing a statement?
From 2017 to 2019, right wing commentators, including Hartley-Brewer and Riley, regularly pumped out lies about Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Where was OFCOM then?
Following the far right riots we now must surely demand that misinformation and disinformation is punished. Too many people are living lies and behaving in accordance with those perpetual lies. We have the capacity to change it but do we have the will.
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