BBC
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Media Boosts Obvious Saudi Front Group as Neutral ‘Think Tank’ By Adam Johnson
The Arabia Foundation appeared in spring 2016, seemingly out of nowhere, as a Saudi-focused think tank with “ties to Riyadh,” but vaguely independent of the regime. Or at least independent enough so that media wouldn’t represent it as an extension of the kingdom. But the past few weeks have clearly shown it to be little… Continue reading
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Media Lens: ‘A Load Of Tosh’ – The BBC, ‘Showbiz News’ And State Propaganda
On January 22, BBC News at Ten carried a piece by ‘defence’ correspondent Jonathan Beale reporting a speech by General Sir Nick Carter, the British Army’s Chief of General Staff. Carter gave his speech, pleading for more resources in the face of the Russian ‘threat’, at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), an establishment thinktank… Continue reading
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Faking it By William Bowles
It’s time I did a piece on this Fake News nonsense being put about by the Western propagandists, the originators of fake news and what better place to start than the BBC, the fountainhead of impartial and objective journalism, not. Continue reading
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Media Lens: Survival? Symptoms Of Breakdown
If the human species survives long enough, future historians might well marvel at what passed for ‘mainstream’ media and politics in the early 21st century. They will see that a UK Defence Secretary had to resign because of serious allegations of sexual misconduct; or, as he put it euphemistically, because he had ‘fallen short’. But… Continue reading
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Video: Real Media: Media & Mistrust
Sociologist and author Tom Mills talks about growing public mistrust of the media, who owns the print media, and how the broadcast media tends to draw its journalists from certain sectors of society Continue reading
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Media Lens: Noam Chomsky And The BBC: A Brief Comparison
A recent interview with 88-year-old Noam Chomsky once again demonstrates just how insightful he is in providing rational analysis of Western power and the suffering it generates. By contrast, anyone relying on BBC News receives a power-friendly view of the world, systematically distorted in a way that allows the state and private interests to pursue… Continue reading
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Media Lens: Bowing Down Before The BBC: Polly Toynbee and The Role Of A Liberal Propagandist
A standard technique deployed by corporate journalists to fend off challenges from the public is to point to selected examples of ‘abuse’ and then tar all reasoned criticism with the same mucky brush. Or, if that doesn’t work, to sneer at claims of ‘conspiracy’ or ‘plots’, thus permitting instant dismissal of the arguments made. Polly… Continue reading
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Media Lens: Preferred Conclusions – The BBC, Syria And Venezuela
In 2013, it was remarkable to see the BBC reporting claims from Syria on a daily basis in a way that almost always blamed the Syrian government, and President Assad personally, for horrendous war crimes. But as the New York Times reported last month, the picture was rather less black and white. The US was… Continue reading
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The BBC’s Climate Denialism: Coverage Of Hurricane Harvey And The South Asian Floods
Hurricane Harvey has provided a genuinely terrifying glimpse of a global Ballardesque dystopia that may actually be humanity’s fate. And yet, even now, corporate media are suppressing the truth. Continue reading
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For Media, Driving Into a Crowd of Protesters Is a ‘Clash’
The BBC’s breaking news tweet, “One dead amid clashes between US white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville,” is an extremely odd way to describe a person driving a car into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters—as was AOL’s “1 Dead, 34 Injured in Clashes at Virginia Rally.” Continue reading
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Media Lens: Mass Media Siege: Comparing Coverage Of Mosul and Aleppo
When Russian and Syrian forces were bombarding ‘rebel’-held East Aleppo last year, newspapers and television screens were full of anguished reporting about the plight of civilians killed, injured, trapped, traumatised or desperately fleeing. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, both Official Enemies, were denounced and demonised, in accordance with the usual propaganda… Continue reading
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The Public Network By Dan Hind
If you’ve tried to access the BBC’s online TV and radio content from the UK recently you will have been asked to create a login profile. By tracking the behaviour of each profile the corporation will now be able to develop a far more detailed and sophisticated understanding of its audience. This is a structure… Continue reading
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Media Lens: West Coast: BBC News Massively Hypes North Korean ‘Threat’ To The United States
Despite standard media misrepresentations to the contrary, North Korea has been following ‘a pretty rational policy’ in the face of ‘hostile acts’ and ‘harsh sanctions’ from, in particular, the US. You would never know that if you relied solely on ‘mainstream’ media such as BBC News. Continue reading
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Media Lens: Trump’s Tomahawks – The Instant Certainty Of The ‘Mainstream’ Press
As ever, it didn’t take long for them to make up their minds. Roy Greenslade reports in the Guardian on the media reaction to Donald Trump’s bombardment of Syria in ‘retaliation’ (USA Today) for the alleged chemical weapons attacks on Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib, Syria: ‘There was an identifiable theme in almost every leading article and… Continue reading
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Media Lens: The ‘Superficial, Arrogant Smugness’ Of BBC News – Peter Oborne Delivers Some Home Truths On BBC Radio 4 Today
In a recent media alert, we noted the occasional tell-tale signs of uncomfortable truths that slip through cracks in the propaganda façade of BBC News. Very occasionally, the propaganda nature is clearly highlighted and can be enjoyed for its directness and the flustered BBC response it provokes. Continue reading
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Media Lens: BBC Propaganda Watch: Tell-Tale Signs That Slip Through The Cracks
Even the most powerful systems of propaganda inadvertently allow uncomfortable truths to slip out into the public domain. Consider a recent BBC News interview following the death of Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro. Dr Denise Baden, Associate Professor in Business Ethics at the University of Southampton, who has studied Castro’s leadership and Cuban business models,… Continue reading
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Media Lens: The Great Libya War Fraud
The smearing of Corbyn fits well with the similarly uniform propaganda campaign taking the ‘threat’ of Iraqi ‘WMD’ seriously in 2002 and 2003. Then, also, the entire corporate media system assailed the public with a long litany of fraudulent claims. And then there was Libya. Continue reading
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Media Lens: Menwith Menace: Britain’s Complicity In Saudi Arabia’s Terror Campaign Against Yemen
The ‘mainstream’ Western media is, almost by definition, the last place to consult for honest reporting of Western crimes. Consider the appalling case of Yemen which is consumed by war and an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe. Since March 2015, a ‘coalition’ of Sunni Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, and supported by the US, Britain and… Continue reading
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Media Lens: ‘Propagandising For War’ – Gareth Porter Responds To The BBC Today Programme On Syria
It could hardly be more obvious that BBC news reports, comment pieces and discussions are overwhelmingly hostile to US-UK government enemies like Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and Syria, and overwhelmingly favourable to the United States and Israel. It has long been clear to us that BBC journalists perceive this, not as bias, but as… Continue reading
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Media Lens: Killing Corbyn
The ‘Brexit’ referendum vote, split 52% to 48% in favour of leaving the European Union, has been exploited by the ‘mainstream’ media to launch yet another assault on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. ‘Impartial’ BBC News, directed by former Murdoch editor James Harding, has been one of the worst culprits. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 