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The Hypocrisy of the BBC’s Misinformation War

by Will Jones
7 March 2024 3:29 PM

The BBC’s war on misinformation is blatantly one-sided, says UnHerd‘s Simon Cottee, as he reviews Marianna Spring’s Among the Trolls: My Journey Through Conspiracyland. The ‘misinformation’ in mind is almost always from conservative sources, while the ‘fact-checkers’ aren’t so accurate themselves. Here’s an excerpt.

Misinformation, or whatever you want to call it, has always existed. The difference today, as Spring explains in her book, Among the Trolls: My Journey Through Conspiracyland, is that it’s now “turbocharged”, spreading at a rate and volume hitherto unprecedented, thanks to the internet and social media. At the same time, an entire industry of journalists, academics and experts has arisen to hunt down, track and police misinformation. In some ways, this industry is just as creepy and alarming as the conspiracy culture it gorges on, mirroring its familiar pathologies of distortion and hyperbole.

Spring’s book shines a vivid light onto the assumptions and biases of those who toil away in it. This isn’t, of course, the book’s purpose. Spring’s aim, rather, is to journey into conspiracyland and to speak to its inhabitants in order to better understand who they are and how they got there. Her intention is also to show that what goes on in conspiracyland can cause suffering far beyond it. Often, she steps into the centre of her own story, relaying all the voluminous hate that she herself has received as a result of her reporting. She even reaches out to several of her trolls to understand their motives.

Spring argues that disinformation (i.e., deliberate lying) doesn’t just cause harm to private citizens and journalists like herself, but threatens the very fabric of democracy. She cites the January 6th storming of the U.S. Capitol as a primary example, even though democracy didn’t in fact die in darkness on that day — and the chance of Trump’s motley crew of mostly unarmed supporters seizing power was almost zero.

One side-effect of hate, Spring observes, is that it intimidates people and makes them fearful to speak out. She’s right, of course: many people, for example, are afraid to criticise or mock Islam because they’re worried that some Muslim believers might murder them for it, as happened to Theo Van Gogh in Amsterdam in 2004 and in Paris in 2015 at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, where 12 people were coldly executed by brothers Saïd Kouachi and Chérif Kouachi. Many, too, are afraid to criticise the political claims and activities of Islamists, believing — with some warrant — that to do so will incur the damaging and sometimes dangerous charge of ‘Islamophobia’. This point holds with even greater vehemence within the Islamic fold, where Muslims have been murdered after hateful accusations of blasphemy and apostasy have been levelled against them.

However, Spring doesn’t discuss these examples, intuiting perhaps that were she to do so it wouldn’t be good for business or her personal safety. (‘How I Confronted My Jihadi Troll’ isn’t happening anytime soon over at BBC Sounds.) Nor does she show any curiosity about the huge, roiling global conspiracy theory called jihadism that has directly led to the deaths of hundreds of British civilians over the last decade and a half — to say nothing of the tens of thousands of Muslims and other minorities it has killed elsewhere across the globe.

The book goes on to argue that because hate undermines free speech it should be censored and that social media companies should be more vigorously pressured by governments to eradicate hate from their platforms. This is a weak and incoherent argument: even controversial ideas, such as the view that some women make poor football pundits, deserve to be protected from censorship. Of course, there are limits to free speech and there are laws that punish speech which causes direct and serious harms, such as incitement to violence, fraud, perjury and defamation. But the kinds of limits Spring has in mind are far more expansive than this and would permit the prohibition of a vast swathe of speech that is offensive but not dangerous. At no point does she consider that prohibiting such speech would itself cause serious harm to the very democratic values she claims to uphold.

Cottee reminds us that Spring “once told a lie to advance her career — she’d made something up on her CV” and also highlights that at one point in the book, in a part about racism, she writes that “a mural that honoured [Marcus] Rashford in Withington, the suburb of Manchester where he’d grown up, was defaced”, strongly implying that this was motivated by racism, even though it wasn’t.

He notes that ‘misinformation’ for Spring comes with the usual biases. As statistician Nate Silver has observed, the “term ‘misinformation’ nearly always signifies conservative arguments (which may or may not be actual misinfo)”.

Worth reading in full.

“Who fact checks the BBC’s fact-checkers?” asks Rod Liddle in this week’s Spectator, as he highlights a particularly egregious example of bias.

I don’t suppose it will surprise many Jewish people that BBC Verify – as staffed by people with ‘forensic investigative skills’ – used a rabid pro-Palestinian with links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps when adjudicating on an alleged Israeli attack against a Palestinian aid convoy in Gaza. Verify – a new unit which is, of course, pristine and even-handed – turned to a ‘journalist’ called Mahmoud Awadeyah for an unbiased description of exactly what happened to the convoy, unbothered by the fact that this is a man who danced a jig of joy when Israelis were killed in a rocket attack and warned them that there was more of the same stuff coming.

The problem is the whole concept is “philosophically flawed”, says Liddle. BBC Verify was unveiled last year as dedicated to “radical transparency”, employing 60 journalists trying to finding the real truth about what is happening in the world. “This rather prompts the question of what the BBC’s 2,000 other journalists spend their time doing. Making up lies? Evading reality? Knitting? … You do not need to be Jacques Derrida to believe that in this complex world of ours it might not be possible for 60 hacks to arrive at incontestable truths on every issue that comes before them.”

Tags: BBCBBC VerifyConspiracy TheoriesFact checkHypocrisyMarianna Spring

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28 Comments
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RickH
RickH
4 years ago

It seems that the police are suffering from the wider malaise that has become almost the norm – that the biggest turds have risen to the top of the shit-heap. It’s an intensification of a general old management problem that has now gone critical.

We see it everywhere, but particularly in politics, academia, schools and in the management of the NHS.

… and in that sense it wasn’t ‘ever thus’ to this degree.

Last edited 4 years ago by RickH
44
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karenovirus
karenovirus
4 years ago

Hooray for young people who may not be gathering for reasons of political ideology but good for them anyway.

Is there anybody out there who used to organise rural raves back in the 90’s and beyond ?
These you will remember were pop-up outdoor music parties attended by many hundreds who would meet in various locations (motorway service area car parks being a favorite) with nobody knowing the actual location until the last minute so as to foil the Police who thought it important to close down kids having a good time in an empty field and all without the benefit of the internet.
Successful events would last overnight and sometimes into the following day.

27
-1
Fiona Walker
Fiona Walker
4 years ago
Reply to  karenovirus

I think Biker (knownasbiker) over on the swamp used to and looks like he is thinking of starting again.

1
0
smithey
smithey
4 years ago

This sums up our situation perfectly

7B72474E-5FC5-4B5D-8BC2-9FB7E836EC0B.jpeg
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Annie
Annie
4 years ago

Talk about doublespeak. By ‘antisocial behaviour’ they mean ‘social behaviour’.

54
0
Carrie Symonds
Carrie Symonds
4 years ago

There is something seriously wrong with a regime that defines antisocial behaviour as a group of young people getting together to have a good time. Even Professor Fuckwit will agree that young people have zero risk of contracting covid. Don’t tell me that they go home and give it to granny. Any self respecting granny would be out with them if they weren’t behind bars in a care home.

46
0
Jane G
Jane G
4 years ago

Just listening to the Good Friday meditation from Canterbury cathedral and reflecting that if Jesus and the disciples, gathered in the garden of Gethsemane, were to teleport to the UK here today, they would be nicked once again.

28
0
karenovirus
karenovirus
4 years ago
Reply to  Jane G

LS 14th Sept. 2020

20210402_152030.jpg
35
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Alex B
Alex B
4 years ago
Reply to  karenovirus

😀

4
0
Catee
Catee
4 years ago

How many fines or people arrested outside Batley School this week 🤔

35
0
Nessimmersion
Nessimmersion
4 years ago

Steyn yet again sums up the utterly self defeating attempts of the UK police to bully the law abiding.
( There will be no attempt to enforce this in the edgier housing estates, vibrant communities or Pikey encampments)

“ ‘In Britain, everything is policed except crime’

It has become very apparent that British policemen are very aggressive when dealing with the passive, and very passive when dealing with the aggressive.”

48
0
Markus Skepticus
Markus Skepticus
4 years ago
Reply to  Nessimmersion

We watched a two-part documentary on police in Manchester dealing with organised crime gangs.

They nicked one guy on suspicion of kidnap and assault. He was seriously mouthing off and threatening the police in the custody suite. They all just stood well back from him as he stormed about making his threats.

I couldn’t help but think that if he’d been a 47 year old man who’d lost his business and was peacefully protesting in Trafalgar Square it would have ended up very different.

13
0
Bella Donna
Bella Donna
4 years ago

As the flu season comes to an end our autocratic government turns up the heat.

It’s time for the younger generation to push back or be suffocated.

26
0
Mayo
Mayo
4 years ago

Off topic but relevant.

I’ve just had a phone call from my 21 year old granddaughter. She had just been in contact with a friend of hers from university who told her that another girl she had worked with had just passed away after suffering a stroke (caused by a blood clot).

The girl in question had returned home from university about 2 weeks ago when she had the AZ vaccine.

The vaccine passport requirement is putting pressure on ALL people – young and old – to take this vaccine. It needs to stop.

25
0
steve_w
steve_w
4 years ago
Reply to  Mayo

I 100% agree Mayo. A sad story. These vaccines are for emergency use for the hyper-vulnerable (if they want them) – but the goalposts shift and will end up with newborns being jabbed ‘incase they infect granny’ if we’re not careful

19
0
RickH
RickH
4 years ago
Reply to  steve_w

The reservations about the snake-oil apply as much to the vulnerable as anyone else.

8
0
karenovirus
karenovirus
4 years ago
Reply to  Mayo

Very sad but why would a 21yo (presumably) have had a vaccine since that age group have not yet been ‘offered’ it ?

8
-1
jcd
jcd
4 years ago
Reply to  karenovirus

Healthy young people receiving Covid vaccine in parts of …https://www.theguardian.com › world › jan › healthy-y…

3
0
karenovirus
karenovirus
4 years ago
Reply to  jcd

Okey dokey, market rules then.

0
0
Occamsrazor
Occamsrazor
4 years ago

Ffs. Why on earth shouldn’t people gather. The old, the vulnerable and the cretins have all had the marvelous vaccine. No one else is of any higher risk from Covid than they would be of anything else. So why the actual fuck should anyone give a toss. And why would we ‘blow it’. How? And if the vaccine’s so shit that we have to be locked down forever why the fuck do they want a passport to prove you’re still about to drop dead from the deadly virus. This is driving me insane. Why are people so absolutely moronic as to believe any of this shit any more. Thank god for this site and left lockdown sceptics and the very very few other sensible people still left.

44
0
steve_w
steve_w
4 years ago
Reply to  Occamsrazor

lockdown for a year and relentless propaganda has driven the population hysterical

when you look at nazi germany and say ‘it couldnt happen here’ – well it could and it has and we know who would have done it. A big lie repeated enough and some people will accept anything including a mass vaccination of children with something straight out of the lab

21
0
Fear is Finite
Fear is Finite
4 years ago

I don’t really understand the basis of this, are we now making up laws on the hoof to crush any normal human behaviour? Oh wait, that’s been going on over a year already. Where is the legal system hiding?

Dear Police and Government,

If you don’t want people to gather and socialise and have fun outside in parks and on beaches then open the pubs and the bars and the clubs.

Problem solved.

Too easy? Doesn’t fit with the mysterious and nefarious agenda?

I see. And so do many others.

23
0
alw
alw
4 years ago

“the police are operating as gatekeepers of rather than facilitators to lawful protest.” (Source: https://threader.app/thread/1377951144446689281)

5
0
Fingerache Philip
Fingerache Philip
4 years ago

After 72 years, I truly do not recognise my country any more and as for the majority of my fellow countrymen and women: DON’T GET ME STARTED!!!

23
0
LilyVLibre
LilyVLibre
4 years ago

Do the gestapo police now have the authority to make up bans as & when they want? Am I presume that as government ‘restrictions’ are lifted, the unelected are bringing in their ‘restrictions’ to replace them? People in the UK think dictatorships in other countries are reprehensible but fail to see we are under the most despicable and draconian restrictions in the world in this country. We have labelled anti social distancing as ‘social’ and now NOT breaking the law is anti-social? The police are unable to police so they just criminalise everyone by default., They should direct themselves at tackling real crime but I think they prefer to appear in reality TV shows or Haribo adverts. Not fit for purpose.

8
0
Noumenon
Noumenon
4 years ago

Treat people like kids and they’ll act like kids. Stop all this nanny state BS NOW!

3
0
LilyVLibre
LilyVLibre
4 years ago

If you don’t want the gestapo to ‘confiscate’ your legal alcoholic beverage try decanting it. There are some excellent bottles around that keep drinks cold for hours.

3
0
LilyVLibre
LilyVLibre
4 years ago

Get stuffed Handjob. You blew it months ago!

1
0
Spikedee1
Spikedee1
4 years ago

Where is LS disgust at this. Why is TY and the gang just reporting on this as if this is in any way acceptable? For what reason are these gatherings a risk. Okay, these young kids were being tested every two days. They have been gathering in school for the past two weeks. You top story admits this has had ZERO EFFECT on infections. So why the fuck would gathering over a park (as opposed to indoors) be more of a risk. Take away my alcohol well good luck with that. Please come and try and take away my drink. I really hope pain is something you enjoy!!

0
0
Cheezilla
Cheezilla
4 years ago
Reply to  Spikedee1

Where is LS disgust at this. Why is TY and the gang just reporting on this as if this is in any way acceptable?

That’s what we Swamp-dwellers keep asking!

0
0
Cheezilla
Cheezilla
4 years ago

This week we have seen an increase in antisocial behaviour as people gather in large groups and are hostile towards our officers who attempt to engage with them and explain the coronavirus legislation

Politely telling the interfering cops to F.Off is presumably anstisocial behaviour?

I would like to reassure the public that you will see an increased police presence in the area

Reassure? FFS!!!

0
0
Ianbeeby
Ianbeeby
4 years ago

The only anti social morons are the Thugs in Uniform. When it a “crime” to meet your mates it proves that we are no longer civilised and live in a fascist police state.

0
0

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