on media


Online propaganda gets a screen test


As US media ban is lifted, right-wing politicians set up online TV channels, says Raymond Snoddy


A


t long last, American journalists and broadcasters have refused to be cowed by the bullying of


President Donald Trump and stood together against his illegal, unconstitutional attacks on the media. Until now, the reporting of Trump has


been marred by the president of the United States insulting women journalists far more educated and intelligent than him – and it usually is women – while their male counterparts continue as if nothing untoward has happened. Ask a perfectly legitimate question


and Trump squawks ‘fake news’ like a demented parrot and there have been few consequences until now. Trump’s decision to ban reporters


from CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House looks like an important turning point. Tere was an immediate lawsuit and, unsurprisingly, a judge ruled that the ban was likely to be a breach of the First Amendment protecting free speech and that it should be lifted pending a full hearing. But what has made a difference and


will continue to make a difference ahead of November’s mid-term elections is the fact that the five US networks that provide pool coverage in rotation united to withdraw their coverage. Even more significant was the fact


that the committee that organised the pool was chaired by Fox News, the Murdoch network that has done more than any other to create the phenomenon that is Trump. Cue chaos and, for a time, there was no network coverage of President Xi of


China’s official visit to the White House, until the ban was lifted. At one stage, television pictures of Trump and Xi were being transmitted without sound. To escape the unexpected power of


the US networks, the American president immediately launched Trump TV, streaming his favourite speeches and pronouncements 24 hours a day on YouTube. Te news is greatly encouraging.


After an initial very small flourish, the audience settled down at fewer than 700, as more people tuned in to squirrels eating nuts or even a blank screen. In another sign of the times, the


Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission bullied ABC into pulling a perfectly orthodox Jimmy Kimmel interview with James Talarico, the Democratic senate candidate for Texas. After the interview was released on


YouTube, it was viewed more than five million times within 24 hours and has now been seen by more than eight million people. Talarico has a 5 per cent lead in the polls in a state that has not had a Democratic senator for 38 years. It is easy to dismiss such events as


some bizarre, American psychodrama that has little to do with us. Not so. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK


leader is, in his small, modest way, trying to ape Trump in trying to use television as a weapon to get power and he has huge financial backing. Alan Rusbridger, the former Guardian


editor, has joined up the dots and worked out that four billionaires are effectively funding ‘a right-wing media complex’ in the UK to the tune of more than £200 million. GB News, which Rusbridger argues


functions more like ‘Reform TV’ than a normal commercial channel, has already run up losses of £131 million.


“ For now, Farage has direct control of


the £72 million from crypto billionaires being used to launch his own Reform TV channel on YouTube. Many critics believe Ofcom has been


shamelessly weak in the way it has failed to tackle GB News. Recently, Farage returned to presenting on GB News after his Clacton by-election victory over Count Binface to justify, without challenge, the £72 million payday. But, unlike in the US, there are due


impartiality rules in UK television and GB News has to operate within them. No such problems exist on YouTube. Farage TV on YouTube will, in theory,


be able to reach a vast TV audience but it is unclear how attractive unchecked right-wing political propaganda will be. Tere are reasons to be cheerful


about a second right-wing TV channel in the UK. Tey could end up competing for the same finite pool of viewers. Nor is it clear whether the £72 million


payment will be judged legal; Farage TV might not be flush with cash for long. Ten there is the matter of the £5 million ‘gift’ to Farage now being investigated by the Parliamentary Committee on Standards. It is more than possible, as Reform


After a small flourish, Trump TV’s audience settled down at fewer than 700, as more people tuned in to watch squirrels


sinks in the polls, that Farage could once again face an exclusion from the House of Commons, long enough to trigger yet another Clacton by-election. Meanwhile, investigative journalist


John Sweeney calls Farage ‘a would-be prime minister on trial’ in his book Te Real Farage. Sweeney acknowledges the Reform leader has charisma. But that is more than overwhelmed by what he describes as Farage’s ‘cruelty’ and the chaos he always leaves behind him. After reading Sweeney, it will be


difficult to disagree with his verdict that Nigel Farage is totally unsuited for high office of any kind.


theJournalist | 09


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28