Wednesday 7 September 2016

Media Reform Coalition: The left's road to censorship

The media, the movements and Jeremy Corbyn event flyer

The Corbyn supporting "left" is organising one of it's "media bashing" events on Thursday 15th September to attack the way that they are presented in the media. The organisation describes itself as:

The Media Reform Coalition was set up in September 2011 to coordinate the most effective contribution by civil society groups, academics and media campaigners to debates over media regulation, ownership and democracy in the context of the phone hacking crisis and proposed communications legislation.

We work with partner groups and supporting individuals to produce research and to organise campaigning activities aimed at creating a media system that operates in the public interest.

Media Reform represents an independent coalition of groups and individuals committed to maximising the public interest in communications.

I came across this meeting as it was a "sponsored advert" on my Facebook wall. I took a quick look at the speakers list and left a comment underneath. Now given what they say they are about, that is having "democracy" in the media I was very surprised to see that not only had they removed my comment but I had been blocked from commenting further.

In other words they are not interested in open debate but the censor anyone's views that don't fit the narrow worldview they take. So what did I say that upset them so much? I can't remember the exact words but the gist was this:

I notice the speakers include Lindsey German whose partner John Rees, regularly appeared on Press TV, the Iranian government propaganda channel that has been banned in the UK for broadcasting as "news" the "confession", forced under torture by the fascist clerics that run the country. He is not alone. Jeremy Corbyn himself has been on Press TV and tells us his fees of £20,000 "isn't much money". Really? 

Of course this isn't really a meeting about press freedom, it's just a rally of old quite authoritarian and anti-Western democracy activists that back not just the Iranian Clerics but also Putin, Hamas and tell us we can't criticise Islam at all because it's "Islamophobic".

So much for "free speech". All they are about is promoting themselves and their hateful organisations such as Stop the War and Momentum. Only they have the "truth". 

Media Reform? 

 In their future society the TV will be watching you.

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