NEW: GB News isn't crap. It's dangerous. I have form with Andrew Neil. Which is why I dread & fear what this new venture means.
keepingthereceipts.substack.com/p/andrew-neil-…
Not that it isn't crap. It is. It's just also going to be a massively distorted influence in our already massively distorted news & information system.
The BBC & our strict Ofcom rules have been a bulwark against worst excesses of online mis- & disinfo. But for how much longer? The hounding of Newsnight's Nick Watt this week was a horrifying example of where this leads. And GB News has thrown a powerful new grenade into the mix.
I rang up @martinjemoore on Friday who's one of the smartest interpreters of all things media & he thinks it's inevitably going to impact BBC. Arguably, the whole channel is a troll on the BBC, a knowing provocation. UK news & info system just lurched a little bit further right
This has a personal element for me. How could it not? I deal with the aftermath of Neil's abuse of me every day. But it's also why I have an early warning system encoded into my cells. I wish I could laugh at GB News but I don't. I dread it.
I have strict policy of ignoring GB News's political correspondent. I make an exception only to point out that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This is who got to ask 2nd question at the PM's news presser on Monday. GB News already key part of govt's spin operation
This is why I'm writing this newsletter with @allthecitizens. It's part of our Keeping The Receipts project. The plan to destroy the Electoral Commission announced this week is exactly why we're doing what we're doing. Subscribing will help us keep track & hold to account.
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