I was watching footy today & did not hear @LBC where @MaajidNawaz appears to have justified the violent insurrection in America as the "only option" people had. Nawaz promotes unfounded conspiracies about electoral fraud that US courts & Congress rejected
I listened to Nawaz show yesterday & praised the moderate tone which seemed to be a + result of editorial oversight. He did not repeat his Lockdown Kills polemical misinformation at all. But he didn't discuss his views on the US conspiracy theories on Sat
On 11th November, Nawaz committed to accept the outcome of the legal process in America. Since then, he has a fair claim to have been the UK's most prominent & persistent champion of a great many unfounded conspiracy theories about the US election.
The Washington Post noted that Nawaz repeatedly supports the fraud allegations, featuring him as a rare British champion in its article reporting on the "conspiracy theorists and suspected cults" who have promoted false claims from the Trump campaign
I take the advice of @EvanHD that you wouldn't mind hearing less about this. It will happen after Jan 20th. But I do put 3 reasons why Mr Nawaz' persistent promotion of dangerous conspiracies is rather more significant than that of AN Other online troll.
Those 3 reasons.
1. He broadcasts on LBC
2. As director of an influential *counter-extremism* think-tank, he should challenge extreme conspiracies, not spread them
3. As he is the UK's most famous deradicalised extremist, this lapse into conspiratorial propaganda is more worrying
Listen to the clip here. Common sense reading: Nawaz presented the Washington insurrectionists as "responsible citizens" left with "no option" because of "messing with free and fair elections". (He ignores/rejects all the legal scrutiny of fraud claims)
Nawaz threatened to sue a Tweeter who said he was "a self-publicising shock jock pursuing dangerous conspiracy theories". Many people pushed back, by expressing their honest opinion that this radio host is indeed promoting dangerous conspiracy theories.
LBC and Quilliam share a duty of care too.

It seems Mr Nawaz may have had some kind of personal crisis on eve of certification. After 2 months saying he had 'predicted everything that would happen', he has proved unable to acknowledge the actual outcome.
His eve of certification crisis seemed related to
* his confidence VP Pence would throw out EC votes
* his belief Trump could act unilaterally after VP refused

Hence Mr Nawaz taunting those saying he'd "lost his mind" over conspiracies, he had "been right all along" (5th Jan)
For newcomers, is it fair to say Mr Nawaz has promoted conspiracies? Maybe he was "just asking questions"?

A TL: DR set of a few indicative examples
Clear proof that a 'reporting' or 'asking questions' claim is not credible, given the persistent pattern of behaviour
For completists, the post-election period in full. My initial expectation (say the process was still open, wait for the court cases, then move on with the result) proved incorrect. That reasonable position seemed to get lost over time
I had naively thought that legitimising and justifying the Capitol insurrection on the radio was going to be the most controversial thing that Mr Nawaz did today, but there is this too

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More from @sundersays

10 Jan
Tonight, @MaajidNawaz & @simondolan are among 10 signatories on an open letter to the FBI and M15: it alleges lockdown policies result from a global plot by the Chinese Communists, alleging malpractice & corruption by WHO, Imperial College, western govts & many others
I am not sharing this letter for many reasons. I would advise others *not* to do so
* Authors not scientific experts at all (eg Nawaz, Dolan
* Its tone is lurid & unbalanced
* Can't judge all the content, but would anticipate people & institutions may consider it defamatory
My strong advice would be to *not* share the letter without legal advice, given its many v.serious allegations about such a wide range of targets. If responsible media outlets report on its existence, claims or criticisms in response they will take legal advice before publishing
Read 45 tweets
10 Jan
I began producing a weekly Friday memo on attitudes during Covid as lockdown began. But I did not foresee producing 37 of them, nor to be carrying on in 2021.

Here is the first edition of 2021 from @jake_puddle and I. (PDF). Key points follow in thread

britishfuture.org/wp-content/upl…
A new year began with gloomy news of a new national lockdown - but with a broad public consensus that it was necessary, by 85% (62% strongly) to 11% opposed (6% strongly). As throughout 2020, older people were more strongly pro-lockdown than young adults (with 1 in 6 opposed)
Among general public, partisanship effects are pretty weak. Conservative support is 87-13 (+74), Labour support is 91-7 (+84). But age effects cross-pressure the mild tendency to more scepticism among Conservatives or Leavers. (Young + politically disengaged more sceptical too)
Read 9 tweets
10 Jan
Something curiously absent from discussion of Marine v Tottenham is any reflection on the local giant-killing upset of the 1981 Crosby by-election, a dramatic win for the SDP in this safe Tory seat on the Mersey!
The Conservatives won Crosby back in 1983, holding it through 1992, before New Labour took it 1997-2005, ahead of boundary changes.
Bill Boaks got 36 votes in Crosby, before setting a still extant record with 5 votes in Glasgow Hillhead on his next outing. The navy officer stood as the Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident candidate.
Read 8 tweets
10 Jan
Crawley lead Leeds 3-0. Their beating Leeds today would be their first FA Cup win over top flight opposition - and I think registers as the biggest FA Cup shock in Sussex since Everton lost 5-2 at Brighton & Hove Albion of Division Three South in 1924
Crawley were 5-3 down in extra-time when they won 6-5 at Torquay in the first round
bbc.co.uk/sport/av/footb…
A bid for a Surrey giant-killing in Sussex, with Walton and Hersham of the Ishtmian League winning at third division Brighton during the brief reign of Brian Clough in 1973
Read 4 tweets
10 Jan
I assume everybody is annoyed by holding the fourth and fifth round draws together. Can the practical gains really be worth it?

(They are playing the 5th round midweek, 3 weeks after the 4th round)
It adds to the sense of a going through the motions simulation of the FA Cup tournament, which hopefully will change when we get towards the quarter-finals
If you had to do this, might as well have drawn the whole thing in the third round and pretended the FA Cup is a tennis tournament this year?
Read 4 tweets
10 Jan
The people who think the Health Secretary should not talk privately, during a pandemic, to a man who was PM for 10 years will be two tiny factions, among political obsessives.
Given that Nigel Farage has called for Blair to be put in charge of the vaccine programme, the 'do not informally consult a former PM in private' market will only be a fraction within a faction on each wing of the political spectrum.
Hancock could have said: "I am open to advice from everybody with something to contribute. As government ministers we must make the decisions,but certainly the experience of a man who was PM for 10 years is worth listening to in the shared national effort to tackle this pandemic"
Read 5 tweets

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