Thread by @carolecadwalla

There's been bit of attention on Andrew Neil in last few days, so some background. "Mad cat woman" actually culmination of 2+ years of attacks. It was direct lift from Arron Banks. And it launched mysogynist meme into mainstream. From where it's never left
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The 'cat lady' abuse is highly sexualised. It's intended to shame. A UNESCO report proved Arron Banks originated it & Neil accelerated it. I wrote this down because I hit brick wall at BBC. Zero comprehension of how misogyny is used to target & silence female journalists

Neil, Guido & the Spectator all parrot the same lines. With Banks protected throughout. Here's Guardian headline when our reporting helped find LeaveEU was in breach of the law. And here's Guido & Neil: "conspiracies" "crushed"

This is what Neil's tweet unleashed. And @BBC legitimised this misogyny failing its own female journalists.

But I have bigger questions. Neil ran interference for Arron Banks. Especially over Russia. We can see that now. But BBC also followed his & r/w media's lead

When @guardian & @sundaytimes reported on Banks's meetings with Russian ambassador, BBC didn't cover it. It didn't cover Banks's lawsuit over this reporting. It didn't cover new evidence that came out during the trial. It's never critically covered Farage.

This public acceptance of misogyny must now end. Because it damages us all. This abuse from Neil, Banks, Guido - explicitly echoed & amplified by Russian media - was allowed, accepted, enabled.

And biggest harm was not to me. But the reporting of these vital issues. Even now.

The Kremlin's talking points about me & this investigation were directly echoed by r/w media. I can find dozens of egs of RT & Spectator & Guido & Sputnik coping & reinforcing each other.

Again: this is not about me. It's about silencing & chilling this reporting. And it worked

Here’s why I understand the Kremlin’s information warfare strategy so clearly. Because I’m a target of it. I haven’t just been reporting on it. I’ve been living it.

And the r/w media has been the Kremlin’s friend. Which in turn has toxified & crippled our entire media landscape.

And nowhere can you see this more clearly than in the case of Arron Banks where Guido’s coverage - identical to RT’s - has played a determining role in wider media perception.

And it’s a microcosm of a much bigger problem: Covid, masks, refugees, Brexit. It all got weaponised.