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@docrussjackson
Mar 18, 2023 • 8 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
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#THREAD

I've been researching twenty-first century UK non-broadcast 'news' articles featuring #TuftonStreet's ideologically extreme (deregulatory, anti-welfare, anti-union, low tax, free-market) 'think tank' (lobbyist) the 'Institute for Economic Affairs' (#IEA).
Counting articles is a relatively crude measure, but it's clear that the overwhelming majority present the the #IEA as disinterested/neutral, often using IEA reports & spokespeople to help frame or initiate stories. With very few exceptions, the IEA's funders are never revealed.
From 2000-2023, across all print & online non-broadcast UK news outlets, the #IEA is mentioned a staggering 9,175 times - predictably, mainly in Murdoch's, Barclay's, & Harmsworth's "newspapers":

The Times: 1,278
Sunday Times: 424
Times online: 457

The Sun: 379
Sun online: 133
City AM: 875

Daily Telegraph: 719
The Sunday Telegraph: 143

Guardian: 464
The Observer: 70

Daily Mail & Mail on Sunday: 456
MailOnline: 278
Scottish Daily Mail: 216

Independent: 442

Financial Times: 295

The Express: 239
The Sunday Express: 91

Scotsman: 130
Evening Standard: 109
Standard online: 59

i - Independent: 96

Daily Mirror: 93
Mirror online: 45

The National: 43

Daily Star: 32

Metro: 24
A summary search for the "Institute of Economic Affairs" which includes some radio @BBC coverage is revealing - especially in regard to @BBCRadio4 & @bbc5live. ('TVEyes' is a tech company which collects & indexes millions of hours of content per month, which enables searches).
I haven't done a similar analysis for broadcast news, but of the 150+ UK think tanks, it's clear the #IEA receives hugely disproportionate coverage/presence - especially on "impartial" @BBC news & politics shows such as #bbcqt, #bbcaq, & #PoliticsLive.

The graphic at the top of this thread was put together by Jonathan Gornall, & published in the BMJ in 2019.

His excellent investigation reveals how the IEA was (is?) funded by British American Tobacco, & has links with senior conservative ministers.

bmj.com/content/365/bm…

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More from @docrussjackson

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Dec 20
#THREAD

The Heartland Institute (HI) is a Chicago-based lobby group at the forefront of denying the scientific evidence for man-made climate change.

Nigel Farage was the “special guest of honour” at the launch of the Heartland Institute’s new European offshoot on 17 December. Image
In September, Reform UK's Nigel Farage called on the US to “drill baby drill” for more fossil fuels as he headlined a 40th anniversary HI event.

The Heartland Institute, which questions human-made climate change, has established a new branch in London.

desmog.com/2024/12/19/nig…
Reform UK is 'anti-Net Zero'.

In a press release announcing its new UK-EU branch, based in London, Heartland boasted that it is “the world’s most prominent think tank supporting skepticism about man-made climate change”.

👏FFS.👏Join.👏The.👏Dots.👏

Image
Read 25 tweets
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Dec 16
#THREAD

Shit-stirring hypocritical bigoted playground bullies were once shunned by society, but now they can become MPs.

Is Reform UK's Lee Anderson, who exploits ordinary people with his infantile divisive populism, the thickest & most hypocritical bigot ever to become an MP? Image
#30pLee is on his third party in six years.

He was elected as a Labour councillor in 2015 & suspended by the local branch of the Labour Party in 2018 after receiving a community-protection warning by the council for using boulders to block members of the Traveller community. Image
#30pLee resigned from Labour in 2018 & was elected as a Tory councillor on Mansfield District Council in 2019. He was selected as the Conservative candidate for Ashfield in 2019, and was elected as a Tory MP.

He's long been associated with the far-right.

Read 45 tweets
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Dec 14
#THREAD

The Chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, Richard Cooke, has been suspended after he branded racism allegations as "nonsense" on social media after a former chief inspector alleged racism & homophobia were rife within the force.

itv.com/news/central/2…
Policing is hard. The Police Federation of England and Wales is the statutory staff association for police constables, sergeants, inspectors, chief inspectors & special constables in the 43 territorial police forces in England & Wales. Cooke is Chair of the West Midlands branch.
Under UK labour law, the police are prohibited from joining ordinary trade unions to defend pay and working conditions, by the Police Act 1996, because of the view that a police strike would pose an exceptional public safety risk.

Cooke is a controversial figure. Image
Read 9 tweets
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Dec 11
🧵Trump has assigned Musk a chilling task: To dismantle & destroy large parts of the federal government. Musk wants us to call this project by a humorous & innocent-sounding name: the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE).

#Framing is important.

theframelab.org/destruction-of…
First, Musk's project is not an official Dept, so it's not factual to call it one.

Second, the goal of Musk's project is destruction, not "efficiency." Efficiency is when you make something work better. Musk clearly seeks to eliminate, not improve, large parts of government. Image
Finally, Musk has named his project after a meme, DOGE, a crypto scam named for a Shiba Inu dog. He's treating it all as a joke. But the destruction of government is deadly serious, and there's no reason why everyone should automatically participate in Musk's juvenile antics. Image
Read 18 tweets
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Dec 10
#THREAD

I've lost count of all the ultrarich privately educated 'anti-elites' in Reform UK!

Dubai World Trade Centre & Nick Candy's Candy Capital have a partnership to develop a “super-prime” real estate development in Dubai - where co-owner of GB "News", Legatum, is based! 🤑 Image
Candy joined the Tory party in 2009 & has donated at least £290,000 to it.

In February he gave an interview saying it was “probably time for a change” & that Keir Starmer was “a decent man with good values and good morals”.

Nick Candy is to become Reform UK's new treasurer! Image
He hopes to raise more than £40M for Reform UK: "This morning, I’ve had millions of pounds worth of donations from people that have never donated to a political party in this country. But it’s not just about getting rich donors & billionaire people or whatever."

"WHATEVER!" 👀 Image
Read 12 tweets
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Dec 9
#THREAD

My 2023 Open Letter about @BBCQuestiontime, read by 300,000 people in 144 countries, was widely reported in the media & informed questions asked of @BBC DG Tim Davie at a Parliamentary Select Committee.

Here's my 🧵 analysis of the recent episode of #bbcqt, featuring: Image
My main criticisms of #bbcqt were: poor & biased chairing, including a tolerance of panellists who continually interrupt; ambiguity about the audience political demographic; & the well-evidenced bias toward platforming panellists from right-leaning media.

yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/an-op…
The @BBC's desire to drive engagement means #bbcqt is now overly dependent on platforming guests known for generating division, soundbites, & polarising controversy, rather than engaging in nuanced, respectful debate, which compromises its duty to 'INFORM & EDUCATE' the public. Image
Read 74 tweets

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