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Mar 18 • 8 tweets • 6 min read
#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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Mar 19
#THREAD

Like the UK Govt's Rwanda Plan, the Nazi's Madagascar Plan aimed to forcibly relocate a minority population of Europe to East Africa. The plan was not viable due to a British naval blockade, but it functioned as an important psychological step toward the Final Solution. Image
#Rwanda is NOT a "safe" country.

The US State Dept '2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices' reveals Rwanda to be one of the most autocratic, authoritarian, & repressive regimes on earth, currently ranked 126th out of 167 countries for democracy.

state.gov/reports/2021-c…
According to the US State Department, significant human rights issues in #Rwanda included credible reports of:

🚨unlawful or arbitrary killings by the Govt;

🚨forced disappearance by the Govt;

🚨torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the Govt;
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Mar 18
'Harass, mislead, & polarize: An analysis of Twitter political bots’ tactics in targeting the immigration debate before the 2018 U.S. midterm election'.

This research analyzed the strategies of influential bots seeking to affect the immigration debate.
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
Researchers analyzed the strategies of influential bots seeking to affect the immigration debate before the 2018 US midterm elections. Findings reveal that the 10 most influential bots in our dataset all presented an anti-immigration viewpoint.
These bots both posted tweets & RTd other bot accounts’ tweets to give a false sense of authenticity & anti-immigration consensus. Bots’ messages relied on negative emotional appeals by spreading harassing language & disinformation likely intended to evoke fear toward immigrants. Image
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Mar 18
“Following the outpouring of support for Gary Lineker & his compassionate stand on behalf of refugees, this government knows it is on the back foot & is once again ramping up the cruelty to distract from their own failures.”
- CEO, Freedom from Torture.

theguardian.com/politics/2023/…
"We are concerned to hear that journalists from organisations judged to be critical of the government’s immigration policy have not been invited... Democracy depends on an open & transparent relationship between government and the media."
- Martin Bright, Index on Censorship.
“Index on Censorship believes that access to government ministers, both domestically and as part of international visits, should not be treated as a reward for favourable coverage.”
Read 5 tweets
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Mar 17
#THREAD

20 years ago today, Robin Cook resigned.

"It is false to argue that only those who support war support our troops. It is entirely legitimate to support our troops while seeking an alternative to the conflict that will put those troops at risk."

Below, I'll just give the later part from Robin Cook's resignation speech - still one of the most important, ethical, truthful & moving speeches ever given in the UK parliament.

Here's a link to the full speech:

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cm…
"Only a year ago, we & the USA were part of a coalition against terrorism that was wider & more diverse than I would ever have imagined possible. History will be astonished at the diplomatic miscalculations that led so quickly to the disintegration of that powerful coalition".
Read 35 tweets
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Mar 17
#THREAD

We know *precisely* what the reaction of the @Conservatives & the right-wing media would be to a @UKLabour PM making an ex-Goldman Sachs banker & one of its biggest donors, with zero media management experience, the Chairman of our @BBC - because it happened in 2001.
Here's what Raymond Snoddy, writing in Murdoch's Times on May 4th, 2001, shortly before the appointment of New Labour donor & ex-Goldman Sachs banker Gavyn Davies said about his proposed appointment:
"A few eyebrows were raised when Davies became @BBC vice-chairman, but moving up to Chairman would be a step too far. The reason is that he is irredeemably attached, privately & publicly, to New Labour."
Read 22 tweets
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Mar 17
So Rishi Sunak's ex-boss Richard Sharp not only "gave" the @Conservatives £400,000, & helped arrange an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson just before Johnson appointed him, but Sharp was also a #TuftonStreet think tank Director, resigning just a month before he became @BBC Chair...
In other news...
Read 4 tweets

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