Thread by @shaunjlawson

THREAD: Sangita Myska, James O'Brien and LBC.

When I was a kid, such was the sheer quality of the news coverage on British television, I thought journalists told the truth. And were motivated by exactly that: holding truth to power, essential to any flourishing democracy.

I watched Newsnight and Channel 4 News avidly. I read the Sunday Times news review every weekend.

And the BBC's coverage of conflict in the Middle East, through fearless reporters like Jeremy Bowen, Orla Guerin and John Simpson, was consistently outstanding.

Back then, there were next to no fears on British journalism's part of being denounced as 'antisemitic' for telling the truth about Israel's conduct.

Media whitewashing went on all the time quite disgracefully in the US - but not in the UK or across Europe.

The change - a very dramatic change - has happened since the turn of the century. Since the failure of the Oslo process and Israeli politicians almost all becoming outright rejectionists; and of course, since Hamas were disastrously elected in 2006.

Back then, if someone said "the abused have turned into the abusers", it was nothing more than a statement of the obvious.

Now, it's treated as 'antisemitic' by the utterly ridiculous IHRA examples, railroaded through by those desperate to stop criticism of Israel.

When Hamas committed the unspeakable on October 7 2023, my heart sank.

It sank for the victims and their loved ones that appalling day. And it sank just as much because of what I knew would be inevitable in response. The most wantonly disproportionate response imaginable.

Within a day or two, I predicted that Israel would go into Gaza for at least 5 years.

And contrary to what all the so-called 'experts' insisted, I also said Netanyahu would survive in power and gradually regain support... by waging perpetual war to save his own skin.

A deal to release all the hostages would NEVER have ended this war. Many of the hostages' families despise Netanyahu and his regime. They know the reality where he's concerned.

A reality which has never, ever been properly reported in the UK. But it has in Ha'aretz.

Gideon Levy is my idea of a great journalist.

Ha'aretz is my idea of a great newspaper.

Whereas in the UK, with its 'free press', we have GCHQ marching into The Guardian's offices to destroy their hard drives - and the great Carole Cadwalladr losing her job at The Observer.

After being openly ridiculed by 'journalists' like Andrew Neil or Isabel Oakeshott - grifters, both of them.

That's what we do to great journalists in the UK. We silence them and we reward corrupt, self-serving, lying shills.

Another great journalist and broadcaster? @SangitaMyska, whose treatment has exposed UK political journalism utterly.

Not least because so many who should be ashamed have been grotesquely complicit in the disgusting silencing of her for the crime of doing her job properly.

When she disappeared off the air - no explanation from her employer, nothing - everyone realised very quickly why.

It was because she'd asked an Israeli government spokesman really, really awkward questions.

It was also horribly obvious very, very quickly that Sangita's silence on here owed to an NDA having been signed.

Which would not allow her to provide any detail on why she'd been fired - because the detail would humiliate and expose LBC completely. And show it up as lying.

Lies which were told by a whole bunch of LBC presenters on this platform as they railed against the 'conspiracy theories' of those who don't button up at the back.

I'll never forget that. How people I'd previously admired - people like @ShelaghFogarty - showed their true colours

Because these weren't 'conspiracy theories', Shelagh.

This was a pure and simple case of two plus two equalling four - and you and your colleagues unbelievably insisting it instead equalled five, all just to stay in good standing with Global and throw Sangita under a bus.

Now, the line became that Myska had been let go because of 'falling ratings'.

Except that... her ratings had been GOING UP. A lot.



She was replaced by the always fearless, ever-popular... Vanessa Feltz. 🙄

https://x.com/peterjukes/status/1791115301783777451

What's 'Vanessa' backwards? "THAT'S ENOUGH!" (think about it)

These were just lies. If they could all lie about something so obvious, so clearcut, what else do they lie about?

And just as much: how can supposedly decent people display such unbelievable lack of integrity?

Lack of personal integrity. Monstrous lack of professional integrity.

If you call yourself a 'journalist' and you lie through your teeth in plain sight, then I'm sorry - but you ain't no journalist. You're just a propagandist interested in yourself.

I was also left in mounting disbelief at others I hugely admired - Marina Purkiss, Jemma Forte, Lewis Goodall - all rejoicing at getting new roles at Global.

All AT THE SAME TIME as this had been done to Sangita Myska.

That's how the bubble operates, folks.

That's how oblivious it is, how self-congratulatory it is, and how when push comes to shove, it will always protect itself rather than do the right thing.

Even those who weren't part of it not so long ago - people like Marina, who I still admire - have their heads turned by it.

Those of us who pay attention were beyond appalled. And lo and behold, some people phoned up LBC to point out what had happened.

So watch the below. Watch as someone mentioning Sangita is LITERALLY CENSORED IN PLAIN SIGHT.

https://x.com/BladeoftheS/status/1785996664802525406

As O'Brien lies through his teeth about it, gaslighting his entire audience.

And what did we get a while back? We got one of the most outrageous abuses of power I have ever seen in British journalism.

As O'Brien had the brass neck to blame someone silenced by his corporation for not coming to the rescue of him and his lying colleagues.

And worse, to accuse all those who can actually put two and two together and who know what 'evidence' looks like of being... 'antisemites'.

That's how interested he actually is in the truth. Not at all.

He's a lying, bullying bastard. We already knew that from the never-ending lies he told about Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party - all justified in his mind by his hatred of Corbyn.

Do you know what Jeremy would do in response? He'd defend the rights of a free press and want those rights bolstered - because that's the kind of bloke he is.

O'Brien, by contrast, has only ever been interested in being right. Or rather, being SEEN as right.

That's why he so routinely twists and wilfully misrepresents so many callers to his show - who don't have his education or (mas)debating techniques. And why he cuts others off and blocks anyone who challenges him on here.

His ego. It's about HIM, not the issues.

I have a mounting suspicion that his public image is probably way at odds with how he behaves behind the scenes.

Because I'm sorry - but publicly lying about something THIS serious, as good as slandering a former colleague based on those lies, is absolutely disgusting.

I'm delighted that Sangita's finally gone public - as public as she possibly can - in setting the record straight.

But what a mindblowing disgrace that she ended up having to do that. That a bunch of so-called 'journalists' are nothing more than liars, cowards and lickspittles.

Absolute solidarity with Sangita, who is a genuine hero of mine. 🌹

And also with @CountBinface. In what kind of country is the only public figure who held LBC to account and demanded to know the truth... an intergalactic spacelord?

https://x.com/Nullen80/status/1787556851678146631

"Free and fearless press"? Don't make me laugh.

cc @peterjukes @carolecadwalla @AaronBastani @michaeljswalker @novaramedia