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Rob Ford @robfordmancs
, 24 tweets, 7 min read Read on Twitter
This was a bit too lazy and glib on my part. This subject deserves more careful, clear explanation on what's wrong and why here. So that's what I'm going to do here 1/?
Lets' start with the headline "George Soros, the man who 'broke the Bank of England' backs secret plot to thwart Brexit". This is worth unpacking. The substance of the article, and Nick Timothy's comment piece, is an organisation "Best for Britain" that Soros has helped finance
The organisation is public. The goals of the organisation - to secure and win a second referendum - are public. Timothy's article quotes previous public statements by Lord Malloch-Brown (another backer). They're headed by Gina Miller, who is not exactly averse to publicity.
So the organisation is not a secret plot. It is true that Soros backs them. But he isn't the fonder (Miller) the chairman (Mark Malloch-Brown) or the CEO (Eloise Todd). So why the focus on him? And why "secret plot" for a public organisation, pursuing publicly stated goals?
Well, what happens if you search "George Soros conspiracy" on google? Images like these, pages and pages of them
"Oh, that's just cranks. Internet is full of cranks. Proves nothing", you may say. OK. Except it isn't. Here's Hungarian PM Viktor Orban framing the EU refugee policy as a "Soros conspiracy": ft.com/content/76ce19…
Here's Orban's frontal assault on the Soros founded European University Institute in Budapest, a fiercely independent world leading research institution: thetimes.co.uk/article/hardli…
There are billboards everywhere in Hungary with Soros' face next to text about "conspiracy." Just like the @Telegraph front page splash
Nor is it just Hungary. Poland's ruling party and state media regularly propagate stories about Soros conspiracies. @BDStanley can provide plenty of examples washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-ca…
So does Vladimir Putin and Russian state media. So does the Trumpist right in the US. So does the far right in practically every European country. "Shadowy Soros lead conspiracy" is one of the leading right wing memes in the world.
"Maybe the Telegraph didn't know about any of that? Maybe its an innocent coincidence?" OK, in that case, how to explain the boxout section on the article, which I attach here.
Claim 1: OSF banned from Russia and Uzbekistan. Not mentioned: what it was banned for. Promoting democracy and attacking practices like slavery and torture hrw.org/news/2015/12/0…
opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/despite…
Claim 2: "Accused by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban of trying to orchestrate an ultra-liberal crusade..."
An accusation made by an autocratic PM stoking a campaign against a university Soros funds which criticises his govt (Soros has funded the education of thousands of E Europeans)
Claim 3: "Accused of toppling governments in Geogia and Ukraine"
Accused by who? Not mentioned: these were undemocratic, Russian backed governments, and the main accusers are Russia and (again) the far right. Again no attempt at balance here.
So, to sum up, we have a headline which puts front and centre (with a massive picture too) a figure who is Enemy #1 in anti-semitic far right and E European natioanlist conspiracy theories. The framing "secret plot" is the framing they use.
The boxout giving readers info on Soros repeats three of the commonest anti-Soros campaigns by autocratic, far right nationalists, without attribution or evidence (using the weaselly passive voice "he is accused...")
Now, is this anti-semitism or not? I leave that to the reader to decide. But to anyone who has spent time in Hungary, Poland, Russia, or studies the US or European far right, this all looks mighty familiar.
Occam's razor: is it really plausible to believe the authors of this article could do sufficient research to provide all the material on Soros controversies in the boxout, without at any stage discovering how these anti-Soros campaigns are used, and by who?
Did they manage to google search "Soros Orban" and somehow miss stories like this?
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
And this?
rt.com/news/411693-or…
And this?
ft.com/content/e38883…
Those are three of the first articles which appear on the front page of google when one googles "Soros Orban".
Are we really to believe that Nick Timothy, a top aide to aPM, was unaware how Soros is portrayed and used by nationalists in European govts and in European far right parties? Or that, despite being aware, he couldn't prevent the Telegraph from framing things this way?
Even if we buy all of this, do Brexiteers really think moving the Brexit debate to the terrain of far right nationalists is a good idea? Or, as @hugorifkind put it:
Journalists make choices. They choose how to frame the argument. They chose "Soros" "secret plot", big picture of Soros, and unattributed, uncritiqued anti-Soros campaigns by authoritarian governments. Those are the choices they need to explain, defend, or retract.
If this is the hill they choose to plant their flag on, and they stick to that choice, we can all form our own judgements about that. Sorry for the long thread all. This is important so I wanted to get it down in detail. /ends/
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Insightful stuff from Stephen as usual. People’s Vote campaign still haven’t figured out good message to win the referendum they campaign for. One problem imo is the one @hugorifkind identified today - Remainers have gone Conan and are more interested in venting than persuading
Imagine a horde of #fbpe types descending on the nations doorsteps to explain to joe public that he is a racist moron duped by Russians into blaming all his problems on the immigrants who keep this country running, who has now been given a golden opportunity to reverse his error.
Sound persuasive? No? Well that’s the jist of the message I hear from the most committed and active pro-Remain types nearly all the time. It doesn’t seem to trouble them that “my opponents are stupid” isn’t great for a campaign which requires winning over at least some of them.
Read 3 tweets
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OK, time for my 2019 predictions thread....
1. Brexit. I have very low confidence in this, given the huge uncertainty and wide range of options but here goes:
We will go right to the edge of the A50 deadline, maybe even a little past it, but in the end May's deal will get voted through after an absolutely awful March
May's deal has two advantages - it starts with a large pool of votes, and it requires less steps to achieve than any of the other options.
With both Lab and Cons unwilling to co-ordinate on an alternative, and unwilling to work with the Other Side despite internal divides...
Read 54 tweets
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Will do a thread of 2019 predictions tomorrow. First, a thread on things I got wrong in 2018. 1/?
Starting with the question which consumed us in Britain in 2018: Brexit. A year ago, my expectation was that we would have secured and voted through a deal by this point in time. The deal would pass at the second or third time of asking, with Labour votes to overcome ERG rebels.
3/? Not where we are of course. What did I get wrong? Several things, I think. I underestimated the size and inflexibility of the "no deal is better than a bad deal" faction in the Parl Cons. And underestimted the willingness of govt to take us right to the edge of No Deal
Read 23 tweets

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Here's the truth about Brexit, the "punishment" some people claim the EU wants to inflict on us, the full horrific consequences of no deal, and the dangers lurking behind any deal we reach. Buckle in, it's pretty long. Better to be thorough than to leave anything out. 1/47
To leave the EU, we are following the rules laid down in Article 50. A50 is a short, simple document that explains how a country can choose to leave the EU. (The UK was fully involved with producing A50. Indeed, a Brit - Lord Kerr - even drafted it!) 2/47
lisbon-treaty.org/wcm/the-lisbon…
As EU members, we currently benefit from over 750 international treaties. Some allow us to trade freely with the EU and 40+ non-EU countries. Others cover a host of other issues, from air worthiness to drivers licenses, UK & EU citizens rights, food safety, etc. 3/47
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Lets get a little uncomfortable together and talk about trans infighting. I'm not subtweeting, anything I reference I've seen from multiple people. Imagine anything typed with a calm voice, I'm not sardonic or biting here. White trans folk may feel challenged, but we need it.
CW: all the shit trans folk experience including sui*, violence, murder, anxiety, depression, discrimination, erasure, as well as racism, and refugees in detention camps. I do not invite comparison or argument in the comments. I compare ONLY to give context. Cis folk, look only.
I'm predominantly talking about Australian trans communities, because that's what I know - please keep in mind communities and populations are different across continents.

Okay. So. Infighting! It suuuucks! It hurts all of us! It REALLY hurts nonbinary, PoC and questioning folk!
Read 45 tweets
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More smutty bullshit: Post Recall, Jack has been part of the new gang for a while now, as the resident tactical advisor, back up, hero for the kids to fawn over. Reaper is there as well, sort of under house arrest, wort of reluctantly accepted. They don’t wanna trust him yet
They don’t put him in a cell he can actually be confined in, but there’s a trust based privileges earned type of thing. He stays in a very limited area during the night and can’t go certain places without supervision. It works, the younger recruits even genuinely like him.
His and Jack’s relationship is really hesitant, somewhat slow to get back to normal with so many people around and Gabe being limited in where he can go or not. Neither of them wants to deal with the scrunity either, not again. Jack especially won’t have people question him.
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#QAnon #GreatAwakening #ClintonCrimeFamily Truth Bomb Thread Starts here Lets start with a list of JP's Closest friends and email addresses. Have fun anons
Remember the housing bailout....
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Join your own League and then thrive while at it. You get to compete in a close to real-time stock traders' league on the @nsenigeria, if come out on top, you win cash you can invest. Here's how to start. Plus you win airtime by the way
#MyInvestmentPlan
You watch fellow human beings play in the UCL, NBA, F1 et al. It's time to play in your own league and actually win money, just like them! Follow this thread, there's money to be made, and most importantly, a new (bankable) skill to learn :-) #MyInvestmentPlan
This is the @InvestmentOne All Stars League and any ambitious person can play! If you wish to trade in the stock or commodities market, you can participate in the All Stars League. It is designed for everyone, newbie or expert. You play, you can win! #MyInvestmentPlan
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Here's a big problem with the way online marketing advice is going:

"80% of people only read the headline, therefore, you should concentrate 80% of your time on the headline."

This is BAD advice. This thread will explain why.
You have an offer at the end of your funnel. Click Headline>Read Article>Click For Offer.

In an ideal world, we could send everyone straight to the last bit; a shopping cart checkout. But we don't live in an ideal world.
So the whole point of the funnel is to FILTER the people who are going to buy from those that aren't. Sure, your funnel seeks to convince people, but in reality you're mostly targeting people that need the offer already. You just let them know.
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