BBC ordered journalists to be more critical of opposition party (and pandemic messaging) after message from Johnson government

[CitizenVectron]

BBC came under No 10 pressure to avoid using ‘lockdown’ in early pandemic, leak shows | BBC | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

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Exclusive: leaked emails and WhatsApp messages reveal reporters also told to be more critical of Labour

 

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BBC editors asked their journalists to avoid using the word "lockdown" in reporting at the start of the pandemic and to be more critical of Labour after pressure from Downing Street, leaked email and WhatsApp messages show.

 

On lockdown messaging in early pandemic:
 

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The email, sent to correspondents at just after 6pm on the day lockdown was announced, was labelled: IMPORTANT ADVISORY – language re broadcast. "Hi all – D st are asking if we can avoid the word 'lockdown'. I'm told the message will be that they want to keep pushing people to stay at home but they are not talking about enforcement at the moment," it said.

 

On being more critical of the Labour opposition:

 

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In another WhatsApp message from Sunday 24 October 2021, a senior editor asked journalists to make coverage more critical of Labour after a complaint from No 10.

The message reads: “D St complaining that we’re not reflecting Labour’s mess of plan b online. ie Ashworth said it earlier this week, then reversed. Can we turn up the scepticism a bit on this?”

 

BBC has become more and more the messaging arm of the Conservative Party the last decade, on issues ranging from the pandemic, to trans issues (BBC notoriously anti-trans), to climate, etc.

[Chairslinger]

I could see a valid argument about quibbling over lockdown, but the thing about Labour seems to be pure political coordination. 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

So how long until the UK constitutionally must have an election?

[Jason]

20 minutes ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

So how long until the UK constitutionally must have an election?

 

what constitution

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

42 minutes ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

So how long until the UK constitutionally must have an election?

 

 

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The next United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held no later than 24 January 2025. 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

22 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

what constitution

 

This is correct in the sense that the UK doesn't have a formally codified constitution.  However, the collected body of both written and unwritten arrangements is generally accepted to comprise the "constitution" of the UK.

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

7 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

 

 

Lmao they still have two years left to get this stuff buried. What a dumb country