Media Storm - Mainstream media mistrust and the far-right

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, Media Stormers. We hope you've been enjoying the new series. You may remember our first episode from this series, Radical Thinking, How to Fight the Far Right. We're here to give you just a little bit more from that episode because we had such an interesting and enlightening conversation with our guest Nigel Bromage. Nigel was once a member of a far right group and now he runs exit hate to UK, the charity helping people walk away from far right extremism. Here, he'll tell us how they help to alert victims of radicalisation to dangerous fake news. In this bonus episode, we'll discuss the collapse of trust in the mainstream media and the explosion of alternative news platforms and in what ways this feeds the far right.

Starting point is 00:00:46 You'll hear Matilda mention Andy Leake, the man who, on the 30th of October 2022, threw petrol bombs at an immigration centre in Dover, injuring 2. If you want to hear more about Leakes' digital footprints that led to this attack, go back and listen to Matilda's investigation at the start of episode one. For now, this is mainstream media mistrust and the far right. Far right extremism is now considered a greater domestic threat. The rise of the rise is a fantastic thing. 25 people have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.

Starting point is 00:01:25 Tepa Carlson was like, against a gay. straightway drug for conspiracy theories. I don't like them putting chemicals in the water. They turn the frigging frogs game. A big factor in the rise of extremism is the collapse of trust in mainstream media news outlet, which has seen this explosion of alternative news platforms. of which espouse extremist ideas or just peddle fake news for profit. And there's a lot of factors behind this. Like we have seen a concerted smear campaign by leaders like Donald Trump or

Starting point is 00:02:10 Jeb Bolsonaro in Brazil who have accused journalists questioning their policies of fake news or who blame mainstream media conspiracies for their fall from power. But do you think that the media holds any blame in the lack of trust that is held in it by so much of the population and for causing people to turn to these kind of alternative platforms and wild conspiracy theories instead. We will always say fact check everything. When we're taking somebody on a mentoring journey, we will literally sit them down with, you know, many, many newspapers. Often we'll sit there with an iPad and go through 10 newspapers to check a story. And we'll say, okay, this is now about you then learning the skill to critically analyze this. And

Starting point is 00:02:57 find the truth between the ten you know newspaper articles and quite often by doing that the individual gains those skills so they can go away and instead of getting angry because they've read one headline you know what I mean they've actually managed to read lots of things online and then go away and make a balanced sort of view you know many of the young people especially we talk to if it's a fancy website or the latest sort of app which young people use they will take it as gospel and that again really really scares us because it's just because it looks really professional and, you know, really well done and it's a great video or somebody's really charismatic doesn't make it real. I'm really like happy

Starting point is 00:03:39 to hear that that is something that you do in your mentoring programs. On that thread, though, then, do you, are you ever worried about the kind of explosion of these alternative TV news channels, especially like GV News or Talk TV? They were kind of the first of their kind in the UK. they turned to this more sort of Fox Newsy style of opinionated news, like no more traditional news bulletins, creating these very easily clippable debates that go viral on social media. And I think the thing about them, as you said, is that we're kind of all watching GB News

Starting point is 00:04:15 and hearing their talking points, even if we don't know it, because they don't really necessarily care about getting the news to the people. they are kind of more focused on taking down their ideological opposites about stirring up a frenzy against the more traditional news outlets, but then dressing it up as news. So suddenly really quite radical or right-wing ideologies become like just another opinion,

Starting point is 00:04:45 but they're under this banner of news. And so they become newsworthy. And that really scares me. I don't know if that scares you. Yeah, because that 30 second clip can basically make somebody make a decision. There's lots of platforms, lots of news outlets, which really look impressive and sharp and are attractive, you know, the music's good, you know, when it's cut down on to put onto whatever social media platform. And that 30 second clip could be the last like nailing somebody's coffins going, that's it of making a decision, I'm going to stand up, I'm going to do something. and it's like media companies have all got to take responsibility

Starting point is 00:05:25 and I would always advise a journalist to think about everything that's released imagine what would happen if that got to the wrong person could this impact somebody to do a negative activity which is going to harm society and if it is re-edit it society is at a difficult time now and extremists will take advantage of anyone lying any comment and it doesn't matter whether it's a politician, somebody in the news, you know, a celebrity,

Starting point is 00:05:55 that one sentence can change people's views and then have an effect for years. And we actually have evidence of that because if you look at the digital footprint of Andy Leak, as we do in this episode, if you look at the content that he was posting that he was resharing just weeks, days before he threw a petrol bomb at the Migrant Centre in Dover,

Starting point is 00:06:18 he was retweeting G.B. News clips. He was retweeting daily mail articles. And those were the questions that weren't asked in the aftermath of his attack. Yeah. And I think that's the proof that we need, isn't it? We need to make sure that actually, you know, where are they getting their information from and sort of how factual it is or how, you know, how is it made to just look sexy and, you know, attractive? You can hear our full investigation into the radicalisation of Andy Leake, the man who bombed a Kent Migrant Centre last October, and the role played by mainstream news and politics in the full episode on this topic. Scroll down a little and click on the episode titled Radical Thinking, How to Fight the Far Right.

Starting point is 00:07:10 Thank you for listening. Our next episode on medicinal cannabis and whether it's privileged access through privatised healthcare, is leaving low-income patients to self-medicate on the black market. We'll be out on the 1st of June. Follow Media Storm wherever you get your podcast so that you can get access to new episodes as soon as they drop. If you like what you hear, share this episode with someone and leave us a five-star rating and a review.

Starting point is 00:07:36 It really helps more people discover the podcast and our aim is to have as many people as possible to hear these voices. You can also follow us on social media at Mittled Amal, at Helena Wadia and follow the show via at the Media Storm pod. Get in touch and let us know what you'd like us to cover or who you'd like us to speak to. MediaStorm is an award-winning podcast produced by Helena Wadia and Matilda Mallinson. It came from the House of the Guilty Feminist and is part of the ACOS creator network. The music is by Samfire.

Media Storm - Mainstream media mistrust and the far-right

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