one word #Venality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venality #FreeTommy #FreeSpeech Bribeable, cruel, selfish, selling one’s services or power. Venality causes people to lie and steal for their own personal advantage, and is related to bribery and nepotism, among other vices. #Kakistocracy
one word #Venality https://t.co/LvHSULRNUe #FreeTommy #FreeSpeech
Bribeable, cruel, selfish, selling one's services or power. Venality causes people to lie and steal for their own personal advantage, and is related to bribery and nepotism, among other vices. #Kakistocracy https://t.co/SqmVApKeq1— GrubStreetJournal (@GrubStreetJorno) July 11, 2019
Tommy Robinson jailed for contempt of court
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESTommy Robinson has been jailed for nine months over contempt of court.
The ex-English Defence League leader was found guilty last week of interfering with the trial of a sexual grooming gang at Leeds Crown Court in May 2018.
Two Old Bailey judges said his Facebook Live video of defendants in the trial had encouraged “vigilante action”.
A social media account in Robinson’s name called the sentence an “absolute joke” and said it was time to protest.
Outside the London court, supporters of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, booed as news of his sentence reached them.
The crowd marched towards the Old Bailey chanting “we want Tommy out” before some began pelting police with bottles and cans.
Free Speech Tommy Robinson and Other useful Idiots. #FreeTommy #IamTommy(notmyrealname) #The AG is in contempt of #FreeSpeech
Tommy Robinson and the Contemptible Politicisation of Freedom of the Press.
I do think this case is a watershed in Civil Liberties, Free Speech and Freedom of the press. The Case recently which Mr Robinson ( Yaxley Lennon) brought against Cambridgeshire police, on another matter similarly saw the appointment of a “Special Interest” Judge and a similarly tainted verdict. The Language choices in the judgement are Pertinent to a subtext of authoritarian condescension, even by the arcane standards of Legal Language any independent observer can grasp the sneering tone and incredulity in the written words, should one attend a reading of the judgement in person I am sure it would be redolent of Peter Cook in Drag.
BBC director general warns against ‘assault on truth’
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESThe BBC’s director general has warned that the world is facing “the biggest assault on truth since the 1930s”.
Speaking at the Global Conference For Media Freedom in London, Tony Hall said: “An assault on truth is an assault on democracy.”
He compared the spread of fake news to propaganda used by the Nazi party in the build-up to the Second World War.
“All those who believe in integrity in news must work together to turn the tide,” he said.
Lord Hall added that the BBC had a role to play in battling fake news and press repression across the world. “We are ready to do even more to promote freedom of expression worldwide,” he said.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESHe told the conference: “We need to reassert the core principles of good journalism like never before. In a sea of disinformation and partisan reporting, we need to stand up for independence, impartiality, and reporting without fear or favour.”
He added: “I’m determined that we use that unique reach and trusted voice to lead the way – to create a global alliance for integrity in news.”
Also on the conference panel were UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, as well as human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who has represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Clooney said: “The current media crisis involves both the silencing of truth and the amplification of misinformation to levels we have never seen before.
“I believe the way the world responds to this crisis will define our generation and determine whether democracy can survive.”
Last month, Assange’s legal team branded the US extradition case against him “an outrageous and full-frontal assault on journalistic rights“, as a court ordered him to face a full extradition hearing next year.
The new threats to journalism
By Amol Rajan, BBC media editor
In some democracies, journalists are suddenly presumed guilty until proven innocent.
The beatings given to journalists in India, and the verbal beatings meted out by President Trump, are both motivated by the (generally) false belief that journalists are part of a crooked elite that is conspiring against the public.
Many journalists do appalling things every day, have hidden agendas or base morals, and poison the public domain. But a majority don’t.
Restoring trust in them, particularly in an era of unreliable information, will require outstanding journalism that inspires the public, and a culture willing to make heroes of such reporters. That, in turn, can only happen if there is reliable financing for high-quality and independent journalism. And the best guarantee of independence is profit.
