Southlondondaddy, heres the Guardian piece. Ill explain why this, seemingly negligible 3 para item, almost single handedly brings down a continent.
www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/08/catalonia-demo-injuries-fact-checking
This piece by the Guardian, went viral within seconds. It was picked up by international news agencies within minutes, and various forms of it were then regurgitated across the globe, and is still viral across Twitter. (Guardian editors rubbing their hands with glee) Whats wrong with that, you may say.
Heres the WashPo follow on piece.
www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/10/19/how-fake-news-helped-shape-the-catalonia-independence-vote/?utm_term=.b6e06ff5949a
Firstly, the Guardians headline and the content, arent accurate. They arent accurate because the Guardian failed to verify what actual injuries there were. They failed to report on verifiable facts, or make any attempt to verify actual injury numbers, prefering dismissing the entire question of 'violence' as 'possible' fake news. Did some 'false flag' muppet on twitter attempt to undermine and minimise the the actions of the Spanish police? Who knows? Heavens what a suggestion. The Guardian certainly didnt know the source.
"With fake news apparently leaking from every media orifice...." says the Guardian, except theirs one assumes. They have regurgitated a tactic indeed used in the Brexit debate. The side they want to discredit, is fuelled by fake news. Its a purely political stance.
In Brexit, they ignore, that the Government were pro-remain. They sent a leaflet to every household laying out their reasons to support remain and stay in the single market. Every household. The cost of that campaign was millions. The highest, most influential man in the country, the Prime Minister, very publicly stood on a platform of remain.
The media then decide the vote was lost, on 'fake' news. The wonderful, unverifiable ascertion that stupid people believed fake facts, (whatever they may be) 17 million of them. The verifiable truth is, 17 million read the governments leaflet, heard David Cameron, and voted anyway.
I for example, followed events really closely across various media sources, on the day of the Catalan referendum. I never saw any mention or viral promotion of say the bloke in the yellow t-shirt. This supposed 'fake news' event, supposedly impacted the views of international communities. Yellow t-shirt bloke wasnt amongst the thousands of pictures I saw coming out of Catalonia at the time. Who and where, was a 6 year old boy paralysed? Fake news of fake news? Who knows. All I know, is that today the Guardian tell me my view, my personal view, is skewed by something I know I didnt see.
Now multiply my bemusement, by several billion on the planet, who like me, didnt see what the Guardian are reporting on, but did see live events. The Guardian says Im wrong. The Guardian says Im a member of the sheep community, who have formed an inaccurate view. In short, the Guardian says it didnt happen, and my view is the wrong view.
So what if the Guardian had indeed written this piece accurately, without political bias.
"Headline: 3 Spanish Social media items, proven to be false" . Wheres the political statement in that? Wheres the syndicate value in that? There is none. Indeed, the article specifically omits even linking to the offending items. Perhaps because they were in Spanish and I dont speak spanish, so the whole 'youve been led' argument crumbles anyway?
I did witness the following. Live on Sky, rubber projectiles /bullets being fired at citizens turning out to vote (and the Sky reporter). I did witness live assaults by police on unarmed civilians, turning out to vote. The world watched as young, old and disabled, turned out to vote and were met by state police and violence. I did witness the BBCs version of these events as 'a bit of jostling', whilst rubber bullets flew.
Catalonians do indeed have a Catalan TV channel. TV3. To even imply that voters, are motivated by fake news in Catalonia, ignores the verifiable fact that 87% of their TV is Spanish, and 100% of Catalans speak Spanish.
The Guardians desire, to imply, well if there was a bit of violence, it wasnt serious violence, no one really got hurt that much, shifts the worlds view on the media and The Guardian, because quite simply its untrue by omission. We all witnessed what happened on that day.
When you then discuss 'state media', 'state fascism', propoganda, we only have one source that shows us this is now in our town, and at our doors. Guardian articles like this one, that tell me Im the liar, that I didnt see what I saw. This is what is bringing down Europe.
They say its sunny outside on my street. I step out, get rained on and wet, and am then belittled, ridiculed and called out as a liar. The Guardian are calling millions liars, for what reason? The answer can only be a political one.