If you support Reform, Restore, Greens and similar far right/left parties

[Yellownotblue]

How do you feel about the fact that your support is being whipped up by Russia, in concerted attacks, for the specific purpose of sowing division and political instability in Britain? Is this giving you any pause for thought? Do you think you will go back to supporting traditional parties?

Do you think the party you support has a strong platform to defend the country against clear and present danger from very powerful nations which are taking active measures to harm us? Or put another way, are you prepared to entertain the very real possibility that the party you support is propped up by foreign influence and money that are actually using you as pawns in a political game that will destroy all of us, including yourself?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r2l352z2do

Of course it is spreading mis/disinformation.

You claimed that there were reports that "Serco, the vast prisoner and immigrant accommodation management company would refuse to follow instructions by a Reform government".

That was not true. As such, you were spreading mis/disinformation.

You cited Zia Yusuf's Facebook page as your source. That is not a reliable source of information.

You have since stated that Serco's refusal to follow instructions from a Reform government was reported in the Telegraph. I've checked. All I could find were reports on Zia Yusuf's letter (which obviously pushed his narrative) and a report that Serco "is understood to have ruled out involvement in an ICE-style deportation campaign".

Serco has referred to inaccuracies in the Telegraph reporting, but even if it were true, a private company deciding that it would not be interested in tendering for a future contract in a hypothetical procurement exercise that a hypothetical Reform government might or might not choose to run is categorically not the same as the incumbent holder of an existing government contract to provide migrant accommodation stating that it would refuse to follow instructions from any future government.

Perhaps you have no idea how public sector procurement works in the UK, but for your information, all private companies are free to choose which tender opportunities they wish to respond to and which they do not, because they are private companies. The fact that they may hold an existing contract to provide one kind of service in relation to our immigration system does not create any obligation on them to provide other services which are outside the scope of their existing contracts.

Anyway, before you posted your mis/disinformation, you clearly did not bother checking your facts, as Serco had in fact already issued a statement clarifying its position and confirming that it does not comment on the policy programmes of political parties.

I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were spreading misinformation due to ignorance/poor critical thinking skills, but the fact that you're digging in your heels on this one makes me lean more towards the view that you're deliberately spreading disinformation.

Does anyone? I don't even trust bbc weather

Whilst people should be aware of international bad actors, Labour are doing a sterling job of self sabotage, all on their own.

The FT has a good article on the Russian involvement in the case, if that's more your thing. The Telegraph has covrred it too. And other media outlets.

The Telegraph reported that Serco, a private sector company, would not be bidding for mass deportation contracts in the UK.

Zia claimed Serco had taken a decision to oppose Reform's plans. He said the only reasonable interpretation of Serco’s position is that it now believes itself to be an alternative power base to the duly elected government of the United Kingdom, and is willing to act contrary to the interests of the British electorate. And made some crazy, vague threats.🤯

Responding, Serco said it “does not take political positions, nor do we comment on the policy programmes of political parties”.

This is a case of an unelected member of Reform UK who seems to think he can dictate to and threaten a private sector company that has the right to bid or not bid on contracts. Not some conspiracy or activism.🤷‍♀️

We're utterly fucked, aren't we? I read many of the posts on here and just despair. People's world views are so warped by misinformation and propaganda on social media. It really is a cancer. They don't believe reputable journalists, but believe faceless accounts on X. The security services need to have the power to expose and shut down foreign interference online and in our press. Putin must be laughing.

Do you have specifics about it is actually affecting people though?

The report that was made in the Telegraph that they wouldn’t co operate with instructions from a Reform government. Presumably some grown ups have stepped in.

I think you should look at the Russia Report and what the security services and analysts are saying.

I can't access the Telegraph article, its behind a paywall but if they did say Serco wouldn’t co operate with instructions from a Reform government then they were lying. I don't think they said that though. Do you have a quote?

It is affecting you. You are swallowing disinformation whole and then repeating it on here.

Sadly, yes, I think we're totally fucked. I actually can't see any way back to a world in which facts matter.

I fear for the younger generation and what kind of world we have created for our children and our grandchildren.

The idea of integrity in public life is gone. The notion of truth is gone. Democracy, as we knew it, is gone. We are going to need to figure out a different way of being in this new reality. I don't know what that looks like yet, but I'm starting to realise that we simply cannot rely on our fellow citizens to behave like decent, reasonable or rational human beings.

As a pp said (not sure it was you?) SM has to be held accountable in the same way the press is. It is the only way.

Ah another ‘if you support a party I disapprove of, justify your decision although you will be called a bigot or stupid’ thread. Is it that time already?

Have you bothered to read the thread at all?

I've read the Telegraph article.

They did not report that Serco wouldn't cooperate with a Reform government.

They reported that Serco, like the other companies that they had contacted to ask about potential collaboration with Reform, had declined to comment.

And they reported that Serco would not be bidding for a mass deportation contract.

@CornishDaughteroftheDawn is either deliberately seeking to spread disinformation about what was reported or else she has a serious problem with her reading comprehension.

Yes thanks but these threads always end up the same way

It certainly is. @CornishDaughteroftheDawn I really wouldn't waste any more time on this. When you read that we fellow citizens need to behave in a certain way, you just laugh and say yeah right. Hilarious.

Yes, we do need to hold social media accountable for the material that they publish. I'm just not sure that I see anyone with the courage to take on that fight?

Who DO you believe?

This is a report of a court case. Everything that was said was said in open and public court (you or I could have attended, and many members of the public probably did) so, sorry to disappoint your preconceptions, but this a ringer for being accurate.

Not at the moment. It will be a big battle.

Why have you deemed Zia Yusuf an unreliable source. Do you have any basis for this other than him reacting to a report from another reliable source, or is it just that you disbelieve everyone whose politics you dislike?

Anyway, before you posted your mis/disinformation, you clearly did not bother checking your facts, as Serco had in fact already issued a statement clarifying its position and confirming that it does not comment on the policy programmes of political parties. tender opportunities they wish to respond to and which they do not, because they are private companies.

If a private company who is a huge government contractor declines (or suggests that they would decline) to provide services for political purposes then that is a problem. That has now been clarified which is great news.

Anyway, before you posted your mis/disinformation, you clearly did not bother checking your facts, as Serco had in fact already issued a statement clarifying its position and confirming that it does not comment on the policy programmes of political parties.

Oh my lord, I read it last night and mentioned it this morning. I’m very pleased that it had been cleared up and that Serco are now confirming that they are not taking a political position on this. Me not being 100% up to date with a recently developing situation is not deliberately spreading disinformation. I acknowledged their confirmation earlier in the thread and am pleased. That doesn’t mean the earlier allegations were false or deliberately spreading misinformation.

You and other pps are being rather aggressive in your response to this. Are you particular fans of Serco?

I still haven’t seen any evidence of this shadowy Russian involvement everyone is so worried about or any real life consequences- apart from Starmer’s car?

I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were spreading misinformation due to ignorance/poor critical thinking skills,

Don’t do me any favours, I don’t really care if you give me the ‘benefit of the doubt’ or not.

Quite. I can’t help being a bit intrigued by the aggressive reactions on here but it seems there is little to back it. I’ll go and enjoy some more positive threads.

Why have I deemed Zia Yusuf to be an unreliable source?

Er...because he is a politician with a very clear agenda? And because anyone can post any old shit on Facebook without the need for evidence or references or fact checking etc? Is it not obvious?

Do you always believe everything that every politician ever tells you?

There was no report that Serco would be declining to bid for a mass deportation contract for political reasons. That bit was made up. The report simply stated that they would not be involved in that particular work. It gave no reason as to why.

Out of interest, why do you think it would be a problem if a private company decided not to bid for a specific government contract anyway? Do you believe that government should have the power to compel private companies to tender for opportunities that the government wishes to outsource?

I'm not a fan of Serco at all. Actually, I don't like them very much. But I like disinformation even less. And I dislike the way in which you have been spreading it.

Good idea. Your agenda has been clearly exposed on this thread, so there isn't much point in you wasting any more of your time here. Go and see if you can find a more gullible audience for your disinformation instead. I'm sure you'll have more fun.

Yusuf is Reform's spokes person not a politician.

Not paywalled
https://www.cityam.com/serco-hits-back-after-zia-yusuf-accuses-ftse-250-firm-of-being-hostile-to-reform/

He is not an MP, but if someone is appointed to speak regularly on behalf of a recognised political party, does that not make them a politician?