Biased BBC article promoting Lily Madigan

[ferntwist]

BBC Newsbeat reporter Michael Baggs has taken it on himself to launch Lily Madigan's career as an MP with a shockingly biased article today.

www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/42167494/lily-madigan-i-want-to-be-labours-first-transgender-mp

Anne Ruzylo is described as having been dismissed because of 'perceived transphobia' - she resigned because she was harassed for her feminism! Baggs also gets the CLP wrong. Most importantly, Anne Ruzylo is not given any right to reply.

In fact, the article doesn't interview a single feminist or a single Labour women who is concerned about males taking women's opportunities, but gives huge prominence to an unpublished letter from women who have already benefitted from the Jo Cox scheme.

Michael Baggs casts Lily as a brave battler against transphobia - entirely missing the real story here, which is that women are being bullied from speaking out against the loss of their opportunities to men.

I am absolutely gobsmacked that such a biased, unbalanced puff piece on such a divisive wannabe politician has made it onto the BBC.

Really makes you think there's something going on, doesn't it?

If you would like to complain, here's where to do it. Takes a minute.
ssl.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/?lang=en&reset=&uid=494878240

Just had a reply from the BBC - told them I didn't want the standard reply they've sent out already so they've sent me a redrafted standard reply which also doesn't tackle the main question - I asked them to address the BBC editorialising in their sentence "This is not the first time LM has faced transphobia..."

I will ask again for a comment on that specific sentence.

Thank you for contacting us regarding our Newsbeat online article that was posted on Friday 1st December. We understand that you feel that the article was inaccurate and portrayed Lily Madigan in a favourable light.

At the beginning of the article we explained that Lily is Labour’s first transgender woman’s officer, and we referred to her within this capacity throughout the article. We also explained that some people were unhappy with accepting Lily as a woman’s officer, as someone who will look at the best ways to represent female constituents in their area, as Lily has not lived all of her life as a woman. We believe that within the article we heard from both sides of the story, and we feel it was also important to hear from Lily on her views on the subject to understand the journey that has led to her being appointed Labour’s first transgender woman’s officer. These views are Lily’s own, and have been quoted as such.

We also explained Lily’s campaign to get fellow woman’s officer, Anne Ruzylo, removed from her post as a result of alleged transphobic views. We did not say that Lily was successful in the removal of Ms Ruzylo, and Ms Ruzylo herself explained that the complaint against her was not upheld.

Please be assured that your comments have been passed to the Newsbeat team and we appreciate the time you’ve taken to get in touch.

I got this:

Thank you for contacting us regarding our Newsbeat online article that was posted on Friday 1st December. We understand that you feel that the article was inaccurate and portrayed Lily Madigan in a favourable light.

At the beginning of the article we explained that Lily is Labour’s first transgender woman’s officer, and we referred to her within this capacity throughout the article. We also explained that some people were unhappy with accepting Lily as a woman’s officer, as someone who will look at the best ways to represent female constituents in their area, as Lily has not lived all of her life as a woman. We believe that within the article we heard from both sides of the story, and we feel it was also important to hear from Lily on her views on the subject to understand the journey that has led to her being appointed Labour’s first transgender woman’s officer. These views are Lily’s own, and have been quoted as such.

We also explained Lily’s campaign to get fellow woman’s officer, Anne Ruzylo, removed from her post as a result of alleged transphobic views. We did not say that Lily was successful in the removal of Ms Ruzylo, and Ms Ruzylo herself explained that the complaint against her was not upheld.

Please be assured that your comments have been passed to the Newsbeat team and we appreciate the time you’ve taken to get in touch.

So completely and utterly unique in every way.

Done - thanks op.

I got the same response. But I do think complaining about these things is worthwhile.

another tweet by madigan
"If they aren’t comfortable with trans women using women’s toilets they are literally being prejudiced against trans women - transphobia"

my answer to that is
If trans women aren’t comfortable using men’s toilets that isn't women's problem..!

There is no evidence TW are any less dangerous to women and girls than any other men and we have separate toilets because of men's predatory history, so women have them not despite men but because of men.