Why British media will continue to run anti-Trump stories
Posted on July 3, 2021 Author adminPosted in About Us
As the election cycle continues, the UK's biggest newspapers are increasingly playing the role of propagandists for the right-wing populist Donald Trump, with one tabloid, The Sun, suggesting the president is "not fit to serve" and a BBC report claiming "Trump's supporters are more racist than racists".
And while it's not clear whether the newspaper would consider running articles opposing the election, the publication has reportedly been given "special dispensation" to run articles that attack Hillary Clinton and her Democratic rival, former President Barack Obama.
"Trump supporters are less racist than racist" The Guardian reported in February 2016, quoting the editor of The Sun's London bureau.
"If I had my druthers, Trump supporters are much more racist, I think, than racists.
I'm not a racist, but they are more prejudiced towards minorities than towards whites," he said.
"If I were the president, I would have said 'let's not let Trump win' because he's a racist.
He's a bigoted man."
The Guardian's report comes amid a growing backlash to the newspaper's reporting on Brexit, which the paper has repeatedly accused of being biased and inaccurate.
The Daily Telegraph, which has long criticised The Sun for its coverage, published an editorial last week calling for the newspaper to "apologise for its Brexit coverage".
"It's clear that the Sun has been given special dispensation by the UK Government to continue peddling anti-EU propaganda and that's something that is absolutely abhorrent," the newspaper wrote.
"It is the duty of any journalist to do their job honestly, without fear or favour and to give a fair and balanced assessment of the facts.
The Sun's reporting has been criticised by the British government and its own political parties.
A spokesperson for the Press Complaints Commission said it was "not appropriate for the media to make any comment on the case" in the case of The Guardian.
While The Sun is not banned from reporting on the UK elections, the paper is no longer allowed to report on the Brexit process.
This is because the UK government has not made a decision about whether it would stay in the EU or leave it.
The government has until May 2019 to decide if it will continue with its current membership of the EU, or if it would be able to negotiate an exit deal with the bloc.
The Sun has said it plans to continue covering the Brexit debate.
"The press is being given the freedom to report the election and the debate in a way that is fair and unbiased," the spokesperson said. "
We've had some pretty big changes in the UK over the past couple of years, which have meant that the media is being asked to do a lot more work, but this does not necessarily mean it will always be the same."
"The press is being given the freedom to report the election and the debate in a way that is fair and unbiased," the spokesperson said.
"We have a duty to be fair to all parties and report honestly."
Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reported last week that a letter sent to the editors of The Telegraph, the world's biggest newspaper, said the paper "must change its editorial policy" to oppose Trump's election.
However, a spokesperson for The Telegraph said "the paper does not comment on individual cases".
The UK's Daily Mail is currently facing a barrage of criticism from other newspapers over its coverage of Brexit, with the paper describing the British press as "anti-establishment".
The Daily Mail's article also suggested that the UK would "fall into the hands of Donald Trump" and "have to face the consequences".
And the Telegraph has reported that it has "reached out to Trump's campaign to ask whether he would allow the paper to run coverage that attacked Hillary Clinton."
Despite the fact that the British media is largely run by Democrats and the UK has voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union, the press has become increasingly critical of the election results.
As a result, The Guardian said it had "freed itself from the 'no-platform' clause" that prevented it from running articles critical of Trump's victory.
Last week, the Guardian's editor said that he was "deeply concerned" by the growing number of UK newspapers publishing "unbalanced and inaccurate" stories about the election.
"We have been given permission by the Government to publish articles that criticise Trump and the Trump campaign, but not about the Brexit referendum result," The Guardian's Andrew Gilligan wrote.
"[The editor] has been asked by the Prime Minister to apologise for our Brexit coverage and is considering whether to do so."
A spokeswoman for the Guardian said that the newspaper "has a duty of impartial journalism" and would continue to do its job without fear of "political pressure".
"The Independent and The Independent's editorial teams have
Tagged: british newspapers
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