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SubscriptionsCategory: Democracy
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In this Age of Untruth BBC Journalists Are Being Taken for a Ride
Former BBC producer Patrick Howse considers the different approaches of Laura Kuenssberg and Emily Maitlis and what this tells us about the state of the public service broadcaster.
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The Cummings Scandal Shows Us Just How Dependent the Billionaire Press is on Boris Johnson
Brian Cathcart explains why Britain’s right-wing newspapers will try their best to support the Government in its attempts to ‘move on’ from the scandal of the Prime Minister’s chief advisor.
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Boris Johnson Cannot be Allowed to Treat the Country as his own Private Urinal
To Musa Okwonga, the Dominic Cummings scandal proves that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet are no longer public servants — they treat the public as their servants.
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PEAK DENIAL: How the Corporate Press Negates Journalism
By failing to be transparent about themselves, it is difficult to trust most of the mainstream newspapers when it comes to the truth about others.
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Hong Kong Heats Up Again as COVID-19 Crisis Takes a Back Seat
Tommy Walker reports from Hong Kong about why the fight for democracy rather than the battle against the Coronavirus is headline news in the former British colony.
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Strangling Democracy: Millions Paid to Corporate Press at the Expense of Journalism
With Boris Johnson handing out millions of pounds of public money to subsidise a cheerleading press, Brian Cathcart says that the corruption is so brazen it takes your breath away.
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A Year On from the Scandal of the European Elections, Democracy is Still in Danger
Maike Bohn, co-founder of the 3Million Campaign, explains how thousands were disenfranchised last year and their plan to take the Government to court over a dangerous precedent.
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The Coronavirus Crisis: It Was There For All to See in the £20 Notes – Wasn’t it?
Otto English explains how nations that start by normalising conspiracy theories end up having their phone masts burned down
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Coronavirus: We Must Resist this Exercise in Hypernormalisation
Hardeep Matharu warns against becoming numb to the constructed reality being created by politicians as the UK gets to grips with the immense human cost of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Democracy in the UK – How Worried Should We Be?
Mike Buckley observes how authoritarian takeovers are often led by elected incumbents and finds worrying signs in Boris Johnson’s populist approach.
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The Coronavirus Crisis: Disinformation Rings True As Our Pandemic of Untruth Continues
Musa Okwonga explores why conspiracy theories are finding such an audience and what this exposes about the worrying state of our democracy and the social contract.
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Editorial: The Nation’s Immune System and the Cost of Lies
On Byline Times’ first anniversary, a big thank you to all our readers and subscribers for your support.
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The Coronavirus Crisis: Why Are Lies More Attractive than Science?
Sarah Haque explores the gap between expert and public understandings of science and why this poses such challenges in times of public health crises such as the Coronavirus pandemic.
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Twitter Cannot Keep Hiding Behind Blanket Anonymity
Why are social media companies so reluctant to accept the harm caused by allowing users to set up anonymous accounts?
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The Coronavirus Crisis: Government to Introduce ‘Most Draconian Peacetime Powers Ever’
Steve Shaw reports on the Coronavirus Bill, which introduces new emergency powers to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
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It’s Finally Time for Michael Gove to Come Clean Over Referendum Wrongdoing
A former MP and member of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee – which investigated disinformation and fake news during the 2016 EU Referendum – calls on the Cabinet Office Minister to reveal what he knew about electoral wrongdoing.
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Journalism Under Threat: ‘In the Battle for Truth, You have to say who Lies’
Fiona O’Connor reports on the threats being faced by women journalists around the world and how one of the loudest voices against the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte is standing firm.
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‘Real Boot on the Throat Stuff’: Why the BBC is Facing the Fight of its Life
Former BBC producer Patrick Howse speaks to those inside the Corporation about the threats facing it at the hands of Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings.
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Tip of the Iceberg: More Connections Between Boris Johnson and Russian Influencers Emerge
Turlough Conway investigates a new network of connections with the Prime Minister which lead back, via senior Russian oligarchs, to the alleged agent Joseph Mifsud
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Online Harms Bill: Our Democracy is at Stake and the Government Isn’t Serious About Tackling it
Kyle Taylor on the irresponsible omission in the Government’s new Online Harms White Paper — the protection of democracy.
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Boris Johnson Must Keep His Hands Off Our Judges
Gareth Roberts provides a barrister’s take on the Conservative Party’s desire to curb the independence of the judiciary.
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Political Advertising: How to Stop Polarisation over Campaign Lies
Stephen Kinnock MP and Kyle Taylor explain why self-regulation of political ads won’t work and how we mustn’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
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Legal Action Launched Over Hong Kong Police’s Use of Tear Gas on Democracy Protestors
Fears of long-term health issues had been exacerbated by the police force’s use of expired tear gas which can degrade into more toxic chemicals, Steve Shaw reports.
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Remainers have Lost this Fight but the War Continues
As Britain leaves the EU on 31 January 2020, Mike Buckley argues that Remainers must redouble their efforts to protect democracy and fight for an open and tolerant culture.
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Rogue Political Ads that Lie Will Never Be Tamed Without Regulation
The co-founder of the Coalition for Reform in Political Advertising welcomes new recommendations on electoral and political advertising, but believes they have ignored the biggest issue.
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Did the Leave Campaigns Share Our Data? Key Questions Over Brexit Referendum Remain Unanswered
Former Labour MP Ian Lucas explains why we still need answers on electoral wrongdoing and data antics during the EU Referendum.
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The Lost Art of Seriousness in Politics
James Melville reflects on how the post-truth rise of politicians such as Donald Trump and Boris Johnson has been made possible.
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Can Protests Save India’s Muslims or is it Too Little, Too Late?
CJ Werleman considers whether the Modi Government’s crackdown on Muslims is indicative of India never having been a liberal democracy in the first place.
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Why did Cabinet Office Rush through Procurement of Controversial Electoral Services Company Idox Just Before the General Election?
David Hencke investigates why Boris Johnson’s Government handed out £1.7 million for election management services without a competitive tender.
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The Brexit Betrayal Election and where Labour Goes From Here
Brexiters loaned Boris Johnson their votes in the 2019 General Election, which was dominated by the issue of Britain leaving the EU – can Labour win back their natural supporters next time around?
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Trolls, Sock Puppets and Useful Idiots: An Anatomy of an Election Disinformation Campaign
Peter Jukes dissects how ‘No 10 sources’, mainstream broadcast journalists and an army of hired online activists tried to save Boris Johnson from himself.
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The Teenagers Running to become MPs
Harrison Kelly meets some of the teenagers hoping to be elected on Thursday and finds out what motivated them to throw their hats into the ring in the most important General Election for a generation.
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Friday 13th: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
Paul Niland explores the lurking horror of a Johnson majority government for British jobs, the economy and the other pitfalls of his murky Brexit plans.
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John Sweeney: ‘BBC hasn’t Told Truth to Power and Tony Hall Should Resign’
Veteran investigative journalist joins a growing chorus of criticism of the public service broadcaster.
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Putin, Bannon & Silicon Valley: The Axis of Oligarchs
Tamsin Shaw explains how anti-market Russian oligarchy has spread to the US, and that Big Tech may be the prime beneficiary.
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Boris Johnson’s Selfish Lies on Russian Interference Put our Entire Democratic System at Risk
Retiring Labour MP and Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee member Ian Lucas urges the Prime Minister to take the threat posed by Putin’s Russia seriously – and put the UK before his own personal interests.
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Can Tunisia’s Transition from Authoritarianism to Democracy Overcome its Economic Challenges?
Tunisians continue to feel disenfranchised with political elites since democracy was established after the Arab Spring in 2011. Can it turn things around?
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Beyond the Law: Tory Dystopian Propaganda Scam Goes Unpunished
The Conservative Party deceived in plain sight when it changed its press office Twitter account name during last night’s Leader’s Debate to “factcheckUK”. Voters must remain vigilant to all attempts to mislead.
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Yes, there is a Crisis in British Journalism and Journalists are in Denial
The editor-in-chief of Press Gazette, Dominic Ponsford, insists all is well with British journalism. Here, Brian Cathcart, Professor of Journalism at Kingston University, responds.
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The Great Brexit Party Swindle
Otto English on what his investigation into Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party has revealed about the ‘sticking it to the elites’ populism it claims to be based on.
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Where has the BBC’s Quest to Inform through Uncovering Truth Gone?
In the weeks before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the BBC’s news team went out of its way to show the world the factual reality of East Germans protesting for a better life. Does it have the same desire now?
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Our Democracy Emergency Needs Urgent Action
he electorate must remain vigilant and prepared for the tactics used by political parties through digital platforms which electoral safeguards weren’t built to cater for.
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Fighting Division and Disinformation – from Outside the Westminster Media Bubble
After 18 years, and with an important role in Parliament’s landmark fake news inquiry, a veteran Labour MP diagnoses the real echo chamber in politics.
