SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Crypto Politics
Dark money, lobbying, regulatory capture, state institutions hollowed by donor factions, foreign interference, and the financialisation of political power.
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Fear and Loathing in Zugdidi: Dirty Tricks on the Georgian Campaign Trail
Amid mounting authoritarianism and widespread allegations of election-rigging, will Georgia’s democracy survive parliamentary polls scheduled for 26 October?
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Robert Jenrick Accepted £25,000 Donation from Firm Controlled by Sanctioned Oligarch
The Conservative leadership candidate received the money from a company controlled by billionaire Sir Len Blavatnik – who has been sanctioned by the Ukrainian government
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The Pro-Trump Money Pushing Libertarian ‘Young Voices’ on British TV
Talent agencies funded by right-wing American fossil fuel billionaires are helping to funnel hard right views onto our TV screens
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Kemi Badenoch’s Plans are a Mirror Image of Donald Trump Backers’ ‘Project 2025’ Agenda
The Conservative leadership candidate plans to dismantle Britain’s institutions, in a hard-right overhaul that echoes that of Trump supporters in the US
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Is Participatory Local Democracy the Antidote to Far-Right Populism? Hungarians are About to Find out
Hungarians are being encouraged to fix problems themselves at a local level and it is having results
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Leading Labour Mayor Calls on Keir Starmer to Review Westminster’s Warped Voting System
Andy Burnham turns up the heat on Keir Starmer over political reform
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Activists to Launch Fresh Wave of Protests Against ‘Draconian’ Anti-Protest Laws as Leading Actress Speaks Out
Campaigners plan civil disobedience outside courts, demanding meeting with Attorney General over harsh sentencing of peaceful protesters
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Brexit Adds £8 Million to UK Sanctions Costs, 300% Increase in Personnel, Yet Only One Russian So Far Sanctioned
Iain Overton finds that financial strain on the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is a direct result of the UK’s departure from the European Union
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Climate Activists Accuse ‘Billionaire Media’ of Driving Protest Crackdown
The Director of the Climate Media Coalition explained the role of media moguls in demanding a crack down on climate protesters
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From Assassination to Misinformation: Kremlin’s Strategic Use of Digital Disinformation
“Ukraine played a role.” Once again Russian disinformation networks are weaponising an attempt on the life of a US President
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#MediaWatch: Supping with the Devil with a Long Spoon
As the TUC passes a motion warning of the “existential crisis” in British journalism, Peter Jukes asks for your help to deal with the dual threats of legacy media monopolies and big tech
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Keir Starmer’s Promised ‘Covid Corruption Buster’ is Being Set Up to Fail, Former Anti-Fraud Chief Warns
Ex-Serious Fraud Office chief Sir David Green KC says he is “depressed” about the apparent downgrading of the role
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MPs Launch Cross-Party Bid to Overhaul Westminster Elections
Exclusive: Cross-party MPs unite to campaign for ‘fair elections’
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‘Scrap Callous Photo ID Scheme’ Campaigners Demand as Report Reveals Scale of Voter Suppression
Three quarters of a million people didn’t vote because of the “continued failure of the voter ID regime”
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Another Billion in Conservative Crony Contracts: Landmark Investigation Reveals New ‘Red Flags’ in Covid-Era PPE Contracts
Shocking new report updates Byline Times’ investigations into pandemic contracts with a “profound” risk of corruption
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The Kursk Curse: Russians in Ukrainian Controlled Territory Reveal the Terrifying Truths of Indoctrination
One month on from the Ukrainian occupation, Byline Times’ investigations in the town of Sudzha reveal the lethal power of disinformation on young and old Russians
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Conservative Tycoons Splash the Cash: Leadership Hopefuls Rake in Big Donations to Replace Sunak
Front-runner Robert Jenrick comes out top, but ousted candidate Priti Patel raised nearly as much as Kemi Badenoch, while others languish
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The Link Between Social Media Algorithms and Online Radicalisation
Social media algorithms show violent content to boys but that’s just the start of the problem according to a leading investigative journalist
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Reform UK Repays £200k to Side-Lined Leader Days After Nigel Farage Dethrones Him
Eyebrows raised as accounts show Reform UK rushed to repay £200,000 to Richard Tice, just a week after Nigel Farage took control of the party
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Explained: The Six Triggers that Spark Civil Unrest
These factors do not exist in isolation but interact and act as force multipliers for each other and are ripe to be manipulated through identity politics
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Councils Across UK are Holding Fire-Sales of Public Assets from Libraries to Farms – Often with No Consultation
Councils are flogging off local treasures as cuts continue to bite. This is a list of just some of the assets currently on the market
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From Russia with Riots: Hostile States ‘Relentlessly’ Seeking to Sow Division, Leading Anti-Corruption Figures Warn
A Government spokesperson told Byline Times tackling foreign interference is an ‘absolute priority’
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Reform UK Facebook Groups Rife with Far-Right Sentiment and Support for Riots
From conspiracy theories to spats over Tommy Robinson, Reform UK supporter groups are kicking off amid Britain’s racist riots
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MPs to Debate Clampdown on Second Jobs, Amid Demand for Tough Overhaul of Lobbying Gigs and Gifts
The Government is set to address the potential conflicts of interests around moonlighting MPs, with campaigners believing urgent action is required
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It’s Not Just the Two-Child Limit: Another Controversial Welfare Policy Hitting Hundreds of Thousands of Families
Amid a Labour rebellion over the two-child welfare cap, new figures reveal the number of families still hit by the Coalition Government-era housing policy
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Beyond Trumpland: What a Second Trump Presidency Means for Moscow’s ‘Forever Wars’
Experts say Donald Trump’s fiery brand of boardroom geopolitics would have disastrous consequences even beyond the theatre of Russia’s active conflict with Ukraine
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‘The Political System Needs Fundamental Reform – From Capping Party Donations to Scrapping Voter ID’
‘It is a scandal that, in so many constituencies, people did not really have a choice of MP – as the real choice lay with a party machine that can foist MPs upon them’
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JD Vance and the Radicalisation of the Right
Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, used to be a harsh critic of the former US president – now he’s a “dutiful ventriloquist of the Trumpian gospel”. Here’s what happened
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Keir Starmer Urged to Work With Leaders in Governance and Transparency to ‘Rebuild Public Trust’
A letter, coordinated by the UK Open Government Network, has been sent to the Prime Minister offering him support and requesting a meeting
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‘Labour Won’t Reverse Brexit But a Starmer Victory Will Lead to an Immediate Reset of Trust and Goodwill with the EU’
While we should not expect too much of an incoming Labour government, we should not forget just how dark the last few years have been, writes Chris Grey
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From Russia With Likes: Nigel Farage Dominates Social Media During General Election – Boosted by Bots Stoking Racism
The Reform Party is hovering around 18% of the vote, yet Farage’s and his party’s Facebook posts generated six times more reactions and shares than either Labour or the Conservatives and their leaders
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The ‘Spiral of Silence’ and the Rise of the Bots
Explained: How malicious bots and other automated programmes are used to spread misinformation – and how widespread they are
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How Far-Right Billionaires are Destroying French Politics – and What the UK Must Learn
The French media have boosted the far-right National Rally party. Are the British media doing the same in the UK?
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A ‘Russia Hoax’ or Russian Hopes? How Putin’s Troll Farms are Boosting Nigel Farage’s Campaigns – Again
Islamophobia, the Great Replacement Theory, and GB News are key elements in the Russian propaganda networks supporting the Reform Party
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‘Wales Could Lead the Way Across the Globe if it Criminalises Political Lying’
A dishonest doctor gets struck off the medical register. The banker who steals from his clients goes to jail. A deceitful military officer gets cashiered. Why should politicians not expect to play by the same rules?
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The Likely Labour MPs Who Lobbied Against Key Party Policies – Amid Concerns of ‘Whole New Raft of Scandals’
Prospective Labour candidates have worked as lobbyists for trade bodies and companies that will have a vested interests in shifting the party’s key election pledges in government
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Another Time Nigel Farage Worked with a Putin Ally to ‘Harm Democratic Governance’ – and Refused to Speak About it
Heidi Siegmund Cuda revisits that time Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was part of an operation to divide California known as Calexit, which collapsed after it was revealed to be funded by Russia
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The 1900 Club and the Conservative Party: An Inside Look at the Secretive ‘Dining Club That Does More Than Dine’
A recently unearthed booklet on The 1900 Club sheds some light on the history of the organisation and its ties to the Conservative Party
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Having Outlawed Foreign Influence, Georgian Dream Initiates Anti-LGBTQ+ Law
Tbilisi Pride says that it is in the ‘ultimate battle for our lives… and if we lose, we will have to go into exile’
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‘Britain’s Long History of Corruption and Cover-Ups and the Dire Consequences for Those the Government Chooses to Ignore’
If a likely new Labour government wants to truly mark a difference from the Conservatives, it needs to fix the systemic failings, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
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The Five Questions Nigel Farage is Never Asked About Brexit, Trump and Russia
As the media provides the Reform Leader with a prominent platform, Peter Jukes considers all the concerning lines of enquiry that journalists never confront him with
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Nigel Farage Claims ‘Corruption’ in the UK’s Postal Vote System – and Suggests Trump Lost to Biden due to ‘Ballot Harvesting’
Nigel Farage echoes Trump supporters’ conspiracy theories about electoral fraud in 2020 and makes unevidenced claims of corruption in the UK postal voting system
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‘In the Sixth-Richest Country in the World, How Can You Build a Welfare State on Food Banks?’ The Stats that Reveal Just how Widespread Food Poverty Is In the UK
Combined Trussell Trust and Independent Food Aid Network data lays bare the breadth of food banks in the UK – themselves symptoms of a far deeper food poverty crisis
