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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Is Belarus the New Ukraine? And What Will Putin Do?
In the wake of a popular uprising against President Lukashenko, Steven Komarnyckyj looks at the important differences with the overthrow of Ukrainian President Yanukovych in 2014
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Data Danger: Cabinet Office Admits Holes in its Cyber Security
Amid its attempts to centralise Government data, Michael Gove’s department is exposed to cyber security incidents, Sam Bright reports
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Cabinet Office Launches New Contract System for ‘AI’ Procurement – Reducing Public Transparency
David Hencke reports on the extension of a new contract system by Michael Gove’s office which avoids publication of early bids from tech companies
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Companies Linked to ‘Exclusive Brethren’ Evangelical Sect Awarded Hundreds of Millions of PPE Government Contracts
Byline Times has discovered a litany of Coronavirus contracts handed to an evangelical movement with supporters in the Conservative Party
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‘Sasha 3%’: Time is Up for Belarus’ Dictator – Revolution is Underway
Paul Niland argues that the popular protests against President Lukashenko are the beginning of a popular revolution against injustice which could follow the model of Ukraine
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Belarus Citizens Go into Battle – How Long Can Resistance Last?
As ‘Europe’s Last Dictator’ Alexander Lukashenko claims victory in the Presidential election, Sarah Hurst reports on clashes with riot police and the future of popular protest
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Poachers to Gamekeepers? Vote Leave Data Firm Now Promoted by Government as Anti-Disinformation Expert
Faculty AI, an artificial intelligence company employed by Dominic Cummings during the Brexit campaign, is being marketed to foreign countries as an antidote to fake news
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Showdown: Belarusian Analysts Predict Bloodshed on Election Day
Sarah Hurst analyses the signs that the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko is panicking in the face of public opposition
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Why Would Russia Want to Interfere in British Politics?
Russia’s foreign policy seems based on nihilism according to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee but Misha Glenny argues that Putin is much shrewder than that
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Babylon Health and the Health Data Goldrush
John Lubbock looks beyond the hype at Dominic Cummings and Matt Hancock’s enthusiasm for health services based on artificial intelligence
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Actions Speak Louder: The Facts that Prove Boris Johnson Doesn’t Care about the NHS
Beyond the rhetoric, Stephen Colegrave produces nine examples of the UK Prime Minister’s lack of care for the NHS in its time of greatest need
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Does Putin Really Want to Destabilise Belarus?
In the most dynamic and interesting election in the past 26 years, Nikola Mikovic analyses why President Lukashenko is playing the Russian Interference card
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Kompromised: How Britain’s Political Parties Responded to the Russia Report
Sarah Hurst reports on how every major party, with the exception of Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, has changed their stance on Kremlin intervention
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The Government’s Shambolic Re-Lockdown Shows How Little it Cares About the North
The slapdash reimposition of lockdown measures by Boris Johnson’s administration exposes its real attitude towards its new ‘Red Wall’ voters, argues Sam Bright
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Is Russian Propaganda Amplifying the Nation of Islam’s Antisemitic ‘True Hebrew’ Trope?
John Lubbock looks at the new ways divisive racial messages which seek to divide minority groups in the US could be amplified by agents of the Russian state
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Another Strange Trio of PPE Contracts Emerge
The handing of Coronavirus contracts to companies with questionable experience in providing personal protective equipment in health settings continues
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Russian Interference is a Threat within the Brain
The Russia Report failed to grasp the philosophical underpinning of Vladimir Putin’s plans for the West, argues Zarina Zabrisky
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Gove’s Data Control Coup Emerges from the Shadows
David Hencke explores the implications of one of the most extraordinary Government power grabs he has seen as a political reporter
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All the Data in the World: The Dangers of Trump’s Favourite Firm Going Global in a Crisis
Sam Bright tracks the global expansion of data mining company Palantir during the Coronavirus pandemic
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SWEENEY INVESTIGATES: From Russia With Leave – The Curious Case of John Whittingdale
With the Labour Opposition calling for RT’s license to be revoked, John Sweeney investigates whether the Government minister responsible has a conflict of interest
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Boris Johnson’s Great Spaffometer
Stephen Colegrave tries to estimate how many billions the Prime Minister and his Government have wasted in their first year in power
Advertising and Marketing, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Business, Conservative Party, Coronavirus, Corruption, Dominic Cummings, Economics, Finance and Money, Economy, Health, Michael Gove, Newspapers, Populism, PR, Public Health, Social Media, The European Union, UK Politics, Whitehall and the Civil Service
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Hell of a Year: Britain Under Johnson’s Rule
Otto English compiles the epic accomplishments of Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, during his first year as Prime Minister
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Britain is Back on the Road to the Brexit Cliff-Edge: Is Anyone Even in the Driving Seat?
As the EU’s chief negotiator warns of a ‘no-deal’ crash-out, Jonathan Lis assesses whether the chaos is a villainous plot or pure incompetence
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UK Parliamentary Report into Russian Interference Understates Threat and Ducks Brexit
Steve Komarnyckyj argues that the Russia Report has downplayed the evidence of Christopher Steele and ignored important leaks about the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine
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How Two Right-Wing Meme Merchants Scored a £3 Million Government Coronavirus Contract
Sam Bright tracks the rise of Topham Guerin, the New Zealand ‘propaganda pair’ in charge of the UK Government’s online Coronavirus communications
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Why does the Kremlin Need a New Ministry of Propaganda?
After the revelation of the UK Parliament’s Russia Report, Kseniya Kirillova reports on Putin’s new disinformation operation to defend its existing ones
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The Mythical Nationalism of Trump and Modi Has Failed, So Now they’re Waging War on their Own Citizens
India and America are suffering parallel slides towards authoritarianism, reports CJ Werleman
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Mystery Move Sees Security Vetting Shift from Ministry of Defence to Gove’s Cabinet Office
David Hencke reports on what appears to be another centralising power grab as part of Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings’ plans to fundamentally change Whitehall
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REFLEXIVE CONTROL: Boris Johnson is Doing Putin’s Job for Him
Hardeep Matharu explores how the Government’s entire approach to the notion of foreign interference and the Russia Report reveals how far it is willing to go to erode the British political system itself
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THE RUSSIA REPORT Puts Johnson on the Spot
With its calls for an inquiry into Russian interference in Brexit, Peter Jukes reports on why the Prime Minister wanted to suppress the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report and what it reveals about Putin’s ongoing war on the West
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THE RUSSIA REPORT: Pro-Brexit Spin Operation Goes Into Overdrive
Sam Bright explains how Brexiters are desperately trying to warp the findings of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s long-awaited report into Russian influence in British political and public life
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A British Route to Freedom for the Hong Kongers Left Frozen by Beijing’s Chill
Tommy Walker speaks to pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong about their future in the city, following the imposition of China’s draconian national security law
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I Wouldn’t Want to Press the Nuclear Button for Boris Johnson
As Dominic Cummings sets his eyes on reconfiguring Britain’s military defence, a former Trident submarine commander explains why he has lost trust in the British Government
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Recruitment Firm Defends £18 Million PPE Contract
Stephen Delahunty reports on the Government handing a contract for personal protective equipment to a company which appears to have just £322 net assets
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Raab’s Red Herring to Distract from Russia Report Release
There was little substance to Dominic Raab’s statement on Russian interference, explains Henry Dyer.
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How Johnson and Trump Transformed Their Countries From World Health Leaders into Coronavirus Disaster Cases
Paul Niland explores how a sudden, wilful populist destruction of institutions dragged the two top-rated countries for global health emergencies to the bottom of the pile
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Will the Coronavirus Pandemic Obliterate the Last Frontier in Privacy – Our Biological Selves?
COVID-19 is accelerating the attempts of big tech companies to harvest our data, writes Tanya O’Carroll.
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Right-Wing Propaganda Pair Paid £3 Million to Run Coronavirus Communications
Sam Bright reports on how two 20-something New Zealanders, allies of Lynton Crosby, were awarded a massive Government COVID-19 campaign contract
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UK Deal to Share DNA and Fingerprints Evades Parliamentary Scrutiny
David Hencke reports on how the Government has broken David Cameron’s promise to protect British databases by the backdoor route of another obscure legal mechanism
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Facebook is Still Being Used to Rig Democracy
Caolan Robertson draws on his first-hand experience of stirring up right-wing political outrage for likes
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Poland, Mustard Gas, & the Rule of Law: The Battle for Illiberal Democracy
Blaise Blaquiche reports on how a coverup over missing chemical weapons reveals the importance of this weekend’s Polish presidential elections
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Another Strange Contract: The Loophole Allowing the Government to Avoid PPE Procurement Rules
Stephen Komarnyckyj investigates the Brexit effect and how Britain bypassed normal calls for competition in its extraordinary purchasing binge
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Putin’s Power Trip: How the President Has Cemented Russian Autocracy and Granted Himself Lifelong Legal Immunity
Zarina Zabrisky explains how the Russian President’s reforms to the Constitution have turned the country into an ethnostate and his rule into a dictatorship
