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SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Democracy in Danger
The newspaper’s extensive reporting and analysis of the various threats to democracy from populism, oligarchy, dark money and online disinformation.
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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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A Very British Coup? Former Royal Navy Trident Submarine Commander Assesses
Dr Andrew Corbett, of the Joint Services Command and Staff College, delves into evidence that the Government is actively undermining British democracy
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‘A Hard Rain’: Johnson, Gove and Cummings Drive Britain Towards Elective Dictatorship
David Hencke reports on the radical moves to undermine parliamentary democracy by Boris Johnson’s chief advisor and the Cabinet Office Minister
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Qanon in Georgia — The Conspiracy Theory that has Become an Article of Faith
Graham Williamson reports on how the bizarre American satanic myth is now going mainstream in the Republican Party
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Ruling by Decree: Boris Johnson and his Henry VIII Powers
David Hencke reports on new analysis from the House of Lords that reveals an extensive power grab by the Prime Minister and his Government
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COVID-19 has Brought Our Slow-Moving Democratic Crisis Front and Centre
Kyle Taylor shares the recommendations of a new report focused on solutions to keep democratic processes going during crises such as the Coronavirus outbreak.
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Why is the Guardian Accepting a Dodgy Subsidy from this Dodgy Government?
Brian Cathcart reveals how the paper that exposed phone hacking has joined the cosy newspaper cartel that publishes Government advertorial in return for a bung from Michael Gove
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Five Things Dominic Cummings Could Have Over Boris Johnson
With the Government mounting an unprecedented defence of the unelected chief advisor, Peter Jukes tries to work out what makes him so indispensable.
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‘Without Freedom and Democracy What’s the Point in Living?’ – The New Law Presenting a Grave Threat to Hong Kong
Beijing has today approved plans for a new national security law to bring Hong Kong further under its control. What does this mean for the future of democracy on the island? Steve Shaw reports.
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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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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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Parliament’s Standards Committee Demands Apologies from Two Government Trade Ministers
As one minister resigns, David Hencke reports on a rare dual rebuke to two members of Boris Johnson’s Government.
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Palantir Coronavirus Contract Did Not Go to Competitive Tender
David Hencke reveals that the UK Government’s COVID-19 contract with the data surveillance firm owned by Donald Trump-backer Peter Thiel was approved under an obscure statutory instrument.
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Russian Radicals Turn Trump into a Hero of the “Holy War”
Kseniya Kirollova explores the more extreme Coronavirus conspiracy theories emanating from Russia are created for export to US Ultra Conservatives
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Six Important Facts About Coronavirus Disinformation
Samantha North reveals on how COVID-19 propaganda is being monetised and exploited to promote political polarisation.
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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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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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A Good Day to Bury Bad News: US Justice Department Drops Charges over Russia’s 2016 Election Interference
Caroline Orr reports on how charges against indicted Putin Ally Yevgeny Prigozhin were abandoned just as the coronavirus pandemic in the US set a deadly new record.
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Big Lies and Rotten Herrings: 17 Kremlin Disinformation Techniques You Need to Know Now
As the US Presidential elections approach, Russian Intelligence expert Zarina Zabrisky provides a comprehensive guide to Putin’s latest propaganda ploys.
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Spies Who Go Into the Cold: How Russian Media Recruits Western Intelligence Officials
As the former director of France’s MI6 joins a Russian propaganda channel Stephen Komarnyckyj reports on a new phase of Putin’s hybrid warfare.
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Sanders Versus Trump: Why Russian Intervention Will be Worse in 2020
With Donald Trump facing re-election in the US and the Labour leadership for up grabs in the UK, Stephen Komarnyckyj looks at how Vladimir Putin is trying to further disrupt politics in both countries.
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‘Rape of Britain’: Russia Rolls Out the Red Carpet for ‘Tommy Robinson’
Sarah Hurst on how the far-right activist visited Russia to praise Vladimir Putin and spread Islamophobic and racist propaganda about the UK.
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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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‘Pre-Fascism’ is Now Everywhere in Politics – What Can be Done?
Andy Myles looks at the democratic apathy that has allowed populists such as Trump, Bannon and Cummings to activate an effective hardcore base.
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Conspiracies and Chaos in the Democratic Primaries
Stephen Delahunty reports on concerns about electoral tech platforms, SuperPacs, and the fears of foreign interference resurfacing in the US Democratic Party.
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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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Attacks on the BBC are Less About Broadcasting and More About a Divided Britain
Former BBC producer Patrick Howse demolishes the arguments about the license fee but hears Tony Hall has been a ‘Useful Idiot’ for those who want to destroy the public service broadcaster.
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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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The Battle To Save Democracy Has To Start Now
Gareth Roberts argues that British democracy is being endangered by unwitting ignorance and deliberate lies.
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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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Bad News is not Fake News: Not All Digital Campaigning is Dark Arts
Kyle Taylor from the Fair Vote project argues modern microtargeting shouldn’t be abandoned to shady billionaire-funded right-wing groups.
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The Future of Journalism is at the Heart of this General Election
Brian Cathcart, Professor of Journalism at Kingston University, argues that the cosy relationship between Boris Johnson and most of the press means there will be no check on his power if he is elected with a majority.
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More Digital Dark Arts: Brexit Party Supporters Hijack the Mayor of London’s Personal Website
Brexit Party supporters appear to have taken over more than one Labour party website, redirecting all searches and previous links to Nigel Farage’s party webpage.
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The Facebook Loophole: Rules about ‘Non-Party Campaigners’ are Making a Mockery of Democracy
After the ‘fake Green Party’ ads, Byline Times reveals nearly 3000 Facebook campaigns that escape electoral law and allow tens of millions of undeclared election spending.
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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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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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Dark Money and Dirty Data in Nigel Farage and Steve Bannon’s Foreign Money Vehicle
Turlough Conway’s investigation into World4Brexit reveals connections to several other shadowy electioneering and funding operations.
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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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Russian Influence Part I: What Johnson Doesn’t Want You to Know
With the British Prime Minister personally intervening to suppress a parliamentary report into Vladimir Putin’s ‘active measures’ in UK politics, Peter Jukes reveals what Boris Johnson wants to hide.
