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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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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.
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THE BOX SET: Byline Times’ Own Russian Interference Report
With Boris Johnson suppressing a report into Russian interference drawn up by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, Byline Times provides you with everything the Prime Minister doesn’t want you to know.
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“It’s Not Our Responsibility”: PayPal Joins Facebook in Disavowing a Role in Electoral Fraud
At the last session of the historic Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee on disinformation and fake news, the online payment system giant joins other tech companies in declaring ‘we’re just a platform’.
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Johnson, Gove, Cummings: The Trio Behind a Law-Breaking Campaign Obstructing Further Investigation – What are they Hiding?
MP Ian Lucas asks why Boris Johnson and his team will not appear before Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee to answer his important questions about electoral law.
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It is 99.9% Likely Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party Hid Impermissible Donations – and PayPal Can Prove It
With PayPal set to give evidence to the DCMS select committee in two weeks, Turlough Conway, who broke the Brexit Party funding scandal on Byline Times, says they can provide answers to where the money came from.
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Brexit Disaster Capitalism: Government Doffs Tinfoil Hat at Questions over Hedge Funds and Conflicts of Interests
Concerns first raised by Byline Times about the hedge funds and City backers donating to Boris Johnson were discussed in an Urgent Question in Parliament today.
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Brexit Disaster Capitalism: £8 Billion Bet on No Deal Crash-Out by Boris Johnson’s Leave Backers
While the Prime Minister defies the law and insists Britain will leave the European Union on 31 October, his backers stand to make billions out of the disaster.
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The Compromising of Our Civil Service with Propagandists Matters Now More than Ever
Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London, on why untruthful claims by civil servants in their quest to support government policy must be called out. “A free trade agreement between the US and the UK could increase trade between our two countries three to four times,” US Vice President Mike…
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‘Democracy Dies when Fact and Information is Denied’
Stephen Colegrave speaks to crossbench peer Lord Victor Adebowale about how our democracy is teetering dangerously on the edge of a cliff.
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‘Incontinent Mendacity’: Prime Minister Lied About Plans to Suspend Parliament, Court Documents Suggest
James Doleman on explosive revelations from Scotland’s Court of Sessions as Boris Johnson faces a legal challenge over proroguing Parliament.
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Brexit Party Paypal Investigation: Rampant Impermissible Donations Revealed by Watchdog’s Visit Tip of the Iceberg?
Byline Times’ exclusive report on the loopholes in the Brexit Party PayPal funding led to a visit from the elections watchdog which subsequently revealed impermissible donations – but questions remain.
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‘Children Dying from Deep Fake Videos and Anti-Vaxxer Messages Spread on Social Media Platforms’
The threats posed by technology to our democratic processes will only get worse in the years to come unless action is taken, MP Damian Collins warns.
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BBC Finally Insists Opaquely Funded Think Tanks Declare their Interests
After Carole Cadwalladr challenged Director General Tony Hall over dark money lobbyists, the BBC have responded with new guide lines.
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‘We Need a Moratorium on Facebook Political Ads to Keep our Elections Safe’
“Facebook should be nowhere near politics,” warns investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr.
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Brexit Party MP Candidates – Chums and Comrades: The Intrigue Continues
Otto English’s investigation into the parliamentary candidates selected so far by Nigel Farage’s party – and those who paid the non-refundable £100 online application fee but haven’t made the cut.
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Steve Bannon and Nigel Farage’s ‘World for Brexit’: What is their Opaque New US Lobbying Group About?
In the wake of Labour concerns about ‘dark money’ influencing British elections, Turlough Conway looks deeper at Nigel Farage’s US registered World for Brexit.
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BREXIT: “The Greatest Electoral Heist in History” – How to Safeguard Our Democracy
Kyle Taylor of the Fair Vote campaign says the war of words between Scotland Yard and the Electoral Commission over electoral law breaking proves Britain needs urgent legislation.
