The face of the BBC’s recently launched disinformation unit said that the backlash against the Big Brother-esque bureau, which she dismissed as “trolling”, demonstrates the need for the publicly-funded broadcaster to investigate citizens of the UK.
Earlier this week, the fledgling British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) unveiled a new division of its news team dubbed ‘BBC Verify’. Presenter Marianna Spring promised that the disinformation unit would seek to expose so-called conspiracy theories and their supposed connections to the “far-right” and “alternative media”. Spring also said that Verify will also use undercover fake social media accounts to track “polarization” online.
The announcement was met with backlash and derision on social media, with users questioning the left-liberal broadcaster’s ability to deliver unbiased fact-checking and others comparing the division to the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.
In response, the millennial presenter dusted off the left’s standard playbook for handling criticism, by painting herself as a victim and blaming the backlash on “misogyny” and trolling.
“The trolling in response to this,” Spring wrote of her video, “including misogynistic slurs, threatening and hateful messages – are just more proof of why investigating this is so important. Welcome trolls and stay tuned for my latest Radio 4 podcast, more upcoming investigations – and Undercover Voters.”
The trolling in response to this – including misogynistic slurs, threatening and hateful messages – are just more proof of why investigating this is so important.
Welcome trolls and stay tuned for my latest Radio 4 podcast, more upcoming investigations – and Undercover Voters. https://t.co/mtMl46TT7B
— Marianna Spring (@mariannaspring) May 22, 2023
Speaking to Breitbart London, the chairman of Britain’s oldest conservative think tank Ben Harris-Quinney said that her response to the criticism “underlines how irredeemable, tone-deaf and un-reformable the BBC is as a public institution.”
The Bow Group chairman noted that Spring’s promise to continue “investigating this” seemingly referred to “investigating those who disagree with Spring, her views, and the BBC’s conduct.”
“Using criticism to justify publicly-funded investigations reads like a parody of a totalitarian regime,” Harris-Quinney said.
“The fact that Spring and the BBC appear to have done this with no sense of irony or self-awareness of how inappropriate these approaches are, for what is supposed to be an unbiased publicly funded media institution, shows how deep the rot is.”
Ministry of Truth: BBC Unveils Disinformation Unit to Monitor ‘Conspiracy Theories’ and Alt Mediahttps://t.co/y1DkAAqAhW
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 23, 2023
The conservative think tank chairman also criticised the agenda of the new disinformation division for saying that a key component of the investigations would focus on the “far-right” with no mention of extremists on the other side of the political spectrum, which Harris-Quinney noted appears to violate the BBC’s mandated political neutrality.
“Given the BBC has also cast many mainstream political figures with majority public support as far-right, it appears yet another justification to use public institutions and funds to attack the views of ordinary people,” he said.
The chairman of the Bow Group went on to say that out of any media organisation he has personally dealt with, including state-run media in totalitarian regimes, he has “never experienced such outright lies and lacking accountability as the BBC.”
“The level of metropolitan liberal bias at the BBC is so intertwined at every level with what the institution now is, it is impossible to reform to reflect the reality and plurality of viewpoints. It is urgent and necessary to abolish the licence fee, break the institution up, and allow the public freedom to choose and control their media,” Harris-Quinney concluded.
Defund the BBC: Beeb Lost 270,000 Licence Fee Payers Last Year https://t.co/MKXExJaMik
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 16, 2022
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka