The road to freedom begins with the Fourth Estate

The State revels in its power to ‘nudge’ us and outright bully us. Yet we would be far more free, society would be more harmonious and things would work far better, if the monitoring, restraint and coercion were directed at corporations.

Take broadcasting, news and social media for example. The answer to dissident and lunatic fringes left and right is for the mainstream to be open, thorough, fully factual and balanced. I’m not sure how long it’s been since I gave my implicit trust to the BBC, mass circulation newspapers and leading magazines, but it’s been quite some time.

Yet you can tell if and when they try to get it right: the squealing from the social media groupthinkers! Here’s a Twitter reaction to the inclusion of GB News’ Tom Harwood in the panel on Thursday’s BBC ‘Question Time’

Why the f*** has @bbcquestiontime invited yet another f***ing presenter from GB news on to the panel tonight???

I am sick of the right wing bias of the producer of this show!!

I commented, ‘A double f-bomb and a 'smite the unbeliever' message indicates severely intolerant bigotry. Are you channelling Oliver Cromwell?’ And another person pointed out, ‘Hard to be balanced without, you know, balance. From what I can tell, 2 left, 2 right and some-one from business. If you see an imbalance in that, maybe you're at the root of the issue?’

No, well done the BBC and keep it up. I also have to say that I was surprised at the coverage of Brexit issues prior to the 2016 referendum; I had expected blatant bias but my recollection is that all sides were given a fair airing. I still don’t know why.

What a shame that we do not get the same even-handedness on other important issues, e.g. climate change, Covid and mRNA ‘vaccines’ - and Ukraine (the Daily Mail and even The Spectator and Private Eye all sing from the jingoistic hymn sheet on that one.) Even entertainment programmes have been salted with one-sided eco-propaganda, I hope I need not elaborate.

But if we can have more honest information and fair discussion in major conduits of news and comment, it will take the wind out of the sails of malcontents and render unnecessary the services of the right-wing 77th Brigade, Integrity Inititative, Behavioural Insights Team etc.

I call those and other ‘flappers’ right-wing because they operate oppressively on behalf of corporate interests. Using cyberspying, AI robo-responses and other aspects of modern computing power, they seek to coerce us mentally, which seems a gentler alternative to strong-arming and midnight door-knocking but is no less antidemocratic, even fascistic. So suck on that soubriquet, you enemies of freedom and despisers of the common people.

As to other areas in which the PTB back big money against the little man, I shall say more anon.