Rupert Murdoch’s own readers have apparently turned on the Times after the paper invoked the Ku Klux Klan to stain Jeremy Corbyn. The newspaper published an article claiming [paywall]:
A white supremacist and former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan praised the election of Jeremy Corbyn to the Labour leadership
“RIP UK journalism”
Speaking about the election of Corbyn back in 2015, former KKK leader David Duke said:
It’s a really good kind of evolutionary thing, isn’t it, when people are beginning to recognise Zionist power and ultimately the Jewish establishment power in Britain and in the western world.
The Times [paywall] alleges that the quote amounts to an “endorsement” of Corbyn. But Labour supporters have pointed out that Duke has actually done the opposite. In June 2017, Duke called Corbyn an “anti-white Marxist” and an “enemy of the white working class”:
•On the left. Today's times claiming a former KKK wizard is a Corbynite.
•On the right. The same former KKK wizard hating on Corbyn.
•RIP UK journalism. pic.twitter.com/jbmodpg9jD— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) August 3, 2018
In January 2017, Duke also referred to Corbyn as “Marxist filth”.
Times readers turn on the paper
While some Times readers bought the smear, the majority turned [paywall] against the paper:
On social media, others pointed out that, in trying to attack Corbyn, the Times is the one platforming a rampant antisemite:
why are you giving a platform to the views of a far-right, racist, neo-Nazi? this is incredibly irresponsible. the far-right represent a real and present danger to Jewish people and other minorities. this is giving their violent hatred front page coverage and attention. why?
— Michael Segalov (@MikeSegalov) August 2, 2018
And some simply marvelled at the range of anti-Corbyn mudslinging in the press:
A Czech spy, a terrorist in Northern Ireland, a terrorist in the Middle East, an antisemite, a Russian spy and according to the Times he's now in with the Klan! How the hell Corbyn has found time to be an MP, grow vegetables & make jam I'll never know…#WeAreCorbyn
— Damo #JC9, yes 9 (@Cornish_Damo) August 3, 2018
While the Times scrapes the barrel bare to smear Corbyn, the paper is apparently giving mainstream Conservative politicians a free pass. In late July, leading Conservatives Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg reportedly met with Steve Bannon. Bannon, Donald Trump’s former political strategist, recently told a far-right French crowd:
Let them call you racist… wear it as a badge of honour.
The Times has further dragged its name through the dirt with this attack on Corbyn. And it looks like even its own conservative readership is turning against the paper. The desperation is palpable. And it’s veering beyond the absurd.
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