The Sun just smeared junior doctors – this was their response (Tweets)

Media outlets have the power to make us hate people who are being oppressed and love those who are doing the oppressing. And that is precisely what the Sun has done – yet again. Its aim this time is to smear the junior doctors who began a strike on 12 January to protest an unpopular and dangerous new contract imposed by Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt.

But to begin with, let us look at the end of the Sun article in question – a piece from 9 January named “Moet medics: High life of docs’ leaders who are heading up NHS strike”. Quoting a British Medical Association (BMA) spokesperson, the paper reports:

The Government is trying to introduce an unsafe and unfair contract.

The decision to take action was made by the 98 per cent who voted.

One might have thought they’d lead with those sentiments.

But no.

Instead, Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid mouthpiece has gone after the striking doctors as if it were the official mouthpiece of Britain’s Conservative government.

The paper begins its smear on the junior doctors by accusing the union reps leading the strike of being “champagne-swilling socialists”. Aiming to distract readers from the real issues behind the strike, the figures targeted are condemned for having had “lavish holidays and parties” in the past, and for living in “£500,000 homes”. (We might be tempted to ask at this point why the paper has never focused its efforts on exposing the extravagant private lives of its owners or its friends in the government. But then that’s fairly self-explanatory.)

Dr Daniel Djemal was for some reason condemned for “enjoying hols and boozy parties”. Clearly the paper thought many Brits would be shocked at the way Djemal has holidays and drinks alcohol; pastimes that no-one else in the country shares, of course.

Another junior doctor who was criticised for posting “a pic of her and an elephant” on Facebook was actually revealed later on to have been volunteering at a hospital in Nepal at the time. So the Sun unknowingly highlighted a case of a junior doctor helping others even when she was not at work.

But one of the most bizarre comments may have been about Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis, whose crime was apparently having “signed a letter supporting Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader”. ‘How dare a citizen express his democratic will freely? Not on the Sun’s watch, confound  him!’

Junior doctors hit back

Social media users quickly jumped to the defence of the junior doctors and criticised the Sun’s smear story.

On Twitter, a number of comments reflected the reality of junior doctors’ lives in a humorous way under the hashtags #smearthedocs and #moetmedics:

GP reg splashes out on luxury £1600 exam and spends Sunday revising next to my pants #moetmedics #smearthedocs pic.twitter.com/JPh697pX0r

— Dan (@Le0pRD) January 10, 2016

#juniordoctor buys nappies from Waitrose instead of making own from newspaper in abundant spare time #smearthedocs pic.twitter.com/GZE5UiqG1B

— 23weeksocksblog (@23weeksocks) January 10, 2016

Junior doctor spotted on extravagant 'day off' #smearthedocs pic.twitter.com/NlWYXS935e

— Alice Little (@frolickingfood) January 10, 2016

https://twitter.com/dog_strontium/status/686158068317564928

Extravagant medical student chooses SOFTEST toilet roll for his pampered arse cheeks #smearthedocs pic.twitter.com/FTBS2JKAV0

— matt tap (@LegitMattTapley) January 10, 2016

https://twitter.com/elinlowri/status/686156228645511168

Junior doc rumoured to take 60 seat stretched limo to work including at weekends #smearthedocs #imatworkjeremy pic.twitter.com/ObG7J3VWKd

— Joel Winston (@Joel_Winston) January 10, 2016

Lavish doc hires entire tube to get to work for Sunday night shift #smearthedocs @TheSun #ImInWorkJeremy pic.twitter.com/cjb2Xq90tR

— Gayani Jayasooriya (@gayanijay) January 10, 2016

https://twitter.com/jacquina/status/686174295911890948

This doctor has his own train! #smearthedocs pic.twitter.com/EdwgFguykS

— Jamie Sillett (@jmesillett) January 10, 2016

Then there were some more serious comments from sympathetic voices:

It is a clear as day that those who #smearthedocs want to privatise the NHS so that their corp chums can turn Britain back to 1931

— John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@Harryslaststand) January 10, 2016

Nobody should begrudge Doctors the right to earn a fair wage but maybe we should question the extreme wages of those who #smearthedocs

— John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@Harryslaststand) January 10, 2016

The S*n says doctors are living the high life, then says nothing about Parliament getting £7m/yr subsidised food & drink. #smearthedocs

— Amy🌱🇪🇺💙 (@thisisamy_) January 10, 2016

@TheSun However, real fat cats living on taxpayers money are fine.Shame on you https://t.co/umN7vYQXrb #smearthedocs pic.twitter.com/cvnC93ai2P

— ABM (@Dr_XYZ) January 10, 2016

Finally, ‘Big up the NHS’ brought home perhaps the most serious message in response to the Sun’s smear campaign:

Remember @TheSun has tried to #smearthedocs as part of their strategy to destroy the NHS. So the moral is……. pic.twitter.com/YKKDoAlPcW

— Big Up the NHS 💙 (@butNHS) January 10, 2016

Our advice at the Canary? Have some fun writing your own #smearthedocs tweets in support of the junior doctors. And if you see a striking doctor, shake their hand and thank them for all that they do.

Also, let the Sun know what you think about their attacks:

Be polite, but remember to go into great detail when sending The Sun your stories. #smearthedocs pic.twitter.com/FsC7msTVho

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) January 12, 2016

Featured image via News International Newspapers and YouTube/Brett Chapman