What The Sun newspaper just did to this victim of a brutal murder is absolutely despicable [TWEETS, IMAGES]

IN MY VIEW

The Sun has plumbed new depths in a desperate attempt to prop up its falling readership – but even by its own disgraceful standards, this is low.

On Wednesday, it reported the tragic death 20-year old India Chipchase. It is alleged that Edward Tenniswood, 52, killed the doctor’s daughter shortly after taking her back to his flat at 2am on January 30. Chipchase had been on a night out with friends at NB’s nightclub in Northampton.

The prosecution says that Chipchase was “led, steered or escorted” to a taxi by Tenniswood, and taken back to the defendant’s rented terraced house in Stanley Road where he “beat, raped and throttled” her.

Tenniswood denies charges of rape and murder.

Chipchase had studied health and social care at college, and worked as a part-time barmaid at the Collingtree pub in Northampton.

Her former lecturer at Northampton college, Jo Forester, paid tribute to Chipchase, saying:

Within college she was a well-liked member of her group by both staff and students for her caring nature and sense of humour. She was a hardworking, intelligent young lady who possessed the maturity to complete all the targets she set herself regarding her college work and placement experiences.

However, the Sun chose not to focus on the positive aspects of the 20-year old’s life. Instead, it chose to turn her murder into clickbait.

Here is the tweet in question – and The Canary politely asks its readers not to click through to the article, as the Sun does not deserve the additional readers:

Woman ‘drank six Jagerbombs in ten minutes on the night she was raped and murdered’ https://t.co/47HGvlWz23 pic.twitter.com/3WYZ1zGDNh

— The Sun (@TheSun) July 20, 2016

To say that the Sun is implying that Chipchase’s alcohol consumption had something to do with her rape and murder would be an understatement. This is a shameless example of the newspaper’s attitude towards women, and symptomatic of the entrenched bigotry and misogyny that exists at the tabloid. Many Twitter users accused the Sun of “victim blaming”:

https://twitter.com/Lianach_/status/756011446320918528

What she drank is of no importance, and this is simply victim blaming. The Sun needs to change this story. pic.twitter.com/Bd46USVngC

— Roz Warren (@RossalynWarren) July 20, 2016

https://twitter.com/naziasmirza/status/755885784775979008

The headline in the article was no better – however, the Sun has since deleted its original copy, and changed it to one that reads: “‘WE LOOKED EVERYWHERE’ Friends of doctor’s daughter ‘raped and murdered’ on night out tell how they lost her in nightclub”. But the paper doesn’t even acknowledge with a disclaimer that the headline was altered – presumably hoping people wouldn’t notice.

This was the original headline the Sun ran:

It’s also a very sad state of affairs when it is seemingly a woman responsible for the article in question.

All this comes less than a week after the Sun was embroiled in another controversy – this time surrounding its former Editor (responsible for the Hillsborough scandal) Kelvin McKenzie and an attack on Channel 4 journalist Fatima Manji.

McKenzie was accused of inciting racial hatred after a column denounced the fact the Manji was wearing a hijab while presenting a news piece on the massacre in Nice, France. Over 1,400 complaints have been made to the press regulator.

Again, the Sun tweeted a shameless headline, but on this occasion they deleted it:

While the Sun has an appalling track record surrounding the smearing of women and Muslims, it appears that the tabloid is getting more and more desperate. This may have something to do with the latest figures which show its readership in decline.

It has recently been overtaken by the Mail’s catalogue of titles, which are now the most read newspapers in the UK. The Sun, meanwhile, has seen a 12.4% drop in its readership year-on-year.

In attempting to attract readers by printing the most heinous, lamentable headlines and articles possible, the Sun is merely cementing confirmation bias.

It is a shameless and squalid rag, that has no place in 21st-century media – and the sooner this wretched publication is consigned to the dustbin of history, the better.

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Featured image via Twitter