The public made a protest song about Theresa May number one in the charts. So the BBC has banned it [VIDEO]
The BBC has refused to play a song which protests the policies of Theresa May, despite it making it to Number One in the iTunes download charts. The decision has been branded political censorship by furious members of the public and music industry.
Liar, Liar
As The Canary previously reported, the song is a new version of the 2010 anti-austerity track Liar Liar.
All download proceeds from before the 8 June election will go to food banks across the UK, and to The People’s Assembly Against Austerity. The hope was to get the song into the Top 40 so the BBC would have to play it. But it did better than that. It went all the way to Number One.
And then censorship happened.
Censorship
The definition of political censorship is the silencing of critical voices. Whether in music, art, literature or politics itself – when institutions gag the voices of others, it is censorship. And this is what has happened here.
The BBC is not alone. The Big Top 40 show on Heart and Capital FM has also enforced the ban. All stations claim this is due to impartiality ahead of an election. The BBC said in statement:
Read on...
We do not ban songs or artists, however our editorial guidelines require us to remain impartial and the UK is currently in an election period so we will not be playing the song.
This is nonsense. Being impartial means playing the real Top 40 regardless. The refusal to play the song is an intervention and, by very definition, partial.
The only case where this impartiality might be said not to class as censorship would be if a song were to contain hate speech. And there is no hate speech here. This is a song about living in Britain under a Conservative government. It is as legitimate as The Streets of London or God Save The Queen.
As protest singer Grace Petrie points out:
Reaction
The decision has sparked fury among the public.
Radio stations ban a No. 1 song for being critical of the government. No, not Iran… right here in Britain https://t.co/jPjNs7GPRe
— Sunny Hundal (@sunny_hundal) May 31, 2017
#r4today BBC can't play Liar liar song because "balance" but reads out anti Labour far right Tory rags every hour on the hour.
— Fiona Worthington (@dustybay) May 31, 2017
If this was happening on North Korea, or Iran, we would have no issue with calling it out as censorship. But if it is wrong there, it is wrong anywhere. Censorship has to be resisted, whatever your personal politics. It is to the detriment of us all.
Get Involved!
– Go out and vote on 8 June.
– Read more from The Canary on the 2017 general election.
– Read and support independent news outlets that hold the powerful to account. Here are some we recommend. Please add more that you like in the comments:
The Canary, Media Diversified, Novara Media, Corporate Watch, Common Space, Media Lens, Bella Caledonia, Vox Political, Evolve Politics, Real Media, Reel News, STRIKE! magazine, The Bristol Cable, The Meteor, Salford Star, The Ferret.
Featured image via YouTube Screengrab
We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support
The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.
The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.
So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.
