You weren’t dreaming. Britain’s broadcast media totally lost it last night.

Rod Liddle on BBC Question Time panel and Tommy Robinson interviewed on Sky News
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Last night was an epic fail for mainstream British media, and it highlighted more than ever why movements like #ChangeTheMedia are needed. The BBC decided to put hate-spewing Rod Liddle on Question Time, and Sky News interviewed far-right leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson).

Liddle, currently associate editor at the Spectator, has previously been accused of misogyny and racism. Yaxley-Lennon, meanwhile, was sent to prison for allegedly endangering a trial involving paedophilia. Their TV appearances coinciding on British TV has not gone unnoticed:

The two men were given airtime on mainstream TV on the same day a square was named after MP Jo Cox in Brussels:

Read on...

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What’s the point?

On the one hand, defenders of free speech suggest we need to ‘hear out’ the likes of Yaxley-Lennon. But others argue that airing hateful views is little more than a marketing ploy:

https://twitter.com/HKesvani/status/1045579731444404229?s=20

It seems neither Sky nor the BBC understand the implications:

https://twitter.com/HKesvani/status/1045336794429095937?s=20

Switch it off

People have expressed the need to question the mainstream media, and disengage from increasingly ridiculous programmes like Question Time altogether:

Although seeing Labour MP Ian Lavery say “I’m not your mate” to Liddle was definitely fun:

When will the mainstream media learn? And for how long will it relegate the left to the margins, while putting far-right views like Yaxley-Lennon’s centre-stage?

If Jo Cox’s death has taught us one thing, surely it would be that hateful views do not deserve a platform in British media.

Get Involved!

– Tweet and follow #ChangeTheMedia and #BBCSwitchoff.

– Support The Canary if you appreciate the work we do.

Featured image via Twitter/YouTube

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