You’ll not get away with stuff while I watch …

 

There’s no proper scandal to entertain us peasants over the weekend but our glorious MSM provide us with a lovely lesson in manipulation. There are for example some shock-horror news screaming at the few customers who still buy newspapers every morning. ‘Staff’, composing the headline for the daily compilation of print editions’ front pages, went upmarket this morning: “Newspaper review: Inheritance tax ‘plans’ and Europe’s heat warning” (link). 

Doesn’t it look as if the glorious Westminster papers have picked different issues for their front pages, as if to show that they are most definitely not singing from the same hymn sheet? Isn’t this a good example to show how they manipulate our opinion by whizzing off to new ‘important issues’? A quick romp through the online editions occupying the first four places on that compilation illustrates this nicely.

Take for example The Mirror, the self-appointed ‘voice’ for the downtrodden ‘workers’. They’re still clinging to the ‘Edwards Issue”, in print as well as online, writing: “EXCLUSIVE: Huw Edwards’ TV pals demand his return to BBC News – and public want him back on screen” (link). It’s their own poll which is an ‘exclusive’ but it’s ‘the people’s voice’, innit.

I’ll refrain from naming his ‘pals’ but am mildly astonished that these ‘pals’ and the Mirror writers simply don’t seem to get the hypocrisy they exhibit – or do they get it and are cynically relying on the vestiges of trust shown by the plebs they polled, exclusively?

Next, there’s the screeching headline in the DM: “Meltdown”. It’s clever because this ain’t about the ‘killer heatwave’ in mediterranean countries, it’s about the planned strikes at Gatwick (link). How seriously the DM editors take this ‘meltdown’ is nicely documented by the fact that this top story has been ‘vanished’ to a place low down in the online edition. That’s how manipulate people into buying their rag.

Then we have the DT, elevating something on transgender ‘guidance’ to the top spot (link). At the time of writing they have hidden an important report, published at 6am, way down. I’ll get to this report in a moment. Rounding up, we get to top of this morning’s compilation, with The Times and their leading article on the Tories planning to scrap the Inheritance Tax. Look at this (all emphases are mine):

“Downing Street is holding talks about scrapping inheritance tax as part of a “totemic” offering to voters before the general election. The Times has been told that there is a “live” discussion among senior figures in No 10 about abolishing the levy as the Conservative Party’s headline tax offer next year. It had been widely assumed that the Tories would opt to cut income tax by as much as 2p, which would cost about £13.7 billion a year. However, there are concerns that any savings would be dwarfed by the impact of mortgage rate rises and inflation.” (link, paywalled)

Notice that this ain’t ‘news’ but is simply a write-up of gossip from No 10. The aim is to make the Tories look dastardly because the poor, downtrodden workers Up North have of course nothing which can be ‘inherited’. Furthermore, this is aimed at the Audi Avenue denizens in the shires who will presumably become irate when this gossip doesn’t materialise. And there’s the insinuation that the Tories only serve ‘Teh Rich’, so if people want lower taxes they must vote Labour …

And so, since we’ve mentioned money, to the DT report published early this morning, sitting forlornly below ‘news’ and ‘sport’, amongst ‘other stories’. Look at the headline and ask why this isn’t top news: “Banks ‘wrong’ to close customer accounts in hundreds of cases” (paywalled link)! In the opening paragraphs we’re told that banks can and do close accounts quickly in cases of fraud, but:

“Close to 1,400 people complained about such bank account closures in 2022-23, according to figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service. One in four complaints were upheld, the arbiter of financial disputes said. It has raised fresh concerns about the actions of banks who have been accused of “blacklisting” customers who hold certain views.” (paywalled link)

That’s all there is about blacklisted customers like Nigel Farage and the Yorkshire vicar. The rest of the report is about fraud and about customers whose accounts were closed received a black mark by the NGO “Cifas”. They can, of course, jump through hoops and complain:

“Customers who have their accounts in some cases are given a marker, which identifies them to banks, credit providers, insurers and companies as potentially risky customers. Those with a marker against their name can struggle when applying for a mortgage or when opening a new bank account. […] Savers who complain to the Ombudsman rarely have their account reopened, but often receive compensation and an apology, The Telegraph understands.” (paywalled link)

Blimey. So ‘a compensation’ is all they receive? Will that Cifas mark be removed so they can open an account elsewhere? The following statement reads like pure, unadulterated hogwash, dripping with hypocrisy:

“UK Finance, the industry body for banks, said any decision to close an account “is only taken after extensive review and analysis of the activity of the account”. A spokesman added: “Banks are required to adhere to legal requirements when assessing criminal activity and in every case, the bank must always ensure the customer is treated fairly.” (paywalled link)

Note how ‘criminal activity’ is used as justification, thus manipulating readers into assuming that Nigel Farage and the Yorkshire vicar must have done ‘something criminal’. Moreover, this insinuates that holding ‘certain views’ must be criminal. As for ‘fair treatment’: yeah, of course ’twas ‘fair’.

I leave you with this video clip which throws a rather malign light on those anodyne statements about the ‘fairness’ of banks and the ‘information’ on which they base their decisions:

 

 

Isn’t it wonderful how banks are not obliged to tell customers why they closed their account! Isn’t it wonderful how one can smear a person like the Yorkshire vicar or Nigel Farage by writing at length about fraud being the reason for account closures, insinuating that holding ‘different’ views is somehow ‘criminal’. Obviously though this isn’t an issue, isn’t ‘newsworthy’ when compared to transgender stuff or Mr Edwards!

That’s all I have for today. There was one piece of good news, sadly paywalled, about a trove of papers stolen from the Belgian archives now being returned, which contained some papers by Wellington. Seeing his famous portrait while slurping my coffee cheered me up – but then, as ye all know, I’m a card-carrying ‘1st D of W fangirlie’ … Have a good weekend.

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