The wish to shut down any opinion that does not agree with far-left rhetoric, and the demands for people to follow a regime of thinking that does not and cannot sit well with normal folk by those on the far left took a very worrying, nay downright frightening, turn last week.
Social media has infiltrated every minute of our lives, it has made itself invaluable to us, via a mobile phone or tablet carried everywhere from bed to table to toilet we rely on social media for everything, ordering food, clothes and talking to loved ones and friends. People have also found this portal valuable for furthering or even starting very successful and lucrative careers. It is a part of our lives now as intrinsic as air and food. Three things have happened this week though that have made me believe in the great scheme of things that this media can be manipulated as a force for real harm and if allowed to propagate will inevitably be as dangerous as the Third Reich.
It started when Tommy Robinson, a person who has gathered a large following on media, 1 million views on his Facebook page, was deleted and taken away. He had already had his Paypal, Twitter and Instagram accounts withdrawn. Facebook, possibly the biggest portal on social media to the world took the decision that his posts contravened their rules on standards by using repeatedly the language that dehumanizes and called for harming Muslims. That may be the case and if their rules are broken then action had to be taken. I would point out that on Facebook one does not have to look too far to find videos and language which are very disturbing. But nonetheless rules are rules and he had received a month previously a written warning explaining he would be removed if he continued.
What is disturbing though is the claim by Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation who said he had had meetings with Facebook executives in London about Robinson. He claimed that he was responsible for the ban. There are photographs now doing the rounds on social media of this man with Nick Clegg, who now works for Facebook in Sillicon Valley in the USA. His job is head of global affairs. So, if this man had a singular direct influence on the silencing of Robinson that is a worrying intervention.
Taken in isolation you may be led to think that as a one off it does not have a deal of gravitas, anyone can make a complaint about anything posted on Facebook and a resolution will come your way, after their due process. In this case though, a man representing an organisation with a great deal of political leanings has had a meeting granted face to face, has links to the head of global affairs and claims he is responsible for the banning from that website of an individual he does not agree with.
This has now been followed up by another worrying part of the jigsaw puzzle. Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour party has written, on House of Commons paper, to add weight to his point of view that Robinson should be removed from his last media portal, YouTube. Wow, so many questions, should the deputy leader of Her Majesty`s Opposition be using his position to attempt to curtail and indeed stop the freedom of expression and speech of an individual. You may or may not agree with Tommy Robinson’s views or rhetoric. I am not getting into that. His inalienable right to say what he wants is and should remain sacrosanct.
Who made Watson judge and jury? He can complain as you or I could toYou Tube about the content of Robinson’s videos, but compared to videos of people being beheaded, raped and tortured, sexual aggression on there and videos calling for young kids to kill themselves, it is a stretch for Watson to do this. His call for this ban is politically driven and is a populist virtue signaling exercise. If successful, this call for a ban in this way should spotlight the power that political figures can wield in silencing those that do not agree with them.
On Twitter this week Suzanne Evans, a former deputy leader of Ukip tweeted in a conversation with Paris Lees, a transgender activist that she, Lees, had not been “very ladylike” when they had met on a TV show. This conversation was between those two women. Lumping on though was one Owen Jones, a far-left political activist. He was vociferous and very aggressive in his indignation at the comment made by Suzanne. Other followers of Jones also lumped on and Lees herself went quiet and did not respond further. Several hours later Suzanne Evans was suspended from Twitter at the behest of Jones. This is not right, how can it be that he calls for a suspension directly and without it seems an investigation or any due process she is suspended.
David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham, is a vociferous tweeter, he clearly hates Great Britain and often blames the problems of the world on Britain`s historical colonialism. He often misleads on facts and figures but does so unchecked. He caused an uproar this week about Stacey Dooley, an award- winning documentary maker going to Africa to film for comic relief. His premise was that white people should not go to Africa to highlight poverty and the fabulous work carried out by the charity. In an overt signaling of racism, nothing has been said or done, no suspensions or censure has come of this. Lammy is in many of his speeches racist, he is anti-white and is allowed his platform with total freedom.
No, this week has thrown a series of events that we should and must be worried about. Free speech must be allowed to continue unabashed and without regulation, no matter how distasteful to certain peoples. The ability to control social media content and those who would partake by virtue of being famous or a politician is a very worrying thing and can lead only to who shouts loudest the longest winning and controlling what we can say or think.
Free speech at Gab.
Free speech to comment on any website by using the Gab Dissenter extension.
oh by the way, somebody please bring me up to date, it must have passed me by.
when did describing somebody as coloured become law, as I heard on a TV programme today?
I do remember under Apartheid in South Africa that Cape coloureds were in the worst possible position, harassed by oth black and white communities
Is this the same Tom Watson who blighted lives by making false claims about leading politicians in a paedophile ring ? Yes Tommy Robinson’s claims about other paedophile rings have proved to be true.
If the establishment come for TR because they are afraid of his courageous stand for free speech, they will eventually come for us all because they are afraid of us. So Gerard is right. Tommy’s fight is our fight.
Free speech is vital. People who think that keeping quiet will keep them safe should read some history. Those that wish to shut down free speech are never satisfied. Staying quiet buys you some time but eventually they will come for you.
In an attempt to rescue the reaction to this excellent article by Stephen Place (another one indeed) away from Mr Bav’s strange obsession with an apparent wish to argue with anyone who has a different view to him, perhaps Momentum would be a more suitable political home for him! (Just a thought/hope!).
It is not only high profile people who are badly treated by MSM/Social media.
Has else anyone seen the reaction directed at anyone with a wider view of important issues?
Try pointing out that mass immigration and the huge increase in our population that it has helped to cause, must at least be a contributory factor to the problems our NHS face. Apparently the only causes of the NHS’s problems are; 1) Its our fault we are living longer. 2) The Government are starving the Health Service of cash.
Try pointing out that mass immigration and the huge increase in our population that it has helped to cause and the seemingly deliberate destruction of our traditional family units must at least be partly contributing to the obscene knife crime culture that is sweeping our once great Country. Apparently the only causes of knife crime are; 1) Government austerity policies. 2) We are not treating these knife wielding criminals as having an illness and we must stop treating them as criminals and treat them as the “victims” that they apparently are.
Not only are people with opinions not in line with the looney left being closed down disgracefully, their perfectly sensible lines of thought are being dismissed and replaced with liberal drivel. With Ideas that have been proven not to work consistently over the last 20-30 years.
We really are in desperate times, even Mr Bav might agree with that.
But then again!!!!!
luckily I don,t live anywhere near “knife alley” or a major druggist area, so I may be tatalking through a hole in my head, but I do believe knife crime has a strong association with the common incidence of drugs throughout our society, fuelled by tolerance at the “top”I remember the trial of Nigella Lawson and it became very clear to me that unless illegal drug usage was pursued at every level then gang warfare amongst pushers was likely, with spill over into all the population
It astonishes me the way in which we actually believe we think about things more than our fathers.
We don’t. Actually we don’t. It is technology that has improved not people. In fact I would contend that our utterances are far worse.. Our education generally has suffered. What has improved is the length, breadth, and depth of our gossip.and guesswork.
Freedom of speach laws are fine. and the internet should be part of it… Also policed, and judged But not by the printers.or publishers. All down to ignorance and idleness and failure of gov’t. ( As is so much )
My problem with almost all the problems mentioned below. Is that almost all are due to judicious and silent use of political silence and tax invisibility to the advantage of various sectors
Free Speech is so incredibly important. It goes right to the centre of our society. If restrictions are made one, naturally, has to ask why. Then one can extrapolate and consider, such as the ‘violence is an illness’ issue, whether preventative measures are just down the road. That road will include at some point a ‘slippery slope’. Say no more.
Once again it is reasonable to assume that the EU has a hidden agenda. Actually not so hidden, doh.
By introducing, yet more regulations, on this topic Article 11 and 13 of the Copyright Directive, I think I have that right, freedoms on the internet are attacked. It is easy for some organisations to support such rules but the outcomes and the effect on people’s freedom easily trumps any rational argument they have and the implementation of that Directive has the real risk of making the internet a ‘tool for control’
.
The Marxism element in the EUSSR also fits very well into the Fascist element of the EU and its relentless course towards Totalitarianism.
Argue about TR all you want but in the end, you may be next!
‘The Left wins hands down’ is not strictly true. It’s the Establishment that wins hands down because it’s them that’s doin’ the pushing. None of what passes for politics nowadays in the UK was ever promised by any of the political parties when they went to the Country last time around. We are not being governed by who we voted for.
We’re supposed to believe that Tommy Robinson’s alleged racism is ‘the story’ behind his being banned.
We are also supposed to accept that what is definitely not ‘the story’ is the industrial scale paedophilia being suffered by underage girls even though Tommy brought this to national prominence.
This is the most egregious, and blatantly obvious, mischaracterisation of events and of Tommy’s character imaginable.
But let us not be distracted. There is another, deeper story not being told.
Who were the grooming gangs’ customers? To whom were the damaged girls being trafficked?
Has this aspect of the situation been investigated by police?
Obviously, I have no evidence. But old sayings are there for a reason.
Where there is a trough, the pigs will gather.
Could it be that this has less to do with Muslims than we have been led by the media to believe?
Now that would be a story.
Michael, I refute that TR brought the grooming gangs to national prominence. Ann Cryer Labour MP brought this out in 2002. Ukip in Bradford (my branch) have been working on this for years. Jane Senior MBE brought this out in Rotherham years ago .Etc etc
It is a Pakistani cultural problem and believe me in dozens of labour run councils they have turned a blind eye to this
Stephen, Ann Cryer and Jane Senior may have bravely brought this out originally and UKIP but it was the unflinching courage of Tommy Robinson who brought the grooming gangs to national prominence.
Sorry Barbara I normally don’t respond but I have to. This is nonsense. Yes he has highlighted this, all help is welcome but he certainly was not the first to bring it to national prominence at all
Stephen, they might be “labour run councils” on the face of it but have been infiltrated by those Pakistanis in many cases, all helped by voter apathy on the part of native Brits.
Were the two separate Somali child rape gangs that were convicted in Bristol a “Pakistani cultural problem” too? If only we could put our finger on some common thread between them…
Bavo, the title of the piece is ” The ending of free speech – the Left wins hands down. You might try addressing this rather than slagging off TR and your party leader. Or perhaps you are not a member. You don’t sound UKIP.
I’m a paid up member. Sod TR. He’s nothing, and Gerard should know better. Or lose elections.
It’s OUR effing party.
NOT his.
And how many followers have you got Mr Bav? Tommy has 633,000 supporters online and had 1.1 million followers on Facebook. The deletion of his accounts and other purveyors of free speech plunge us into the darkest realms of chilling politically motivated censorship and hypocrisy. The stuff of Orwellian nightmares and the tools of dictators
And to use your own charmingly eloquent expression Mr Bav, s*d you!
I agree that GB should have known better. As for TR I have never met him and refuse to judge him on what is written in the press. From my own observations over many years I do believe that the rise of Islam is the greatest threat faced by our country since the last war. We won that, with assistance of the US and others of course, despite the activities of a small number of traitors within.
Whether we can win the war against Islam, with a great many traitors within, is another matter but the threat needs to be recognised. For now that enemy seems to have (been given?) the advantage. Sometimes we need to ally ourselves with those who support our cause even though we might not like some of their views, but now was not the time for that in the case of TR given his negative press.
I sometimes wonder about it being our party but there is no acceptable alternative among the others who might support our cause. Divide and conquer is an issue.
“Now was not the time for that in the case of TR given his negative press.” When will be the time, Jack? Do you think his press is ever going to stop being negative?
Britain’s Muslims are doubling their numbers every 13 years. When are you going to support “allying ourselves with those who support our cause even though we might not like some of their views”? It’s not getting any easier, and pretty soon in demographic terms it’s going to be too late to do anything to stop it, isn’t it?
“Do you think his press is ever going to stop being negative?” Probably not.
As for Muslims I don’t believe anyone could possibly be more against them than I. For now though, and hopefully not long, we must focus on getting a clean exit from the EU; GB has been denied necessary publicity on that front because of his alliance with TR.
Everything has its time and we must prioritise our exit from the EU. Until we leave we cannot do all that is necessary to defeat the invader, defined as being a practising Muslim, whatever his nationality. Sadly we will have lost maybe 50 years of opportunity to deal with him thanks partly to EU membership but our time will come.
Our response to the invasion must of course start with an absolute ban on entry but the issue can only now be resolved by repatriation, whether that is voluntary, assisted or forced. All such actions will be opposed by the enemy within.
So if it takes, say, another 20 years for us to get a clean exit from the EU, you think we shouldn’t prioritise doing anything to stop the progressing Muslim demographic takeover until then? But then it’ll be too late to do anything to stop it, won’t it?
20 years! Don’t try to justify your argument with fantasy; for a start the EU will not be around for much longer.
I understand the Muslim issue only too well; we are on the same side but will not be allowed to take action whilst subjugated to EU rule. Hopefully we will be out by the end of the month but if not I can see all hell breaking loose.
I am supportive of TR (and AMW) but there is no doubt that GB has been denied a needed public voice at this critical time because of his association with TR.
A hypothetical question isn’t fantasy. We could be out in three weeks’ time; it could take many more years of struggle. I ask again: IF it takes 20 years, do you think we shouldn’t mention Islamisation in that time?
“We are on the same side but will not be allowed to take action whilst subjugated to EU rule”. The vast majority of Muslim immigrants come from outside the EU. The UK Government already has the power to stop non-EU immigration, it just doesn’t want to. Why are you trying to conflate Muslim immigration with EU immigration?
Your wrong Brav. Tommy is a patriot we need more like this brave man UKIP is better with this MAN!
In the Suzanne Evans case Twitter responded within hours “it looks like we made an ERROR”
..and they restored her account
https://twitter.com/SuzanneEvans1/status/1101378255012225024
Mr Bav is talking rubbish about TR. All newspaper reports about him deceive by omission
They try the Ad Hom of monstering his character, rather than address his arguments.
By going to his Facebook page people are able to see more full context via his full videos and explanations which sometimes include minor corrections and apologies.
Every big arms folded argument against TR falls apart on close examination.
The same would apply to someone on the left, one can’t just dismiss them
There is an interesting summary on the best of the guy who doxxed TR’s in-laws house where his kids live
Note how as a lefty/lib he never get sanctioned by the Social Media gods
https://twitter.com/i/moments/1090649391533355008
It’s fact .
People are saying on You Tube that just copying TR’s Panodrama film, or even his photo, to your facebook page is enough to get your facebook account deleted.
I haven’t tested this, as I find fb quite useful for accessing news that the MSM won’t publish.
Why don’t we all gang together and get everyone we know to copy TR’s documentary, together with a nice pic of Tommy (I like the one from March last year at Speakers), and broadcast the hell out it to their precious, darling little platform.
Then Facebook can play WackAMole trying to take them down as another one pops up. You know, like BBC/establishment played while everyone at the BBC plaza in Salford was livestreaming the documentary last month.
Should keep them busy for a bit.
Why do people feel the need to upload the Panodrama documentary to their own Facebook pages? Why not just share the YouTube link instead?
I note with interest that Youtube have refused to shut down Tommy Robinson’s channel. And that the Panodrama documentary is still available to view there.
Don’t forget, all these ‘big-tech’ social media giants are all in this together. Facebook and Twitter may have shut down his pages and accounts there, but while he is still a ‘useful idiot’ for the Establishment, they still need to allow him some form of exposure.
It is also odd that Tommy Robinson still doesn’t do much with his Gab account, considering how ‘pro-free-speech’ they are.
Tommy Robinson has been shut down on Twitter, and Facebook, and Instagram, and Paypal. Yet he’s still an establishment stooge because Youtube haven’t shut him down yet? That’s just what people said about why his Facebook page was still open with 1.1m followers. Until suddenly it wasn’t.
What will you say when all his Youtube videos are removed too? He’s still an establishment stooge because he’s still allowed to use other Internet sites? Then when they ban him from using the Internet, will he still be an establishment stooge because he’s still allowed to walk the streets and talk to people, and isn’t under house arrest yet?
“Facebook… took the decision that his posts contravened their rules on standards by using repeatedly language that dehumanizes and called for harming Muslims. That may be the case”.
It’s not the case at all Stephen. Any of the 1.1m people who followed Tommy Robinson on Facebook know it’s a downright lie. “Language that dehumanizes” could be anything the Left don’t like being said about their new core voters, but Tommy has never once “called for harming Muslims”, on Facebook or off it. I hope he sues Facebook, because if he does he will win for that libellous statement alone.
Well, here TR says “‘I’m gonna kick you in the head and punch you in the face cos I is the king of the whole Islam race” (sic).
Then UKIP’s prisons and Islam spokesman tells how he ‘scores’ cocaine whenever he goes out.
Here you go ….https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8410133/tommy-robinson-drugs-racist-slur-rant/
Don’t tell me that’s ‘fake news’ or any other rubbish about Soros or globalism.
That’s admitting a very serious criminal offence. 14 year potential sentence (he already has a drug-trafficking conviction for posession and intent to supply )
He also admits to doing it in Qatar and in Europe.
So Facebook were justified in banning him. If he sues, he will lose.
Yet STILL Batten spends more time and effort defending him than fighting the Brexit issue. A misuse of UKIP funds.
Batten also associates with Danny Tommo ( a convicted kidnapper ) and many others .
UKIP will be severely punished in the two upcoming by elections, and it’s will all be Batten’s fault for taking this idiot on board.
The press never forgets and the public hates extremist association at election time.
Clearly, banter and sarcasm are beyond your comprehension.
The timing is excruciating.
TR, a convicted drug criminal, gets shown talking about scoring cocaine when 20 kids have been killed already this year and hundreds more stabbed as gangs battle to control the drugs trade, a trade caused in significant part by a large amount of ‘ respectable , middle- class’ people sniffing their wares from the toilet seats of their Notting Hill homes.
Yet UKIP powers-that-be – in their infinite wisdom – choose TR as their prisons expert and continue to support him and his thuggish sidekicks before the poor girl who was stabbed to death in Romford – Batten’s own manor- is yet to be buried.
It’s disgusting. And its election suicide.
So no, I don’t comprehend the ‘banter and sarcasm’ or why anyone in this party or on these pages supports Tommy Robinson.
I fear that you will be somewhat outnumbered Mr Bav by the sheer volume of Tommy Robinson supporters. In view of your entirely negative and visceral comments, it might be a good idea if you went away and had a cold shower, or even better, disappeared altogether and did us all a favour. And how NAIVE of you to swallow all the lies about Tommy spewed out by our corrupt MSM !
are honestly telling me you think the “vile islamophobe” tommy robinson actually scored cocaine in qatar?
He said it himself.
Or does he even lie about that?
Either way, he’s a liability. And a fool.
Mr B,
My advice to you mr bavvy is remove the giant redwood from your eye
before looking for a splinter in Tommy Robinsons.
Thank god your naivety about the real dangers this country faces is so rare.
Your blind belief in the awesome authority of the press, by which I take it you mean MSM for the most part, is beyond extraordinary, in fact you seem to have a paranoid, morbid fear of the buggers. Just like Farage. In fact I think you might be Farage.
If Tommy is an extremist, then so am I and just about 95% of the people I know. You MUST live in an area at least a light year from the nearest “asian” community, which if you were you would be far more worried by creeping third world immigration, complete with their fertility rates, than you are about the press.
Well said Rob Pearce!
A tour of the former cotton and woollen towns of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire would be an eye opener for those living in places not yet infected by the invader. Just a couple of days wandering and observing is all the time required. Oldham, from experience, is a jewel in their crown although probably overshadowed by Dewsbury seen on occasional visits.
Fully agree with you Jack. I know these places well. You would think the indigenous white populace in these areas would be voting and being activists with UKIP in droves but they ain’t. I am honestly puzzled at this.
Tommy Robinson is NOT “UKIP’s prisons and Islam spokesman”; he is simply Gerard Batten’s advisor and in not even a Ukip member. TR is unpaid and so cannot present “a misuse of UKIP funds.”
TR uses his association with UKIP to gain sucker-support that he sends begging letters to.
His business – and he is a wealthy man- is conning you into believing he is the messiah so you send him money. He is also funded by very dodgy US based groups like the Middle East Forum. They also fund other people in his gang but legal niceties mean I can’t name the UKIP beneficiaries.
Rebel Media is another racket. Recently Janice Atkinson (ex UKIP ) joined them. For money.
She sends out begging letters too.
UKIP sends out begging letters as well.
UKIP’s leadership shares platforms with all of them.
One big racket.
They all want Brexit to fail.
Then they get 5 more years in Brussels on the gravy train as MEPs
Don’t be mugged by these bast***s
‘They all want Brexit to fail’.
You have included Ukip in ‘they’, but you profess to be a Ukip member yourself, (although I don’t necessarily believe you really are). Why are you then still in the party, you do want Brexit to succeed don’t you?
“That’s admitting a very serious criminal offence.” So why hasn’t he been charged, Mr. Bav? The police aren’t usually reticent in charging Tommy for anything they think they can get him for, are they? Or maybe your ‘facts’ aren’t correct, so they couldn’t charge him?
Actually I feel sorry for you if the best you can come up with is a Sun article, and if you really think a Sun story about Tommy Robinson is the honest truth, considering how much the MSM have all lied about UKIP over the years.
Don’t tell us you believe the video to be a fake as that would be absurd , even for all the Tommyrotters.
Here’s an interesting video that I stumbled upon by chance. It’s by a retired US General and Green Beret about Marxist Insurgency, whatever you think of the video the points he makes are spot on and apply just as much to Britain and Europe as to the US, particularly a part that would relate to EUROGENDFOR.
The video is short and worth watching.
“Warning to America…Ret. General Special Forces”
https://youtu.be/8jxwqTecZgU
Flyer I watched the video, it’s absolutely spot on. I know because I’ve lived it.
Zambia, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, S Africa. Did my bit in the army. Bottom line there is no peacetime with Marxists, they’re permanently at war. No rules, anything goes, every political party infiltrated, traitors everywhere. It only takes a small percentage to take a country down.
No rest for the righteous because of the wicked.
Marxism is a cancer, and the West is in an advanced stage of it. It’s like a religion with its adherents and useful idiots. Our whole campaign is basically a fight againt marxism.
All committees of any kind are susceptible.
If I had a Facebook account before reading about the involvement of Nick Clegg then it would have been closed by now. Thankfully no action was required.