A ‘nudge unit’ in the good old days of ‘newsmaking’

 

There are days when the headlines, concocted by the editors of our glorious MSM, are sufficient to make one want to forget that one even looked at them. Needs must though, so firstly, here’s the usual compilation, under “Newspaper headlines: Killer’s ‘cowardice’ and Nigel Lawson dies at 91” (link). Since we’re clearly a mawkish nation, Auntie Beeb’s ‘staff’ put the Red Tops first so that we can all wallow in feeling sympathy.  The front page of the dear old Star also utilises this sympathy, telling us on their print front page that the Queen’s corgis no longer grieve. Dunno how they know, but there ye go.

For some reason, the DT decided to go ‘low-brow’ on their print front page by calling Nigel Lawson ‘Thatcher’s tax slasher’ in their report on his death. They’re far more polite online (link, at the time of writing this) – but then again, i suppose a screeching headline might sell more printed DTs …

As far as I’m concerned, calling someone ‘slasher’ is a bit derogatory because ’slashers’ are usually criminals, slashing throats or at least car tyres. Are we nudged into thinking that reducing taxes is a bit criminal, only done by ‘slashers’?

Anyway, looking at the early-morning online edition of the good old Times, we find that their newsroom editors are worried about Starmer not being as appreciated by us peasants as they wish in their Westminster bubble.

They also have Russia on their minds. There’s the fate of a ‘colleague’ having been ‘detained’ in Russia. Well, that’s bad innit, because it’s the duty of a proper reporter to report on factories producing weapons, during war time, without those ‘reports’ making their way into print.

Worse, for me, is the way they report on the terrorist bombing of a cafe in St Petersburg. Online we’re given: “Former art student ‘confesses’ to killing Russian blogger with bomb” (link). Note the quotation marks around ‘confess’, nudging us into thinking about ye olden times when the KGB ruled supreme and was able to get anybody to confess to anything.

Note also the description ‘former art student’. Art students are gentle people who don’t know nothing about bombs, right? Now here’s the funny thing: clicking on that headline gets you to the report which has now the title:

“Darya Trepova: Woman held over bomb hidden in bust that killed Russian blogger –  Kremlin claims deadly ‘gift’ handed to Vladlen Tatarsky at St Petersburg café was orchestrated by Ukraine” (link, paywalled)

See – ‘Kremlin’ only ‘claims’, so it’s obviously not true. Also, there’s no outcry about using a bomb to kill and maim innocent people. Playing the substitution game, I wonder how the MSM would react if someone had gone with a bomb into a cafe in London, with the aim to kill some blogger blogging against Johnson, Sunak, Starmer.

I’m only quoting the first paragraphs of this ‘report’ because they demonstrate the fine art of spinning the narrative in an exemplary fashion:

“Russian art school graduate who has protested against President Putin said she was the victim of a “set-up” after her arrest on suspicion of planting a bomb that killed a pro-Kremlin blogger. I was set up! They just used me!” Darya Trepova, 26, is reported to have said when she was detained yesterday. In a video posted by Russian police, she said: “I brought the bust that exploded.” When asked who had given it to her, she said she would reply later.” (link, paywalled)

Interesting, isn’t it: that blogger was not a dissident so the reporter cannot claim that Putin had him killed. His murder is however made to look acceptable because the bombing ‘art student’ says she’s against the war. And anyway, ‘she was set up’ … whatevah … on no account must ‘Ukraine’ be mentioned … and don’t mention the bystanders who were maimed and wounded.

If you have a strong stomach, look at The Times cartoon (link) for today. Bombing someone is fine, and never mind other people: they’re only collateral damage, innit.

And so to the last headline which had me throwing one of my new mugs against the wall. At least it was already empty, so no coffee stains …: ‘The world must wake up to speed and scale of AI” (link, paywalled). Good grief!

I’m getting more and more annoyed by people elevating themselves into a superior position by claiming the rest of the world, or their readers, are asleep and ‘must wake up’. It’s especially disgusting when a former politician does it. People are not asleep – people are trying to live their lives, to survive as best they can. They have no spare time to jump onto any new bandwagon.

Moreover, the questions about AI, especially in the form of ChatBots, have been swirling around for months. Interested people don’t need no Hague to pose as ‘waker-upper. Of course, it’s not by accident that he cries in the subtitle “Artificial intelligence is like the nuclear age — we can’t slow it and it is therefore vital governments get ahead of the game” (link, paywalled). A bit late, that: Italy is already doing it, as we mentioned at the weekend. Still, it’s surely another nice little issue where “we” need to move closer to the EU.

Furthermore, trying to turn this into a ‘government issue’ when this government, when Whitehall, when the Uniparty, have demonstrated their utter, scientific illiteracy for years, is risible. And anyway: given the replies from constituent MPs which so many of you kindly send me, I suggest that having some ChatBot doing the answers would look more intelligent than what they produce.

That’s all I have for today. If you have the time and inclination, read this proper, high-brow essay on AI. Have a good day.

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