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A podcast about music, and politics as told by musicians who sing about politics
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Monday Sep 02, 2024
Monday Sep 02, 2024
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UK Race Riots
Introduction:
In the 2016 presidential race, Donald Trump popularized the term "fake news," a simplistic critique aimed at liberal mainstream media outlets like CNN. This phrase captures the way news can be manipulated, reflecting the political leanings of various stations, much like the concept of "Kayfabe" in professional wrestling—where the audience is kept in the dark about the predetermined nature of the matches.
In the wake of recent riots in the UK, this manipulation of information has come to a head. Following the July 29th brutal stabbing of three young girls attending a Taylor Swift-themed yoga session in Southport, a flurry of misinformation swept across social media. It was initially reported that their attacker was a 17-year-old Muslim immigrant, fueling racial tensions. In reality, the assailant was neither Muslim nor an immigrant; he was born in Wales. However, these facts were quickly overshadowed by a wave of false narratives propagated by far-right influencers like Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate.
As mainstream media struggled to keep pace with these online gossip networks, the lines between verified news and baseless rumor blurred, creating a dangerous cycle of misinformation. This raises critical questions: Do we trust the media to tell us the truth, or simply what we want to believe? What are the deep-seated roots of racial tensions between newly arriving immigrants and the people of England? How will the UK government respond to the rioters who attacked innocent immigrants and destroyed businesses under the guise of "Save the Children"?
These issues echo the moral panics of the past, such as the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, where children were used as a prop to push draconian legislation. With us today to discuss these pressing matters is Unherd columnist Ralph Leonard.
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