Politics Thread 5

[Garth]

twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1051171308384456704

twitter.com/OwenJones84/status/1051188041820332032

[Garth]

Police spies infiltrated UK leftwing groups for decades
Exclusive: database shows 124 green, anti-racist and other groups spied on by undercover police

Police deployed 24 undercover officers to infiltrate a small leftwing political party over a 37-year period, the Guardian can reveal.

The police spies infiltrated the Socialist Workers party (SWP) almost continuously between 1970 and 2007, often with more than one undercover officer embedded within the party.

Four of them deceived women into sexual relationships while using their fake identities. One spy met one of his wives during his deployment and had a child with her.

About one-third of the total number of undercover officers embedded in political organisations that have so far been publicly identified infiltrated the SWP, a Trotskyite party of a few thousand members that advocates the abolition of capitalism through revolutionary means.

The scale of the infiltration of the SWP – far larger than any other political organisation – is revealed in a database compiled following investigations by the Guardian and the Undercover Research Group, a network of activists that scrutinises police espionage.

The database lists 124 groups that have been spied on by undercover police officers since 1968.

The next-biggest infiltration of a specific organisation was against the campaign opposing the Vietnam war, which was penetrated by nine undercover officers between 1968 and 1972.

The database is incomplete as the full list of groups that were spied on has yet to be established.

The list so far compiled, however, suggests police spies overwhelmingly monitored leftwing and progressive groups that challenged the status quo, with only three far-right groups infiltrated – the British National party, Combat 18 and the United British Alliance.

Undercover officers spied on 22 leftwing groups, 10 environmental groups, nine anti-racist campaigns and nine anarchist groups, according to the database.

They also spied on campaigns against apartheid, the arms trade, nuclear weapons and the monarchy, as well as trade unions. Among those spied on were 16 campaigns run by families or their supporters seeking justice over alleged police misconduct.

According to the database, police spied on 12 animal rights groups and eight organisations related to the Irish conflict.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... or-decades

[Preezy]

Is this supposed to be a scandal or something? I'd be more surprised if the report said the police hadn't been keeping tabs on left-wing political groups, especially during the height of the Cold War.

[OrangeRKN]

Is this supposed to be a scandal or something? I'd be more surprised if the report said the police hadn't been keeping tabs on left-wing political groups, especially during the height of the Cold War.

The relationships part is a bit squiffy don't you think

[Preezy]

Is this supposed to be a scandal or something? I'd be more surprised if the report said the police hadn't been keeping tabs on left-wing political groups, especially during the height of the Cold War.

The relationships part is a bit squiffy don't you think

It's a tough job, but someone's got to do them it.

[Garth]

Here's the list of spies:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng- ... olice-list

[Vermilion]

Here's the list of spies:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng- ... olice-list

This can only mean one thing, a leak.



Time to spy on our spy as he searches for their spy.

[Knoyleo]

I see Buzzfeed have given up on trying to do proper news and decided to go back to being clickbait rubbish.

twitter.com/pressgazette/status/1014084220300357632

He's not just joining the politics team, he's apparently senior political correspondent, replacing Jim Waterston after he went to the Guardian.

And suddenly, they're publishing hit pieces on Carole Cadwalladr.

twitter.com/carolecadwalla/status/1051456518359605250

twitter.com/MarkDiStef/status/1048230716474097664

[Vermilion]

I see Buzzfeed have given up on trying to do proper news and decided to go back to being clickbait rubbish.

Since when has Buzzfeed ever tried to do proper news?

[Knoyleo]

I see Buzzfeed have given up on trying to do proper news and decided to go back to being clickbait rubbish.

Since when has Buzzfeed ever tried to do proper news?

It took me a while to come to terms with as well, but they were, for a while, running a pretty good investigatory outfit, and broke some major stories. Then established news outlets poached a lot of their staff, and Buzzfeed cut jobs in their news division, and now it looks like they're becoming an online tabloid.

[Moggy]

I see Buzzfeed have given up on trying to do proper news and decided to go back to being clickbait rubbish.

Since when has Buzzfeed ever tried to do proper news?

It took me a while to come to terms with as well, but they were, for a while, running a pretty good investigatory outfit, and broke some major stories. Then established news outlets poached a lot of their staff, and Buzzfeed cut jobs in their news division, and now it looks like they're becoming an online tabloid.

35 BUZZFEED WOKE POLITICAL SCOOPS YOU NEED TO SEE TO BELIEVE WILL LEAVE YOU SHOOK

[KK]

Real news, particularly investigative reporting, is very expensive. And that's a busted flush unless you're happy with a niche audience behind a subscription (The Times) or have a broadcaster willing to prop you up. The only one that has really nailed the format is Mail Online (and even that doesn't bring in as much money as you'd probably expect).

Sites like Buzzfeed, The Chive, LadBible...I don't think the main audience wants brain-engaging, in-depth articles. Once a brand or website has got that reputation it's difficult to then try and change it.

[Vermilion]

Metro's just as bad, the actual paper is decent enough, but much of the website is just poorly written clickbait garbage produced by uni graduates who are probably being paid peanuts/nothing at all.

[KK]

Depends if it's being done in-house, or is now being farmed out to freelancers via places like Textbroker. You have these pre-prepared press releases that are sent out to everyone and then the website will get someone to rewrite it. This is why a lot of stories pop up on websites at roughly the same time, look very similar, and the byline will have something like "Daily Mail staff" there (because on occasion even the website will have no clue who wrote it).

A website like Textbroker for example works on a rating system. The higher rating you have, the more access to higher paying work you get. So they've skipped having to employ somebody on a full time basis, stuck two fingers up to those who went to college and university, and boiled it down to nothing more complicated than 'can you write?' and 'are you willing to do this for x amount per word?' And of course there always will be. You can pay someone £6 to write an article in his kitchen for a one and done, or you can pay someone £12 an hour on a full time basis. There's no contest.

[Garth]

twitter.com/YouGov/status/1052113316477325312

twitter.com/YouGov/status/1052114107200098304

[Moggy]

Johnson is currently more unpopular than May and people have finally seen through Rees-Mogg?

Maybe there is hope for this country.

[KK]

The Daily Mail has been very negative on Boris Johnson since the new editor took over too.

[BID0]

Is this supposed to be a scandal or something? I'd be more surprised if the report said the police hadn't been keeping tabs on left-wing political groups, especially during the height of the Cold War.

The relationships part is a bit squiffy don't you think

Yeh I can't tell if he is joking or not but it's pretty strawberry floated up. Luring people in to false romantic relationships and having children with them only to up and leave the family. Most didn't even know until some time later it was a police officer and they were being used as an undercover operation

[Preezy]

Yeah I agree that part is quite shady.

[Moggy]

twitter.com/sunapology/status/1052178626697940992