Why are the SNP not officially rebutting the Scottish Media?

Is anyone else bothered by the apparent lack of ANY rebuttal by the Scottish Government against the way the UK mainstream media reports in Scotland?

I am…

On an almost daily basis, we see another story about how Scotland is failing, when in fact it is the opposite.

We know it’s the opposite because for every story that is published which is against the Scottish Government, the unionist politicians run it through their social media like there is no tomorrow!

When Scotland out-performs and implements left-wing policies that show up the rUK, be it in education, rail, baby boxes or whatever, the mainstream media in Scotland, including some supposed independence supporting papers, run with headlines and articles that talk Scotland down.

Why do the SNP stay so silent?

I have heard the argument that they are allowing it all to unfold and let the people see the mess the UK Government makes for itself as a means to push voters to back independence, but this doesn’t sit well with me.

There is only so long that tactic can work before people become convinced by the constant lies.

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I know the SNP want to distance themselves from independence just now on the back of Brexit and the ‘resetting’ of the legislative plan, however, they are not voiceless in Scotland but they are acting as if they are.

They do not need to jump on social media and bash every aspect of unionist political spin against Scotland, but some of the articles of late are just plain ignored by the SNP.

The rebuttals and debunking appears to be left to the people to refute and disprove – which is strange given the problems within Yes that have occurred lately.

I voted for the SNP as a means to independence but also because I believe in many of their policies.  But I also voted for them to champion Scotland – they are failing here.

Why?

Politically, Scotland needs a strong voice.  The SNP say they are a strong voice in Westminster but what happened to being a strong voice in Scotland? Not just against Labour, the Tories and Lib Dems, but against the media.

The unionist parties in Scotland can only make themselves look more and more out of touch, whereas the media…well they have influence to sway people away from Yes.  The SNP should be at least attempting to stop this – or at a minimum appearing to be aware of it.

Nicola Sturgeon is tasked with protecting the interests of Scotland, at home and abroad.  If the media in Scotland run with stories that damage Scotland’s interests at home and abroad, is she really doing what she has promised to do? If she isn’t, why not?

What has changed so dramatically in the SNP that they no longer seem capable of being able to shout back at the complete sham that is the Scottish (British) media?

The SNP need to stop being so relaxed and timid around this.  They need to find their voice and find it quick.

40 thoughts on “Why are the SNP not officially rebutting the Scottish Media?”

    1. William.

      Spelling mistakes don’t make it credible? Can you clarify? It is only as credible as my opinion, because that’s what it is.

      Please feel free to contact me with any spelling mistakes that put you off sharing the message within. I reviewed it again on the back of your reply and i saw only one spelling mistake, which i missed the first couple of times i read it.

      Thank you for the comment though.

      Liked by 2 people

  2. I agree with everything you’ve said.

    I cannot, for the life of me, understand why SNP continue to take a media battering without at least throwing the occasional punch. ‘they are allowing it all to unfold and let the people see the mess the UK Government makes for itself’ is all very well if it shows clear signs of being an effective strategy but I see no such signs. I even see occasional ‘Hey, check this BBC thing out’ tweets by SNP MPs and MSPs, like all is fine with the BBC. I don’t want to see that tweet. I detest everything BBC and I detest how they’re trying to destroy Scotland’s future.

    Furthermore, ‘regular voters’ – those not involved on social media – have very short-term memories and being daily pounded, and brainwashed with complete and utter fabrication and lies, appears to work for the msm – certainly as far as Sept ’14 went, and the GE results in May are concerned.
    One of the very few times I recall our FM fighting-back was when she called out – by tweeting – the ridiculous and undemocratic peerage of Ian Duncan after his bid to represent Perth and N Perthshire was rejected by voters but he was installed in Govt anyway. But a solitary tweet isn’t really that effective when millions of Scots won’t see it. I would wager that far more people are seeing Stuart Campbell’s work per month than Nicola’s one-of tweet – that can’t be right. And by that, I don’t mean Wings shouldn’t be exposing the press, I mean the SNP should be doing more, and on a regular basis, to bite back.

    There must be something else going on. I mean, is it possible that by constantly exposing a BBC lie or a woeful Daily Record inaccuracy that SNP MPs/MSPs run the risk of having absolutely zero-coverage for any of their politicians or representatives? Banned sine die for having the audacity? I don’t know, but we need to think outside of the box if we want this country to flourish.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. What makes you think the SNP are not providing rebuttals? After all, it’s up to the media (print and TV) which stories they choose to cover and which they choose to ignore. They are under no obligation to publish any press releases from the SNP.

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    1. Indeed. The media will always print what they want. Given that 90% or so of the mainstream media in Scotland are against the SNP and Independence, the majority of the sotires are against both. The SNP do not release statements that are stark ‘evidence based’ rebuttals against them. The public are left to do this.

      Individual SNP MP’s do get defensive about articles, but not the SNP, and most certainly not the Scottish Government.

      A prefect example is the recent Wings article on the Scotrail (Herald) piece. The SNP should be releasing some form of evidence against these types of articles in defense of the Scottish Government for the public to see, instead they leave it to a few tweets.

      The Scottish Government has a voice, whether or not the media listens doesn’t matter, they could release information through a weekly email push, or through social media against some (not all) of these headlines, particularly the headlines that are plain wrong!

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      1. I have seen on Twitter many statements from the SNP on transport education and lots of other stuff. However they are up against a hostile MSM and several state agencies whose only mission is to close down Scottish Independence and discredit its supporters. Look at what was done to Sheridan and Willie Macrae. GCHQhas a department for this very purpose. The Scottish Office is an English propaganda unit that Scotland pays for ffs. How sick is that? There is no magic bullet. The SNP are working with the tools we gave them. One of those tools was a No to independence in 2014. So we tied an arm behind their back. All they can now do is govern Scotland and get on with the day job in the hope that we wake up and smell the coffee. It may be that the unionists win. I pray to God not.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. It’s very likely that any rebuttal will be ignored by most of the mainstream media, but why not be competitors on social media with the likes of Wings, WGD, ScotGoesPop, etc.? These sites rely on crowdfunding – the SNP is already crowd funded by membership fees and donations. Their on-line presence could and should be a lot more effective and if they think that “appeasing” the BBC is going to get them a sympathetic future coverage, they’re sadly mistaken!

      Liked by 2 people

  5. I agree, the SNP need to get more aggressive with the media, I’ve actually got to a stage where I’m angry with them now, I feel they are getting very complacent, I don’t see any fighting spirit in them. Disappointed to say the least. And this is the first time I have talked down the SNP, although I have been feeling a bit disappointed 😥 for a while

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    1. Noel Edmonds has stated publicly that he will not buy a television licence because of the cover up by the bbc in the likes of the child sex that was going on there, they have not taken Noel to court yet, they know that’s what Noel want’s them to do, they don’t want the bad publicity if Noel does end up in court

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  7. Back in 1953, when Bill Brown was captured (and I wasn’t) after our raid on the armoury to destroy guns that might be used against peaceful nationalist demonstrators, the Herald merely reported on the action as a theft of property worth 220 pounds, mentioning in passing that the court had no interest in any justification of a political nature. Bill’s 6 month imprisonment got no further notice in the press. The SNP National Secretary Robert Curran, who had been involved in planning the raid, went into exile in the US, and I (who had been ‘lookout’) escaped to the US region of Occupied Germany. I was told I’d be art risk of arrest if I returned to Scotland, and I have remained in exile ever since – largely because no answer was received to any of may requests for advice or support from the SNP (which had quietly acted to obtain Robert’s return). I’m afraid I’ve had to believe that the twisted reporting of the Herald was supported by the SNP’s silence. I would subsequently learn that Scottish publishers were a party to this silence, when they refused my memoir RETIRED TERRORIST, which was eventually published (2011) in the US by Trafford Press. I still monitor these matters from my ‘refuge’ in NZ, and am encouraged by recent increases in The Cause by Scots – but I do find it difficult to accept the SNP’ continued silence!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. The scottish media are a disgrace to free and honest speech, i do not buy papers or watch scottish news programmes anymore, i refuse to have my intelligence insulted by them

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Spelling mistakes, name calling,TV licenses, SNP are trying to ease out the tangled web of the wishes of the Scottish People who are snowballed on every side by undecided voters, who listen to too much media trash. You are either pro Independence or not, so get out of the ball park if you don’t want to play. SNP will steer the right path for the future, watch this space.

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  10. Couldn’t agree more….the SNP need to get their act together and much much more combative. I am heartily sick of their laissez-faire attitude to unwarranted criticism. It puts them in bad light, it is losing them support and importantly it losing them the enthusiasm that their supporters once had. They need to get a grip.
    They need a separate funded group that target lies, spin and misinterpretations of the media and hey really need to go to town with the BBC , their niceness is getting them nowhere and I cant understand why they they think it will.
    I’m a member and frankly I expect to see action for my subscription

    Liked by 1 person

  11. In many ways it’s a Catch 22 situation but I agree with the piece; the SNP need to counter the lies. How they do that with MSM almost completely against them is a bit of a problem however.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Has anyone who cries for the SNP to be more agressive towards the MSM ever had personal experience of bullying or abuse ? Bear in mind folk are driven to suicide for this kind of treatment in their personal lives.

    Do you think that people, from early childhood to full grown adulthood, suffering abuse did not at some stage try to fight back? If it were that simple there would be no damaged children and no abused husbands and wives and no need for industrial tribunals.

    In my experience standing up to a bully can work. But that is rare.

    Calling out a bully or abuser, or someone who demeans you, tells lies, makes sly comments, gets others to join in the mocking or pushing and shoving (feel uncomfortable yet?) can result in a feeding frenzy of cruelty and ridicule, being held up for public scrutiny as paranoid, unable to take a joke, dragged through court, threatened, hurt, etc.

    The worst part, I think, is when those you considered to be friends or natural allies, like a kind of Stockholm Syndrome, believe your tormentor, take their side and betray you.

    It is ugly. And can be very difficult to fight. At least in the conventional sense.

    And this is where I trust the SNP, a very politicaly savvy party, to be tackling the main stream media in the best way possible. I understand we will be put in the picture on this soon.

    We HAVE all seen excellent rebuttals from the SNP on live TV and in both Parliaments.

    More importantly, to date, I have witnessed the SNP maintaining their dignity and integrity throughout.

    In this, I think the SNP are unique as a political party.

    Our Scottish Government have got on with running our Country in the best way possible on the meagre resources available. People who have benefitted know exactly WHO is on their side.

    The bleating and wailing of the unionist press is falling on stonier ground as each day of their extremes passes. Sales of papers fall with every quarter.

    The unionists lose votes with every carp at our services.

    I am hearing folk talking more openly now that they are questioning what they see on TV news and in newspaper headlines.

    There are many excellent blogs and tweets from the likes of Wings Over Scotland, Scot Goes Pop, Wee Ginger Dug, Grouse Beater, Indyref2, Prof Robertson’s Good News, Phantom Power Films and the SNP themselves that ARE reaching the population.

    The MSM are dying on their on their knees. Partly through being starved of the oxygen of attention they crave.

    Do you honestly think that the abusive unionist medium would ever publish press releases from the SNP, broadcast any statements they didn’t like or respond in any positive or useful way whatsoever? Of course not. They have full controll of their own murky puddle.

    Which is why they are so so scared of forums like this = )

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    1. i wish the MSM were indeed “dying on their knees”. They’re not, and i don’t get it that you think they are. The BBC are stronger now than they have ever been…revised ‘coherence’ charter the lot – unlike in 2014 they now have a license to be biased on the basis that it supports ‘coherence’

      Recall how Alistair Campbell challenged the media on Blairs behalf and recall how successful that was at the time. the SNP need to replicate that strategy and fight back…because frankly right now they are being pummulled into the ground very successfully. If standing up for Scotland means just one thing it means they don’t just sit back and take it

      Okay, we’ve got a Campbell doing that very thing right now and he’s wonderful at it..the SNP need to be on the same page and have an equivalent….a weekly press meeting (advantages borne out, drawbacks, discussions of the previous week) and the MSM can choose to attend or not to. to not to would at least show them in bad light

      The reality is i feel that No have already won the next indy vote until the MSM, specifically the BBC are taken to task on their lies, smears and omissions (e.g. condition of Scotrail, Jackie Birds “in spite of the SNP” comment last night, Gove selling our fishermen.

      These are just three off the top of my head illustration of why the SNP must challenge…no one is or should be mentioning being ‘aggressive’ as you state

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  14. I was tempted to just ignore this article after reading the drivel about the SNP wanting to “distance themselves from independence just now on the back of Brexit”. The writer is evidently ignorant of the party’s constitution, which states:

    “The aims of the Party shall be:

    (a) Independence for Scotland; that is the restoration of Scottish national sovereignty by restoration of full powers to the Scottish Parliament, so that its authority is limited only by the sovereign power of the Scottish People to bind it with a written constitution and by such agreements as it may freely enter into with other nations or states or international organisations for the purpose of furthering international cooperation, world peace and the protection of the environment.

    (b) the furtherance of all Scottish interests.”

    This commitment to independence is only the second article of the constitution because the first article is given over to defining the name of the party. The commitment is unconditional and unequivocal. It is quite impossible for the SNP to “distance” itself from independence.

    Neither does the writer seem to realise that Brexit is so intimately linked to the matter of Scotland’s independence that there is no distance at all between the two issues. They aren’t really separate issues at all. Both are concerned with the fundamental question of who decides. Of who speaks for Scotland. Brexit is merely the centuries old constitutional issue brought into focus. It exemplifies the democratic deficit inherent in such a grotesquely asymmetric political union and casts in sharp relief the irreconcilable conflict between the concepts of popular and parliamentary sovereignty.

    The constitutional anomalies and democratic deficiencies which have been the fatal flaws at the heart of the union since its inception, as well as the more recent divergence between Scotland’s political culture and that which characterises the British state, are encapsulated in the Brexit situation. Brexit isn’t the reason we are going to have a new referendum. It is merely the current context in which we are carrying forward the fight to defend Scotland’s right of self-determination and restore our independence.

    Having dealt with that fallacy, we move on to the next – the supposed silence of the SNP/Scottish Government in the face of the ongoing campaign of disinformation and denigration being conducted by the British state’s propaganda apparatus. I should hope it would be unnecessary to establish the reality of this campaign by means of examples. Surely everybody reading this will be aware of the British media’s recent brazen dishonesty on the matter of train punctuality, even if they have managed to remain oblivious to the incessant attacks on NHS Scotland, Police Scotland and every other public service identified with Scotland. Not to mention the effort to delegitimise Scotland’s democratic institutions.

    What we are being asked to believe is that the SNP, as a party and/or as an administration, has failed to rebut the calumnies heaped upon Scotland by the British establishment. Or that it has done so only inadequately. What is the reality?

    The reality is that the SNP is constantly responding to the propaganda peddled by the British media. Through the Scottish Government’s news pages and the SNP’s website as well as in various blogs and on social media, Scottish Government and SNP spokespersons maintain a continuous flow of information countering the distortions and dishonesty. It is difficult for this flow of reasoned explanation and factual information to compete with the cacophonous sensationalism of the mainstream media. But that is all the more reason to promote it to the public, rather than discount it as completely as some are wont to do.

    Whether this effort can be said to be adequate is a matter of subjective judgement. It is always possible to claim that the SNP should be more forthright.in its own defence and more aggressive in exposing the unprincipled behaviour of its opponents. But there’s a delicate balance to be achieved here. It is unwise to get into fights that you cannot possibly win. Or that you can only win at considerable cost. The mainstream media is the weapon, not the enemy. The SNP’s role is to fight for independence from within the British political system. This imposes constraints on how it conducts itself. In many ways, it has to ‘fit in’.

    It is simply false to claim that the SNP is doing nothing to counter the British state’s propaganda. It may be argued that the party could do more. But why should it do so when its efforts are already being augmented by a massive and increasingly sophisticated social media campaign as well as alternative media which daily grows its authority relative to a tradition sector in terminal decline.

    Instead of carping about imagined inaction, it would be rather more useful if we all devoted ourselves to increasing public awareness of, and confidence in, media which offer a different perspective on Scottish politics and life.

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    1. Unfortunately, for previous No voters, ‘Perception is reality’
      No voters watch the BBC, use of social media y the general population is relatively low particularly compared to Yessers, who in the main, at least the enthusiastic knowledgable ones became Yes through social media platforms.

      Managing the perception by indy supporters is ongoing but hey wil never get the coverage the SNP get. The SNP need to up their game and directly combat MSM lies only then will No voters perceptions change

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Peter,

      I appreciate your reponse but i think you are missing the point i am trying to make. This blog post is not about stating that Independence and Brexit are not intertwined, it is precisely the opposite. You have selected one line from the article out of context of the bigger picture and didnt even finish the sentence you are quoting – instead calling it drivel.

      I am unsure as to why you did that.

      Are you saying that the SNP has not put independence on the back burner due to the mixed brexit vote in Scotland and relying on the 62% who voted remain to push indy2 in the face of the 38%?

      If that is your opinion i feel you are wrong, hence the rest of the sentence you didnt quote which stated ‘and resetting of the legislative plan’.

      The SNP relying on the 62% brexit vote is likley why they did lose some of their vote in June. No amount of it was Labour voters switiching to Tory can possibly account for every vote switch. There are Yes people out there who want out of the EU.

      This article is not about what is in the SNP’s constitution. This is about why the SNP, who are leading our government are not making more of a noise about what the British state are doing in Scotland, yet they champion being stong voices in Westminster.

      I understand that the SNP respond to the propoganda, but it is not on anything like the level of others – including yourself.

      This isnt imagined inaction, Peter, this is fact. Nicola and her team could very easily have done what Wings did over the Herald article and Scotrail. Instead, Wings did it, managed to get a retraction from certain newspapers and then the SNP jump on it and say – Where is your apology Kezia?

      You are right when you say whether this is adequate or not is a matter of perception – but again i say, this is my feelings towards it and evidently many others, hence why i wrote about it. Many of us are ardent Yes voters (myself included) who will always vote yes but would just like to see the SNP stand up against the MSM a bit more than what they are!

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      1. “Are you saying that the SNP has not put independence on the back burner…”

        I’m not sure how I could have said it any more clearly.

        “…due to the mixed brexit vote in Scotland…”

        The vote was not “mixed”. It was decisive. 62% Remain. That is, in as far as it is possible to determine same this side of independence, the settled will of the Scottish people. Some refuse to respect this. The SNP administration has no choice in the matter. As the democratically elected government of Scotland, it is obliged to accept the will of the electorate.

        The rest is just repeating the points I’ve already addressed as if I hadn’t. So, pretty tedious. I will note only that you have chosen to ignore Humza Yousaf’s response to the lies about train punctuality. Just as you choose to ignore all the material on the Scottish Government and SNP websites.

        I say again (although I am resigned to the futility of the effort) wouldn’t it be better if, instead of banging on about how the SNP supposedly ‘fails’ to respond, you did a bit more to spread the word about how the SNP is responding. If information isn’t getting through to people, in what way can the situation possible be helped by sections of the Yes movement insisting that the information doesn’t exist?

        It’s all sadly reminiscent of the first referendum campaign – which was lost, in significant part, because so many on the Yes were happy to echo the British nationalist narrative of ‘unanswered questions’.

        And before you or anyone else starts, this is not about the SNP being beyond criticism. It’s about whether and to what extent the criticism is justified and necessary. Attacking Nicola Sturgeon because she isn’t Stu Campbell is neither.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Again, Peter, thanks for the reply.

    I agree with most of what you say. Maybe i need to clarify a little more.

    I will always support the SNP as a means to achieving independence and on the back of their policies. I will also always vote Yes.

    That being said, should the SNP remain so quiet (at least to my ears) at a national level…not just Twitter and SNP press releases that get ignored, i will make a noise about it because I voted for them in part to stand up against the other political parties – all of which are aligned with the media, so in effect, i voted for them to stand up against the media.

    You are right, it is tedious to keep replying on the back of this, but my post is not just criticism at the SNP, it is attempting to encourage debate amongst yessers to try and come to some understanding as to why that perception exists.

    Whether you see it or not, many do and you cannot escape that.

    I have written a few blog posts (only 4 weeks into my blog) in support of the SNP, but they are not going to be praised at every opportunity by me because i am an independence supporter first and i will always champion that cause above all political parties.

    I don’t understand what you mean by ‘extent of criticism towards Nicola Sturgeon’. So far as i can see, i wrote this blog on my perceptions, if others share it, then clearly there is a bigger issue here – if she is criticised by others than that is an issue for them.

    Nicola will always have my respect, but again, she is not the independence movement, she is the leader pf the SNP and elected first minister and if people vote for the SNP, part of that is based on the ‘want’ of the people for the SNP to be stronger in the face of being trashed at Scotland’s expense.

    Anyway, again, thank you for the responses. Please do not take any of my replies as argumentative, i am simply trying to discuss my points on the back of yours.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I thought this was a good piece Macalba regardless of what Peter says , and I follow Peter avidly . I think this is the first time I have ever disagreed with Peter .I too am fed up to my back teeth of the silence that follows when lies are spewed on BBC, SKY , MSM . Now I know it is extremely difficult to get your rebuttal in when no one is willing to listen or print , but the SNP really should be more vigorous in demanding to correct misinformation . They should have a spokesperson (Stephen Gethins , Callum McCaig ?) that jumps into action when lies are told in big bold headlines . People just read headlines a lot of the time and they stick . The Tory’s have got Fraser , Labour have got Baillie , why not someone from the SNP.

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  18. Just exactly how do you propose that the SNP achIeve this rebuttal with a rabidly anti-SNP hostile press? A press which takes any and every story and looks for the SNPBaaaad angle. If they cannot find such an angle they bury the story.

    SO TELL ME AGAIN HOW THE SNP IS SUPPOSED TO ACHIEVE THIS MIRACLE?????

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  19. You can contact your local SNP MSP/MP/Councillor and ask them to forward the SNP’s press releases to you. You can see for yourself the volume that is sent out daily.

    I know for a fact that they send press releases daily.to all the media. The problem lies in the fact that the “Scottish” media refuse to report them. The BBC will however Email Ruth Davidson asking “Hi Ruth. Do you have anything for us today?”.

    .https://twitter.com/GAPonsonby/status/889425947962814464

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  21. So, we are hearing that the SNP are indeed sending out press releases that are not being made public while, in contrast, surprise surprise, Ruth Davidson is invited to offer stories. Hmmm.

    Again, I ask do any of those who express frustration that the SNP are not fighting back have experience of being bullied or abused?

    Because that is what is going on with the majority of the MSM.

    And as I explained, that level of abuse is difficult to fight, at least in the conventional sense.

    I echo the question, just how exactly do folk here think the SNP can or should achieve this to your satisfaction? I am sure they would love hear this too.

    Because if anyone thinks they have a more effective way of tackling the abuse that the SNP and Scotland face in the press and on TV and radio on a daily basis then please share it.

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    1. This is precisely the issue. How many people realised that before they read this article? I was always aware they sent out press releases but its that fact that 90% of the Scottish media hate the SNP and Independence so they will never give them a voice.

      The solution – i dont know. It should be put to the people in some form. Have them decide. Have the SNP looked at a new national broadcaster, funded by the scottish taxpayer to compete with STV and the BBC?

      Why can’t the SNP have an official ‘debunking’ team that target social media?

      To answer your other points, i have personally been at the receiving end of abuse, in some horrendous forms. To get past it, people must work together and the person being abused must stand up and do whats right.

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      1. A debunking team is an absolute must, the hoi polloi shouldn”t have to check Wings on a Daily basis to get the other side of the story…if press releases aren’t working (and unarguably they aren’t) then that information deseminating process is simply not fit for purpose when the media can smear to their hearts content and they do and not be accountable for it

        A fortnightly report/ update or press conference, open forum, kind of like the FMQ’s but for the public where the MSM can choose to ignore to attend at least would give visibility to all and sundry that in a forum where media can challenge the media choose to run

        something not too dissimilar to what happens on behalf of the US government might work…it would certainly give the journos the opportunity to ask questions, boost their egos and make them feel important.

        Sample Agenda

        Progress last week (on the “day job”), w/questions

        SG comments on media allegations, w/questions

        Proposed for next week (on the “day job”), w/questions

        specific issues of immediate or critical concern, w/questions

        Imagine how the recent Alan Roden/ Scotrail/ MSM/ Kez debacle would have been tackled by the SG in the above process…and how good they would have come out of it

        Liked by 1 person

  22. Macalba, thank you for your considered reply.

    I think broadcasting is reserved (not sure) so is that an avenue the party could not go down?
    What would a proper new national broadcaster cost? Could the taxes the Scottish Government is ‘allowed’ to raise stretch to that? Divert funding from elsewhere? Don’t think that would go down well.

    If it is possible then I bet it is being considered and may yet be in the pipeline.

    And that brings us to Social Media.

    Which Worldwide has moved mountains in terms of making news available to the World that a few years ago would never have seen the light of day. A formidable force for getting our voice out there.

    I think the SNP are already using Twitter to good effect to broadcast details of what IS being achieved, sometimes timed to debunk skewed stats and downright untruths. I get the impression the SNP do have an active debunking team that are targeting social media.

    Their own website is really useful! Publishing letters to Westminster and the EU that the public otherwise would not see. The latest stated their intention to not agree to the great repeal bill if it were not dramatically altered. That was tweeted long before it appeared on the ‘news’. Also, access to the full original version is obviously reliable, the ‘news’s’ version not so much!

    I’m sorry that you have been on the receiving end of abuse. It is ugly and cruel and usually an act driven by fear and insecurity. Yet knowing that does not always give the abused a safe way out..

    You are right about people needing to work together. And each to our own strengths.

    Reaching the audience that are currently in the thrall of the propaganda we are all talking about here, is a huge concern.

    I suspect our strength lies in our ability, as a movement, to come at this from many different angles and with a range of tools.

    Keep writing Macalba = )

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