Freedom of Expression

Thursday was mixed at work. 

The local weekly newspaper is published on Thursdays, and the content is always the first thing on the agenda. Yesterday morning we were scrambling around putting together a statement for them about a local factory closure, ahead of their noon deadline. We thought we had done a good job, but you never know what the journalist and editor will do with it, nor indeed what other material they have on the subject. 

Well today we were delighted with their coverage of the big story, even although the news itself is so bad. It was informative and balanced. 

The positive mode did not last sadly, and after lunch we had a significant problem with an anti-immigration rant from a constituent. He has swallowed all the Brexit lies hook, line and sinker. 

We get this regularly. Often we can guess which newspaper the person reads. A fatal combination of poor education, stupidity and gullibility. I could make any number of criticisms of the EU - Greek debt crisis, Cyprus accession or Catalunya’s political prisoners, to name but three - but the distortions and outright lies appearing in the media are a scandal.