Murdoch Says the Media is in Cahoots With Elites on Same Day as the UK Government Goes Full Orwellian

Dame Dinenage MP goes on a writing spree to ban Russell Brand

Today Rupert Murdoch announced he is stepping down from Fox and News Corp. In his valedictory memo to staff he referred to the battle for the freedom of speech.

“We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years — I certainly am, and plan to be here to participate in them. But the battle for the freedom of speech and, ultimately, the freedom of thought, has never been more intense.

My father firmly believed in freedom, and Lachlan [his son] is absolutely committed to the cause. Self-serving bureaucracies are seeking to silence those who would question their provenance and purpose. Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class.

Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth.

In my new role, I can guarantee you that I will be involved every day in the contest of ideas.”

Ironically, on the same day, the UK government decided to go into full Orwellian mode, trying to restrict freedom of speech on somebody who has not (yet?) been found guilty of any crime.

I’m sure almost everybody knows what the Magna Carta is but for those of you who don’t:

“Magna Carta is Latin for ‘great charter' and the term was first used in 1217 to distinguish it from the Charter of the Forest, a document that also set out limits on the king's administration, this time of the royal forest, areas of the country set aside for royal hunting and subject to much harsher laws and restrictions. Both charters set out what the king could and could not do. In other words, Magna Carta set out the laws which the king and everyone else had to follow for the first time.”

In total there were 63 clauses in the Magna Carta but only four are still valid today. One of these clauses is as follows:

“No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor in any way proceeded against, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land”.

But apparently the UK Government no longer has to follow this clause anymore and are actively trying to ruin a man before a lawful judgement has been made. I’m of course referring to the Russell Brand investigation from the weekend which I discussed yesterday. And as I said yesterday, we have no idea if he is guilty or not but he must remain innocent until proven guilty.

Today, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee wrote a number of furious letters. Clearly in her mind, Russell is guilty. No trial is needed and he must have all his income removed immediately.

She wrote to the BBC and Channel 4 to pressure them into releasing all information that can be disclosed to the public.

Next she wrote to the CEO of Rumble asking whether Brand is able to monetise his content and whether Rumble intends to join YouTube in demonetising Brand’s account.

Rumble wasn’t impressed. They called the letter “extremely disturbing”, “deeply inappropriate” and “dangerous” and said they “have devoted [themselves] to the vital cause of defending a free internet - meaning an internet where no one arbitrarily dictates which ideas can or cannot be heard, or which citizens may or may not be entitled to a platform”.

It was clearly a slow day in the office for Dame Caroline. Next she wrote to TikTok and Meta, again requesting that Brand has his accounts demonetised. Afterwards, she wrote to X and asked Elon Musk if he “has personally intervened in any decisions on Russell Brand’s status on the platform”. This was because Musk had said “Of course, they don’t like competition”, in response to Brand’s pre-emptive tweet before the investigations were made public.

Finally, she wrote to GB News, complaining that one of it’s presenters (Beverley Turner) described Brand as ‘a hero’ and invited him to appear on her show. Whilst I agree that describing Brand as ‘a hero’ during allegations of sexual assault isn’t the smartest move, is it really necessary for an MP to step in?

GB News responded to Dame Dinenage, saying that “GB News’ coverage has displayed the very essence of due impartiality with two presenters exercising their right to free speech by having a robust conversation with opposing views. At GB News, we value due process and we do not consider that it is our place to presume the outcome of any investigation or judicial proceedings”.

Would it surprise you to learn that Dame Dinenage was involved with the Online Safety Bill which quietly came into force whilst Brand was in the spotlight. This Bill has been heavily criticised over its implications to restrict free speech on the internet.

Would it also surprise you to learn that Dinenage was Minister of State for Digital and Culture during the pandemic. At the same time her husband, Mark Lancaster, Baron Lancaster of Kimbolton was Deputy Commander of 77th Brigade before being promoted to brigadier in August 2020. The 77th Brigade turned its attention on UK citizens during the pandemic by “helping to quash rumour from misinformation, but also to counter disinformation”. Basically, it spied on anyone who wrote anything negative about lockdowns and the Covid vaccines.

Although this is about Russell Brand, don’t make this about Russell Brand. This is about the Government trying to destroy a man’s career before he is found guilty of a crime. Brand is rich enough to ride this storm but sooner or later it will be you or I losing our jobs because the mob has spoken or because we’ve said something that the powers that be don’t agree with. There’s a reason sections of the Magna Carta remain and there’s a reason the principle of remaining innocent before found guilty exists. Don’t let the Government remove these rights, however hard they may be trying.