Stormzy times

[Derek Hardballs]

What has happened to media standards in this country? 

Stormzy calls out media for ‘intentionally spinning’ his comments on racism in the UK

The star was asked by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on December 21 if racism was still prevalent in the UK, and replied: “definitely, 100%.“ Some have praised him for addressing an important issue, while others interpreted the comments as meaning that “100% of the UK is racist.” Stormzy blamed some outlets for “intentionally spinning my words for some clickbait.”

When Katie Hopkins is disagreeing with you, you know you’re on the side of decency.

[Beano]

He is right of course, racism bubbles just under the surface in so many areas of society
And that is quite depressing as  we move closer to 2020

[Ossian]

This is probably going to sound elitist and patronising, but not writing it wouldn't stop me believing it: we seem to be in an age where people are more likely to read the headline than the content; more inclined to latch onto the soundbite than consider the underlying implications. So the media can quite often carry off this kind of thing without any challenge and - whether willingly or not - function as a potent vehicle for those with an agenda (Derek's Katie Hopkins reference being just one example).

Apparently fewer than 10% of 'tweets' utilised Twitter's old 140-character limit; something which has hardly changed with the increased allowance. Which might not matter except that it is used by some as a source of information. Manipulable societies have a history of making seriously bad decisions.