Both the Independent and the Irish Times had the same headline. Several other news outlets had very similar headlines. None seemed to see just how funny this would be to many Scottish readers.
Looking first at ‘fake news’, most Yes supporters would see BBC Scotland to be better equipped to generate fake news than to identify it elsewhere. Their endless propagandising with a view to undermining the SNP and the wider independence movement is well documented in Indyref2, Wings over Scotland and in my own research.
In 2015, I reported on a survey into their coverage of Scottish politics in the four months before the UK General Election. I concluded:
‘BBC Reporting Scotland’s performance has been similar to that in the approaches to the Scottish Referendum – biased, irresponsible and, in the end, counter-productive judging by the opinion polls. The repetitive use of exaggeration, the frequent adoption of tabloid headlines to unsettle older voters, the use of either flawed or misunderstood research reports to misinform voters and, worst of all, the potential exacerbation of ethnic tensions via taxpayer funded research aimed at promoting unionism, suggest an organisation beyond simple dysfunctionality and, at certain levels, mephitic.’
The full 30-page report is at:
Propaganda or Professionalism on Pacific Quay?
One year later, in 2016, a BBC Trust report was described in the Guardian as:
‘BBC audience study shows Scottish viewers are most critical of all’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/news/press_releases/2016/nations_services_scotland
So, we know that because of the fake news they produce themselves, they’re not trusted, and their viewing figures are probably falling fast, especially as they won’t release them.
As for ‘bringing the nation together’, just what ‘nation’ are we talking of here? I guess they mean ‘Great Britain’. Also, isn’t that just what they’ve been trying to do, since at least 2012, as they began their disgraceful campaign of lies and distortions aimed at scaring their viewers into believing we’re ‘better together’?
Talking-up Scotland 
Negativity towards Scotland is all the Britnats have – as exempified by the Britnat bbc’s biased output – since they have great difficulty in finding sensible reasons why the union between Scotland and England should continue. Slowly but surely, however, more and more people in Scotland are realizing just how anti-Scottish the bbc is.
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I hope you’re right.
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Fake news/ – it is surely all in the framing? From beeb ‘home news’ site this evening comes this headline and tag –
‘Remarkable show of solidarity
By Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent
The collective expulsions from the US and EU member states is a remarkable show of solidarity with Britain, even more so because it comes at a time when UK-EU relations are strained due to the Brexit negotiations.’
But when one looks at the figures (included within the article – but not discussed) the EU states’ ‘remarkable show of solidarity’ seems not so very much in reality:
‘Who is expelling diplomats?
The UK announced it was expelling 23 Russian diplomats earlier this month.
EU countries: France (4); Germany (4); Poland (4); Czech Republic (3); Lithuania (3); Denmark (2); Netherlands (2); Italy (2); Spain (2); Estonia (1); Croatia (1); Finland (1); Hungary (1); Latvia (1); Romania (1); Sweden (1).
EU countries that have said they have no intention of expelling diplomats include Austria, Greece and Portugal, although all have said they support the UK and condemn the poisoning.’
I seem to recall there are currently 28 EU member states. Including the UK I make it 17 member states announcing diplomatic expulsions. With the beeb identifying by name only 3 states who are choosing not to expel Russian diplomats. Even my awful arithmetic tells me that the beeb seems to have neglected to mention the positions taken by a further 8 member states (including the Republic of Ireland). Now, it may be these further 8 EU member states are currently considering their positions (In which case surely that could have been identified in the article?)
Surely there couldn’t have been any attempt by the beeb correspondent to boost the idea of a ‘..remarkable show of solidarity..’ being shown by deliberately minimising the list of those EU member states who haven’t yet rushed to join in with the diplomatic expulsions when comparing it with the list of those member states which have? The beeb surely couldn’t do such a thing could it? That wouldn’t be cricket – would it?
Notice also that of the 16 EU member states allegedly showing ‘..remarkable show of solidarity..’ with the UK the largest number (7 states) are expelling a SINGLE Russian diplomat each – with a further 4 EU states expelling only 2 Russian diplomats – and no EU state (other than UK) expelling more than 4 Russian diplomats.
I’m no expert in diplomacy/diplomatic history but – it would strike me – that the beeb headline claiming a ‘REMARKABLE show of solidarity’ perhaps needs to be run past the new Fake News editorial suite?
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Yes, the obvious first test.
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“O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us,
To see oursels as others see us! ”
A quote from ‘To a louse” seems particularly apt for the BBC.
“Lines to a Gentleman” also still rings as true today as it did when it was written.
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