The Ferret original report
This Herald report funded by Ferret contributors then feeds the Herald
I’ve been making a small monthly payment to fact-checking agencies, The Ferret, in Scotland, and The Canary, in England. For some time now I’ve been worrying about the Ferret’s agenda or perhaps that of some of its team. I should point out that I welcome much of what they have done. While, I don’t always dispute the accuracy of what they uncover, the choices they make about what to investigate and how to headline the report has resulted in them forming part of the media undermining the independence movement of by attacking institutions such as NHSS and Police Scotland and, so by proxy, the SNP/Scottish Government.
The above piece’s headline today, by Billy Briggs, has all the features of a Daily Mail hatchet job. Here is another from Mr Briggs:
Regardless of whether the report goes on to contextualise the data, the damage has been done.
I almost wrote about the Ferret in February when I saw this:
I haven’t read it in full. I don’t need to. That this ‘tax’ if implemented by a Labour or Conservative or Lib Dem council, is an SNP tax in any way, is preposterous.
The following is simply a classic tabloid SNPbad headline:
This below is no doubt technically accurate but the decision to investigate and to report is ideological. How comparatively well-staffed is Police Scotland? is the story of relevance for the people of Scotland:
Similarly, this may well be true but the decision to investigate and to report on a very small number of offences distorts the overall picture of a very-low and comparatively, extremely low, level of race-related crime in Scotland.
Finally, this is deeply puzzling.
As I understand it, it would be the decision to ban landfill that would lead to waste being dumped at cost in England. How can failing to ban it and thus dumping the waste in Scotland have any effect on England? See this:
I’m not going to re-subscribe to see the full text so maybe there’s some clever twist not apparent in the apparently stupid headline because, once more the damage is done.
Finally, the Ferret team seem to have the tacit approval of BBC Scotland.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/collegeofjournalism/entries/00be39c1-f97b-4922-9dd0-131dd4020013
Readers of the blog were uneasy about the BBC endorsement. I’d have thought they would want to keep a distance from the state broadcaster, surely a likely target at some point. Mind you, founding member, Peter Geoghegan, is a regular with Gordon Brewer.
So, no more ferrets up my trousers. What’s that cute whistling sound?
Talking-up Scotland 
Been having bad vibes from Ferret for some increasing time.
Thanks for giving more info to be wary of them.
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i am glad i am not the only one , been scratching my head over quite a few of their articals , I trust it as much as the BBC fact check now and that aint much
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Noticed that trend myself and realised the editorial shift toward SNP BAD.
I do not subscribe to it any more.
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Something like the Sunday Herald at the end. Got in on Ind then turned to another agenda.
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Yes, my initial regard for The Ferret has been somewhat dented of late for the same reasons as T-u S and I too have stopped subscribing.
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This article gets my aporoval. A few weeks back on the weekend GMS. Shona Craven (unbiased and fair, so far) was on with Peter Geoghan. Isobel Fraser introduced Shona saying something along the lines of don’t worry Peter will look after you. Undermining our gal whilst building up the Ferret man. More of this was to come. Obviously the propagandist likes what Peter has to say.
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