Tag: united kingdom

Google Accused of Manipulating UK News Results With ‘Anti-Conservative Bias’: Whistleblower

A Google whistleblower told The Epoch Times that the Internet giant has an “anti-conservative bias” and search results are “reconfigured to what the establishment thinks.”

He added that “we have to use whatever democracy we have left to stop this.”

It follows allegations from a Daily Mail study that articles from mostly left-wing outlets were returned among the most searched terms on Google about UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, prompting the country’s culture secretary to say that it “tells us what many have suspected all along.”

On June 10, the Daily Mail showed that searching for Johnson on Google presented far more results from news sites hostile to him. The Guardian came up 38 times, The Independent was cited 14 times, and BBC News came up 24 times. More conservative-leaning outlets such as The Daily Telegraph came up four times, the Daily Express three times, and MailOnline twice.

The response was noted by UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorres, who is setting up the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) that will oversee a new regulatory regime, and who is currently looking at various platforms to understand how algorithms can impact users’ online experiences.

“I have raised the issue of bias and algorithms distorting democratic content and opinion with Google,” Dorres told the Daily Mail. “They have promised to revert to me with evidence that this is not the case which I have yet to receive.”

“This evidence published by the Mail is fairly conclusive and tells us what many have suspected all along. We are looking at how we can address unfair bias and distortion in the forthcoming Digital Competition Bill,” she told the publication.

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Famed British Astronaut Suggests UFOs Could Be Extraterrestrial

A famed British astronaut recently offered a rather remarkable opinion on the UFO phenomenon when he suggested that the mysterious objects seen by American Navy pilots appear to be extraterrestrial in nature. Col Tim Peake became something of a household name in England after serving more than six months aboard the ISS and, during that time, made history as the first Briton to ever perform a spacewalk. Since his return to Earth, the astronaut has appeared on numerous television programs to discuss his experiences as well as the latest happenings surrounding space exploration, which is how the topic of UFOs came up when Peake was a guest on the show Good Morning Britain earlier this week.

Asked for his thoughts on the considerable amount of discussion concerning unidentified flying objects currently unfolding here in America, Peake mused that “I think it’s interesting that the US Government has made this public,” noting both last summer’s Pentagon report on UAPs as well as last month’s Congressional hearing on the phenomenon. Observing that the phenomenon is “still very much unexplained,” Peake opined that “it’s a good thing there are discussions being had, and that this information is being made available.” As for what these objects could be, the astronaut provided an answer which likely raised eyebrows among UFO enthusiasts.

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UK “hate crime” plans could criminalize comedy, rights group says

The Home Office is working on a new hate crimes strategy to encourage more people to report hate crimes. Campaigners have warned that the new strategy might result in criminalizing comedians like Ricky Gervais, who question the trans ideology in comedy routines.

The strategy is being drawn up despite a court ruling last year that banned police from recording “gender-critical” comments as non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs).

“These plans suggest either that the Government is not paying attention, or that they have contempt for the Court of Appeal,” said a lawyer from campaign group Fair Cop.

“Either way, it is astonishing that legislators are planning to expand the discredited and unlawful practice of recording non-crime hate incidents [NCHIs]. Following Fair Cop’s win in the Court of Appeal in December, the College of Policing promised to publish revised hate crime guidance by the end of May this year. We’re still waiting. Police forces that record complaints against comedians – or any other lawful speech – as NCHIs will be piling illegality upon illegality.

“They will then find themselves in court with no legitimate defense. This quixotic strategy oozes arrogance, as if the law does not apply if you’re fighting for ‘the right side of history.’

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The NHS just edited their Monkeypox page…to make it scarier

Afew days ago the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) edited their Monkeypox page to alter the narrative in a few key ways.

Firstly, they removed a paragraph from the “How do you get Monkeypox?” section.

Up until a few days ago, according to archived links, the Monkeypox page said this, regarding person-to-person tranmission [emphasis added]:

It’s very uncommon to get monkeypox from a person with the infection because it does not spread easily between people.

…this has now been totally removed.

Secondly, they’ve removed this paragraph, which was present up until at least November of 2021 (and maybe much more recently, there are no archives between November and May) [emphasis added]:

[Monkeypox] is usually a mild illness that will get better on its own without treatment. Some people can develop more serious symptoms, so patients with monkeypox in the UK are cared for in specialist hospitals.

The new “treatment” paragraph reads [again, emphasis added]…

Treatment for monkeypox aims to relieve symptoms. The illness is usually mild and most people recover in 2 to 4 weeks […] You may need to stay in a specialist hospital, so your symptoms can be treated and to prevent the infection spreading to other people.

So, they remove that it will “get better on its own”, and again reinforce the idea of spreading the disease despite this being described as “very uncommon” as recently as last week.

They even add a line about self-isolating, which was never mentioned before:

as monkeypox can spread if there is close contact, you will need to be isolated if you’re diagnosed with it.

Finally, they now include a warning you can get Monkeypox by eating undercooked meat, which will doubtless feed into the anti-meat narrative too (oh, wait, it already is).

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UK government wants to limit online protest organization, introduce ankle monitors for disruptive protesters

The Home Office has proposed a new Public Order Bill that includes “serious disruption prevention orders.” The bill would give the police the ability to electronically tag disruptive protesters and limit where they can go, who they can meet, and what they can do online and in real life, regardless of whether they have committed a crime.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

The bill would also make locking-on (where protesters lock themselves onto parts of buildings) a criminal offense. Also, disrupting transport works and national infrastructure would be a criminal offense.

The UK’s proposals came months after Canada used extreme emergency powers on Freedom Convoy protesters, including freezing bank accounts, earlier this year, and ahead of a cost of living crisis in the UK that many feel could spur protests.

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160,000 COVID Deaths? – NHS confirms just 5,115 people have died of COVID-19 in England since beginning of Pandemic

The UK Government claims over 160,000 people have died of Covid-19 in England since March 2020, and they have used these claimed deaths to frighten people into compliance with ridiculous rules for the past two years.

But reports published by England’s National Health Service (NHS) reveal that as of 20th April 2022, just 5,115 people have died of Covid-19 in England since the alleged pandemic began.

And the same reports also reveal that Covid-19 deaths have increased by 176% compared to the number of alleged deaths that occurred prior to the first Covid-19 injection being administered in England. Is this what we would expect to see if the jabs are 95% effective at preventing death?

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Belarus Claims Alleged Russian War Crimes Were Staged by Britain

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has accused Britain of staging a “psychological operation” in Bucha, Ukraine, where Russia has been accused of committing war crimes after reports and pictures emerged of mass graves of people allegedly killed by Russian forces.

Appearing at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far Eastern Amur Oblast region of Russia, Lukashenko claimed to have provided his chief ally, Vladimir Putin, with evidence that the events in Bucha were staged by the British.

“Today we’ve discussed this special operation of theirs in detail – a psychological operation staged by Englishmen,” the Belarusian strongman said according to the state news agency Belta.

“Together with our Russian friends we have gotten to the bottom of this nasty and disgusting position of the West from the first hour to the last one,” he added.

Lukashenko did not offer up any evidence of the claim that Bucha was staged by the UK, but said that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) could provide “addresses, passwords, places of secret meetings, plate numbers and brands of the vehicles those people used to come to Bucha and how they did it.”

Vladimir Putin, for his part, also claimed that Bucha was staged, claiming that it was a “false flag”, comparing it to chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

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UK MP found guilty of sexually assaulting teen after forcing him to watch pornography and drink gin

UK Conservative MP for Wakefield Imran Ahmad Khan has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old at a party.

According to BBC, Khan forced the boy to drink gin, made him watch pornography, and then sexually assaulted him.

The 48-year-old MP was found guilty following a week-long trial.

Prosecutors said that the MP “reached in and touched his legs, reaching for, or actually touching, his groin.”

Khan caressed the boy and continued his actions despite being told to stop, court documents say.

“His breathing was getting quite heavy and I kept pushing his hand away and pushing it back and it would keep coming,” the complainant, now 29, said.

“The man, who cannot be named, contacted the Conservative party in 2019 after learning Mr Khan was standing in the general election. He then called police after Mr Khan was elected to Parliament,” the BBC reports.

The complainant’s older brother also accused Khan of asking if he was a “true Scotsman” and then lifted his kilt and lunged at him, at the same party.

Another witness said that they woke up to Khan performing a sex act on him after a party in Pakistan in 2010.

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UK censorship bill will impact small, independent media outlets while giving large media outlets a pass

The UK government is currently pushing a sweeping online censorship bill, the Online Safety Bill, which will force tech giants to censor content based on the vague, subjective term “harm.”

One of the government’s main arguments when attempting to defend these controversial censorship requirements has been that “news content will be completely exempt from any regulation under the Bill.” However, the rules that govern these exemptions are written in a way that favors large media outlets and makes it difficult for small, independent outlets to qualify.

For starters, the state-funded media outlets the BBC and Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C) automatically qualify as “recognised news publishers” – the standard that determines whether a publisher is exempt from the bill’s regulations.

Other outlets need to either hold a license under the Broadcasting Act 1990 or 1996 or meet numerous conditions which include “publishing news-related material that is created by different persons,” having a registered office or business address in the UK, making the name and address of the outlet’s owner public, being subject to a standards code and editorial control, and having a complaints procedure.

Obtaining a license under the Broadcasting Act 1990 or 1996 creates additional costs for small outlets, such as the £2,500 ($3,300) license application fee and the minimum annual license fee of £1,000, ($1,320). It also gives Ofcom the power to decide which outlets can get a license.

The provision for news-related materials from non-license holders to be created by “different persons” also prevents individual journalists from qualifying as recognized news publishers. Furthermore, the requirement for non-license holders to make their name and address public shuts out anonymous or pseudonymous publishers from these recognized news publisher exemptions.

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Fury as theatre company stages naked show exploring ‘sexuality, sexual pleasure and queerness’ aimed at children as young as FIVE

A theatre company has sparked fury by staging a show featuring naked bodies that explores ‘love, sexuality and sexual pleasure’ aimed at children as young as five.

The Family Sex Show’s producers boast it’s a performance for families about sex and relationships – with parents encouraged to bring their children along.

The website describes it as ‘a fun and silly performance about the painfully awkward subject of sex, exploring names and functions, boundaries, consent, pleasure, queerness, sex, gender and relationships.

It goes on: ‘Using real life bodies, personal stories, songs and movement, The Family Sex Show puts the good stuff at the forefront of conversation and imagines a future where there is no shame; but a celebration of difference, equality and liberation.’

But the show has prompted outrage from parents who are considering protesting outside Bath’s Theatre Royal when it opens next month.

The backlash began on the social media site Mumsnet after a user called Matthew Taylor posted: ‘This show is aimed at children five years old and up. The performers get naked. The discussion with the children is on sex, sexuality and sexual pleasure.

‘I cannot imagine bringing a five-year-old child to a theatre where people will tell her/him about sex and show their naked bodies to her/him. Am I the crazy one?’

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