Sunday 4 August 2013

BBC Propaganda Technique #3: Elevating a Story

Occasionally, the BBC will elevate a story into the headlines that has no right being there. This was the case on August 4th 2013 with the news that Robert Mugabe had won another election in Zimbabwe. To understand why this story was deemed palatable for mass consumption, one need only read the rest of the headline: "Robert Mugabe re-elected amid fraud claims". The sole purpose of the headline was to foster unease, skepticism, and dislike for Robert Mugabe (pictured). It was BBC propaganda.

When the election was ongoing, there was almost no interest at all, and if the other candidate had won, there would have been no coverage now (fraud claims or not). Yet, despite African Union observers saying the election was fair, the BBC decided to make this their big story.

The BBC's anti-Mugabe bias is no secret. In 2002 they produced a propaganda film calling him a mass murderer. When Mugabe's regime was in economic turmoil in 2007 following strict EU sanctions, the BBC blamed Mugabe for being an inept leader. The same tactic has been used against Castro in the American media. The BBC's anti-Mugabe slant angered the Zimbabwean leader so much that he banned them from operating in the country.

The reason for the bias isn't a secret either. Zimbabwe used to be a British colony, which means a large number of the British ruling class used to make a lot of money from sucking resources out of the country. This ended when Robert Mugabe gave Zimbabwe back to the people. He is a hero to many in Africa, and no matter how much the BBC tries to paint him as a ruthless dictator, this will always be the case. 

Getting back on point, the BBC has long been a servile supporter of the British aristocracy, as evidenced by their sycophantic coverage of anything to do with the British royal family or Lady Thatcher. For obvious reasons, the left-wing facade of the BBC doesn't extend to denigrating the people with the power to take them off air. Thus, the reason the BBC has been spawning anti-Mugabe propaganda, and elevating these stories to be consumed en masse by a largely disinterested public, is because the British ruling class have told them to.

No comments: