The corporate media spent 13 November reporting on a man who’d heckled Jeremy Corbyn with typical right-wing smears. But people quickly pointed out that this man had also previously expressed ‘Islamophobic’ and ‘homophobic’ views.
Anything to smear Corbyn
Reverend Richard Cameron heckled Jeremy Corbyn, shouting the right-wing smear that he’s somehow a “terrorist sympathiser”:
And on numerous occasions, the press and broadcast media uncritically boosted Cameron:
#GeneralElection2019: A heckler calls Jeremy Corbyn a 'terrorist sympathiser' whilst the Labour leader is on visit to Glasgow.
Get the latest #GE2019 news here: https://t.co/bCdiabAj3v pic.twitter.com/IsTNorei5V
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 13, 2019
But people soon highlighted some of the views Cameron had apparently expressed previously:
https://twitter.com/Liam_O_Hare/status/1194606861196111872
The bloke heckling Jeremy Corbyn sure seems lovely… pic.twitter.com/UBd7596Aba
— James Wright (@wrightismight) November 13, 2019
In a similar vein to his tweeting history, the churchman also shouted at Corbyn:
I thought you’d be wearing your Islamic Jihad scarf?
And on social media, people were aghast:
In today's episode of "It Feels Great To Be A British Muslim!", the media are uncritically boosting an unabashed Islamophobe and homophobe because he heckled Jeremy Corbyn.
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) November 13, 2019
Corbyn’s scarf had actually come from a charity which works with “care experienced young people and care leavers across Scotland”. And the group later tweeted:
Whilst out on the campaign trail, @jeremycorbyn has been wearing a scarf that we gave to him.
Whilst he was explaining what it meant to him today, someone interrupted and took the focus away from Care Experienced people.
Comment from our CEO, Duncan Dunlop, on today's events: pic.twitter.com/zULizyqaSR
— Who Cares? Scotland (@whocaresscot) November 13, 2019
Background checks?
Back in September, the media found the time to check the background of an angry father who confronted Boris Johnson during one of his hospital visits and said:
There are not enough people on this ward, there are not enough doctors, there’s not enough nurses, it’s not well organised enough.
The NHS has been destroyed … and now you come here for a press opportunity.
On that occasion, media hacks outed the man as a “Labour activist“.
With the man heckling Corbyn with unsubstantiated smears on 13 November, however, the background checking seemed slow (though it came eventually):
Been on the road so not always on here. Sources flagging up offensive social media content which appears to be from man who heckled Jeremy Corbyn earlier. See @RaynerSkyNews tweet too.
— Nick Eardley (@nickeardleybbc) November 13, 2019
Here’s more on the man who heckled Corbyn: https://t.co/NCFae1iF8p. Labour sources pointing to what they say is homophobic and islamophobic content on his twitter account
— Tom Rayner (@Tom_Rayner) November 13, 2019
NEW: Church of Scotland say they “deplore comments which are islamophobic or homophobic” and will seriously any complaints made in relation to Rev. Richard Cameron, who heckled Jeremy Corbyn earlier today pic.twitter.com/Wg2gZvJXiK
— Tom Rayner (@Tom_Rayner) November 13, 2019
Too late
In its apparent rush to give a platform to anti-Corbyn smears, then, the corporate media boosted someone accused of both Islamophobic and homophobic views. And while there was eventually some context about where the heckler was coming from, it was too late. Because media hacks had already helped to spread the smears far and wide.
This is utterly unacceptable. And British voters deserve so much better.
Featured image via Sky News/ Twitter
