A welcome U-turn at the Guardian
JVL Introduction
Readers of the Guardian were incensed that its obituary of Archbishop Desmond Tutu made no mention of his oft-repeated, deeply held support for the Palestinian struggle against Israeli apartheid and of the comparisons he made between it and his own country, South Africa.
These comments appeared on the Guardian website and were almost immediately “moderated” out, as contrary to “community standards”.
But these protests against this obscene censorship by the Guardian’s moderators must have been heard somewhere, particularly those in a letter from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign signed by over 30 prominent figures including many who were active in the struggle against South African Apartheid.
It wasn’t published but “the Guardian, after pressure, [… took] action to restore the deleted comments and privately acknowledged that they should not have been deleted.” (see also a note from the Readers’ Editor below).
The Guardian has made further amends by publishing a hard-hitting article by Chris McGreal, former Guardian correspondent in Jerusalem and Johannesburg – reposted separately on the JVL website here.
The PSC letter is reposted below.
This article was originally published by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign on Thu 30 Dec 2021. Read the original here.
Guardian: Don’t silence Tutu’s voice on Palestine
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What an effort to push the Guardian of Hypocrisy into publishing full facts.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign joint letter to the Guardian tells it as it is. The Guardian’s two-faced ‘community standards’ is of course a euphemism for compliance with the establishment media rule of no criticisms of Israel. And do I see only one British MP, John McDonnell, on this joint letter?
The “if” tactic. No admission, just a manoeuvre. Good luck to those asking for admission of bias in obituary.
Maybe The Grudian should be added to BDS?😂
The letter by the PSC hits the nail on the head and it’s a shame it wasn’t published. The Guardian should be ashamed that they deleted the comments referring to Desmond Tutu’s support of the Palestinian cause and the use of BDS to help end apartheid in Palestine.
Likewise, Keir Starmer should also hang his head in shame for not having the integrity to acknowledge the same in his remarks following the great man’s passing.
This amply demonstrates how the concept of “the new antisemitism” serves to silence critics of Israeli policy – in this case by self-censorship
Clearly the pressure that was applied has worked because the Guardian was embarrassed into retracting its deletion of comments and publishing the article by Chris McGreal.
However we should not be under any illusions that the Guardian has been ‘Freedlandised’ and that the baleful influence of the false antisemitism campaign against Corbyn still lingers over the Guardian as it seeks to assuage the anger of its readership.
See
https://azvsas.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-dishonesty-of-guardian-knows-no.html
https://tonygreenstein.com/2021/12/open-letter-to-the-guardians-editor-kath-viner-its-zionist-gatekeeper-jonathan-freedland/
The Guardian-what a worthless rag: what a miserable excuse for journalism; what a cowardly pretence for a paper that claims to have decency. The poor, futile Guardian.
i suggest no quarter or mercy for the grauniad – this chink in their bourgeoise perfectionism should be thrust all the way to its Lying Heart – in the interests of the grauniad, its readers and our own Peace – it would/will be an education in bourgeoise hypocrisy shrivelling in the Light lol
Can we expect a change in Guardian Moderation, or will it be a return to the status quo, at their earliest convenience?
I’ve commented on Guardian threads since 2005, and – these days – can expect to have my Comment ‘modded’ within the hour – if it does, actually, appear.
“…moderated by a small team of moderators whose aim is to keep the various discussions on-topic.”
That’s nonsense! There is a policy, that certain points of view are prohibited.
Another glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel? I sincerely hope so. Desmond Tutu was an example to all in his constant fight against racial injustice. Let’s keep his memory and his hopes alive.
“articles are moderated by a small team of moderators whose aim is to keep the various discussions on-topic”
It would be even more alarming if the activities of the anti-Palestine lobby have so penetrated the consciousness of the members of the Guardian staff who moderate to make them see the activities of Israel as a specialist subject of no general interest. To be dealt with in specialist columns in the bubble, but of no relevance to readers interested in general morality, who would want to see an obituary of Tutu.
When I read a G article online and get to the begging bit at the bottom,’support independent investigative journalism’ I want to scream. The G has always been soft but not full of lies, before Viner.
The Guardian has always been a bourgeois ‘Liberal’ newspaper; has always despised the working class & always attacked Socialism. Jeremy Corbyn public enemy number one.
Most welcome change from Guardian. Apartheid is apartheid, wherever it occurs.
So important to speak truth to power.