We must be going up in the world. Seems the right-wingers are really, really eager to discredit this blog. So much so that they’ll go to the lengths of creating fake documents and back-story to try to undermine the SKWAWKBOX’s credibility – and then to publish fake news about fake news.
Ultra-Tory blog ‘Guido Fawkes’ jumped in quickly after this blog put up some caveated information – and then withdrew it 20 minutes or so later when it became apparent it was falsified. Very eager, old ‘Guido’:
Guido didn’t check his facts – or didn’t care. Nor did the likes of Conservative Home’s executive editor who jumped in and repeated the smear, disregarding the basic facts.
The original article – the one removed, with a full, prominent correction, minutes after it went up – had several caveats saying ‘If this is genuine’ – because the author wasn’t certain it was.
Publishing an image and saying ‘If it’s genuine this is hugely significant’ doesn’t make it ‘fake news’ when the image turns out to be a forgery. It’s a correct statement – if it had been real, it would have been. And then, when you find out it’s false, you publish that.
But the right-wingers – whether in the Labour Party or the Tories – don’t let little things like that get in the way of a smear. Even when that means publishing fake news.
Of course, it’s deeply annoying to have given any credence at all to something that turned out to be fake. This writer was extremely pissed off about it – but a tiny bit less so when it became clear that the clearly-coordinated scam and online mockery afterward were a back-handed compliment.
The SKWAWKBOX has been extremely pleased to have exposed the actions of Tories, unprincipled actions by odious union candidates and desperate right-wing MPs and more over recent weeks – and delighted to have got up the nose of such people to the extent of pushing them to do something that shows them up.
But on a human note, the writer was far more delighted by a straightforward compliment when his daughter – not a naturally effusive person – having read about the online events, came to tell him she was proud of him and that the would-be saboteurs could ‘go and do one’.
Quite.
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I hear Guido’s numbers are tanking, all his trolls seem to have decamped and relocated to the Guardian newspaper.
Perhaps that would explain his desperate attempt to get some coverage via your blog? I am only speculating of course.
In a funny way I feel rather sorry for him. It must be very disturbing for him to realise that the neoliberal economic model that he has been such a faithful propagandist for has turned out to be nothing more than fools’ gold.
Privatisation, austerity and deregulation arent working. They have all delivered the exact opposite outcomes to those Guido and his fellow neoliberals claimed they would deliver.
They contract economies, don’t increase investment or competition and deliver low quality, unreliable and expensive services. They also cause wages to stagnant and cause both public and private debt to increase.
To get that feedback from your daughter is priceless!
Well done Skwawkbox. Love it and you so right about the fake media. Big thank you.
You’re obviously getting to them, keep up the good work!
Wonderful response from your daughter! 🙂
Since the error, I trust this site even more, why? Because it took ownership, it did not seek to blame anyone else, it acted quickly and efficiently took the article down. made clear what had happened and apologised. If only – IF ONLY the same integrity and honesty were shown by the right-wing press and the biased right-wing-wing media.
Thanks, Swawkbox it’s obvious that you have likes of Guido, the Conservatives and the right-wing press really rattled!
*Skwawkbox*
Congratulations indeed to Skwawkbox for integrity, and what a priceless reaction from your daughter. Keep up the excellent work, Steve, it’s good to see the right wing rattled!
Guido’s Fakes
Ultra-Tory blog ‘Guido Fawkes’ – not exactly known for accurate reporting, as this shows! Guido’s Fakes is the site the most extreme Tories drool over & hard right UKreeP practically wet their knickers reading [just not the big words]!
Some say that Guido’s Fakes has even less accurate reporting than Fox – commonly known as Faux – News
Well done mate for getting up Guido’s nose , his blogs are disastrous very childish and cheap ,
Long may you remain streets ahead of the “competition”, thanks for all you do