An allegedly antisemitic Facebook group has disappeared after a number of its posts were highlighted by activists behind the ‘JeremyCorbyn4PM’ Twitter account. A similar post was also made on Facebook:
Within a couple of days of the warning tweets the page could no longer be accessed, with Facebook returning a message that it had been deleted or its privacy settings had been changed – and Momentum tweeted news of its deletion:
However, a very short time after Momentum’s celebratory message went out the Facebook page was accessible again.
Britain is the People is a Facebook page rather than a group and the images were posted to the page by its owners, so this is not a question of a third party managing to slip an occasional post past busy group moderators as may have been the case with some of the Facebook posts used by the mainstream media.
Much of the traffic on the page is fairly ordinary anti-Tory or pro-Labour material, but troubling posts appear fairly frequently, including some found during the SKWAWKBOX’s visit to the page that were arguably worse than those used in the warning tweets.
The raised awareness of the page resulted from a joint effort by various pro-Corbyn accounts. The initial tweets and Facebook post were created by Momentum and the JeremyCorbyn4PM account and were shared by well-known activists like Michael Walker, EL4C and others, as well as by more mainstream figures like Owen Jones.
But the celebration of its disappearance was premature, as the page now appears to be back in full swing. Pro-Corbyn groups and individuals helped to raise awareness of the issues with the page and may have resulted in its temporary disappearance, but the warning to Facebook users who may have joined the group without realising the nature of some of its content is still as relevant as when it was first made.
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It will be interesting to see who is behind the page.
If the following had been Labour Party/JC supporters it would have been headline news all over the MSM (as far as I’m aware it was only covered by the Daily Mirror):
https://voxpoliticalonline.com/2018/10/06/why-are-the-media-so-quiet-about-genuine-anti-semitism-in-the-conservative-party/#comment-111237
And here’s a link to the Daily Mirror article:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/outrage-tory-uni-society-picture-13350145
I think that we are going to have to allow people to make up their own minds about these sorts of views.
It is mistaken, in my view, to conflate Jews with Bankers- most bankers are not Jewish, indeed it is unlikely that there are more Jews in the banking business than their numbers and position in society warrants.
And there is no doubt that these memes are conducive to racist thinking. They can, however, and for decades have been countered by rational argument and honest debate- the result of which has been that anti-semitism has almost disappeared in our society.
Indeed it is really only kept alive by zionists who regard the peaceful and fraternal settlement of Jews within our society – in which religion is a very minor force- as dangerous because it leads to precisely that integration which democracy requires.
Banning ideas is never beneficial to ordinary people, it never benefits the masses. And it established precedents which are always used, very quickly, to ban any dissenting ideas.
Today you ban a Facebook page because it hosts people with idiotic arguments: tomorrow you are banned, because your socialist views are held to be hateful by property owners, disturbing to entrepreneurs trying to make a bob or two out of the NHS or disruptive of investors eager to finance schools or hospitals.
We are very close to the effective closing of left wing internet sites, by monopolists working with their state. It is essential that the principle of Free Speech be defended, if it means, as it always must, that we have to allow idiots their say too, so be it.
Sometimes, as Gandhi remarked, the ideas that nobody will listen to turn out to be true. It is very rare that they are not found to have a grain of truth in them.
I am appalled by such views in conjunction with pro-Labour expressions. That is why I think it is a fake. The ideas put out by this FB page are anti-Semitic tropes. Its been done to cause damage to Labour whichever way you look at it. If you even engage in the banker trope you have lost the argument- because bankers are bankers are bankers -their race, ethnicity and religion is nothing to do with it. The rest of what you say is true. A lot of ‘Zionists’ who life in Israel are not Jewish either.
Labour shouldn’t be cowed into self censorship. If a private Facebook account publishes antisemitic memes along with anti Tory stuff tat is down to the account holder. This whole PC nonsense is all about culling dissent. Don’t buy into it.
Self -censorship with that nonsense? C’mon. Where is your head? If we did what you say Lundiel it could possibly cause more confusion and bring attacks on the Labour Party. It could also be a ‘fake’ FB page designed to associate Pro-Labour with Anti-Semitism. Or it could be real and a nasty piece of work.
I couldn’t care less about the opinions of individuals whether pro or anti. The Labour party has made clear it’s position, if activists now police the official line they will end up exactly the same as the authoritarian Blairites who brooked no dissent. There are laws governing hate speech so individuals posting antisemitic comments are legally allowed to state their opinions if they don’t break the law. The whole antisemitism campaign was a load of guff.
My apologies for changing the subject, but I’m sure the following article/interview will be of great interest to many people, including poetrymuseum AND especially SteveH:
https://en.news-front.info/2018/09/28/skripal-case-israeli-expert-on-the-work-of-the-special-agents/
Please don’t change the subject Allan just to gtry and persuade me of something that I do not buy. Someone called Tim actually tracked me on one Skwawk post relating to my views about Salisbury. Creepy. I read the article which immediately came up with adverts in Russian all over it. “An Israeli Agent” indeed. As if they don’t lie through their teeth either or have conspiracy theories of their own. I believe an oligarch has just got a passport for Israel. That is where Putin friendly oligarchs they will go to do business after London. You and your conspiracy theories. I don’t know!
Oh, my apologies poetrymuseum, I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to change the subject. Just to be clear, your post was NOT on the page prior to me typing my post, and I was in fact quite amazed to see that you had left a comment in the meantime when I then came back to the page after posting my comment.
Anyway, I have no doubt that the vast majority of people will agree with what the guy is saying, and not the bunkum the British Establishment and their propaganda machine would have us all believe.
Anyhow, so YOU belive that two people who came into contact with a nerve agent could both become incapacitated in exactly the same moment some four hours later? And you believe that the ‘Russians’ planned and executed an assassination attempt in such a haphazard way, the success of which was dependent on whether it rained or not (and washed all the nerve agent off the door handle) before the target came into contact with it? And you believe that Vladimir Putin would think to have someone assassinated just two days before the pre-planned events to celebrate 100 days to go until the World Cup Football starts AND just three months or so before the high profile event itself? And use a nerve agent?
Yes or No?
You will believe what you want to believe Allan and it is quite obvious that what I believe is true is not penetrating your belief system. And do not be sarcastic nor shout online. Using caps in that way is ‘shouting’.
Well ‘thanks’ for the link, unfortunately the only thing it reveals is the paucity of your argument. Is this propaganda piece really the best you could come up with to challenge the wealth of evidence from multiple open sources.
Rather inconveniently for you the true identity of the second Russian agent has just been revealed.
http://www.bellingcat.com/
“Second Skripal Poisoning Suspect Identified as Dr. Alexander Mishkin”
Yes, I caught it on Channel 4 News earlier. So their mission was dependent on Sergei Skripal (and his daughter) NOT being at home when they got to his house AND also – after coating the door handle with Novichok – that it wouldn’t pour with rain and wash it all off PRIOR to him returning home. Yes, of course, sounds perfectly plausible. Except to people who live in the real world that is!
I’ve just spent about ten minutes looking for an article which shows all the CCTV footage – ie pics – of them (as much as was released to the media that is), but I’ve only managed to find an article with one of the two pics that I was specifically looking for, which would have been about an hour or so after they supposedly coated the door handle with Novichok. And it’s quite clear from the footage – the pic – that it had been raining shortly before. No doubt the two of them were having a chuckle about how the rain probably washed all the Novichok OFF the handle!
Anyway, here’s a link to the article, and the pic I’m referring to is at the top of the page:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/06/novichok-poisoning-timeline-qa
What I find interesting, now that I’m thinking about it, is the limited amount of pics and CCTV that HAVE been released to the media. There must be dozens and dozens of cams that the two of them walked past, both on the Saturday – when they were supposedly there for surveillance purposes – and on the Sunday, but the only ones I recall seeing (of them in Salisbury) was the one of them walking along the road near the petrol station (about four or five hundred yards from where Sergei Skripal lived), one of them on a corner in the town centre, the one of them at the top of the page in the Guardian article, one at Salisbury train station, and the CCTV footage of them looking in the shop window. The point being that as far as I can recall, there are none of them in Salisbury on the Saturday (at least I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen any), and also massive gaps in which no pics have been provided as to where they were on the Sunday. And I can’t help but wonder why that is, because they undoubtedly exist.
And as for bellingcat, I can’t help wondering how they are managing to locate and ascertain such detailed information. And as for the article/interview I linked to poetrymuseum, they wouldn’t be so stupid as to have “Russian advertising” on there if it was actually a Russian propaganda excercise. But even if it WAS openly a Russian expert , the points they are making are undoubtedly true. And any rational thinker will know that THAT is the case.
And just one last thing…… could you direct me to “the wealth of evidence from multiple open sources” that you refer to Steve (or even just one or two of them)? Thanks
The website bellingcat clearly states that their revelations are based on evidence gleaned from multiple open sources.
You have repeated (ad infinitum) the same ‘thoughts’ that miraculously pop into your mind with tedious regularity.
Unless you have some actual evidence that their reports are untrue then I see very little point in continuing this discussion. If I wanted to trade endless conspiracy theories then there are plenty of other websites where I could indulge myself.
Do some research into Bellingcat. Higgins is a thoroughly untrustworthy individual who is not a journalist. He is an obsessive who used to post really long comments in the Guardian under the name of Brown Moses. His posts were pro Syrian rebels and he used to write as if he was there on the front-line. He’s a massive bulls****er and there’s no such thing as “open source” journalism.
I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t answer any of the questions I put to you poet – just as I anticipated – and as you well know, when I use caps it has nothing whatsoever to do with ‘shouting’, and everything to do with emphasis.
So is that a Yes then? (sorry about the capital Y, but I wasn’t shouting, honest I wasn’t).
PS And I was noT trying to persuade you about ANYthing, and thaT wasn’t the poinT at all, as you well knoW. And my post was addressed to everyone (and I specifically mentioned You and Steve because YOU are the only two people on SB that repeatedly disMISS what I have to say on the subject).
“I specifically mentioned You and Steve because YOU are the only two people on SB that repeatedly disMISS what I have to say on the subject).”
I think you are being more than a little optimistic to interpret everyone’s indifference to your endless conspiracy theories as a sign of support.
Allan, while it’s true that some anomalies remain unexplained the evidence pointing to it being Russia wot done it has increased and the balance of probability has tipped heavily.
Too many unconnected people would need to have conspired in a different, non-GRU conspiracy.
Ockham’s razor, mate. Let it go.
And pray do tell where I at any point said that I think everyone agrees with the points I’m making. And how on Earth would I know that anyway. Both You and Poetry are very good at distorting and misrepresnting what I say, aren’t you. ALL I said – and YOU know it of course – is that you are the only two on SB who dismiss and deride the points I make and raise on the subject, and THAT of course is the reason why I specifically named the two of you.
The difference between myself and you two is that I put forward valid points for people to think about, but all YOU both do is dismiss and deride, and you NEVER enter into a discussion or debate the points I’ve raised.
Funny isn’t it how poetry avoided answering the questions I put to her. I wonder why that is! And I have no doubt that you would do EXACTLY the same if I put them to you. Right?
Allan
Allan – You appear to have forgotten what you posted yesterday evening at 6:25pm
….. and in answer to the ‘questions’ that you put to poetrymuseum well unless you can provide evidence to the contrary I would have to agree with what David McNiven posted at 3:02am. So my answer would be a qualified Yes to all your ‘questions’
Oh, I was forgetting about You David! We have of course crossed swords on the subject in the relatively distant past – ie a good couple of months or more ago – or was it another topic.
So anyway, it’s completely conceivable to you, is it, that two people, who had come into contact with a nerve agent some four hours earlier, could become ill and incapacitated at exactly the same moment?
Why do I have this feeling that I won’t be getting an answer from any of you to ANY of the questions – four in all if I remember correctly – that I raised above! And certainly not THIS one!
Just seen your 4.07am post Steve. Funny how the example you give isn’t an example at all, and is Me referring to what someone ELSE – an expert and a realist – had to say about the whole affair. And I have little doubt that most people – ie critical thinkers who haven’t been brainwashed or who have a hidden agenda – would agree that his assessment is completely valid.
So anyway – much to my surprise – you’ve gone for a Big YES. Well I guess you had no choice, as it was either THAT or endlessly prevaricating.
The fact(?) that it was amateurs who found the suspects’ histories suggests our security services might be out of their depth and not worth what we pay them.
On the other hand it could be they’re just so damn brilliant they elected to feed Bellingcat the info to avoid the GRU finding out how over-matched it is and having its budget doubled.
Which will probably happen just as soon as the purge is over.
I have just checked out the FB page and it has disappeared again but be aware, there is an FB page called The People’s Britain. I spotted it because Jackie Walker had a meme from it about the way Andrew Marr once treated Noam Chomsky in an interview he gave some years ago. He rates himself as an historian Marr. Don’t know why. Quite shallow. His brain the size of a pea in comparison. Although I have never agreed with Chomsky about giving a platform to everyone.
“Giving” [a platform] I don’t think quite describes his position – more a case of not denying them the public platform and enough rope to hang themselves I think – with which I agree.
The far right builds support by preaching to self-selecting closed audiences of the like-minded and invited prospects – anyone antisocial and resentful enough to predispose them that way and too stupid to see the flaws in the racist rants without powerful voices dissecting, contradicting and humiliating their “facts” on public platforms.
Yes -I had not thought about it that way.