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{{quote|It's fantastic that the barriers to actually create and share media commentary have been drastically lowered by the rise of the digital world. It's democratizing and it means that people don’t only have to complain about what they see to be wrong about the media — they can act on it. But ... ''The Canary'' is an echo chamber. ... Corbyn's opponents are the enemy; the Tories are contemptible, and so on. These echo chambers cut down on dissenting information, they eliminate us happening on other points of view. This is likely to make people even angrier, more outraged, more certain that that people we disagree with are evil, and more likely to live within the echo chamber itself. This isn't good for our capacity to hold reasoned, civil debate in public life.|Carl Miller, expert in social media at [[Demos (UK think tank)|Demos]].<ref name="Spence" />}}
{{quote|It's fantastic that the barriers to actually create and share media commentary have been drastically lowered by the rise of the digital world. It's democratizing and it means that people don’t only have to complain about what they see to be wrong about the media — they can act on it. But ... ''The Canary'' is an echo chamber. ... Corbyn's opponents are the enemy; the Tories are contemptible, and so on. These echo chambers cut down on dissenting information, they eliminate us happening on other points of view. This is likely to make people even angrier, more outraged, more certain that that people we disagree with are evil, and more likely to live within the echo chamber itself. This isn't good for our capacity to hold reasoned, civil debate in public life.|Carl Miller, expert in social media at [[Demos (UK think tank)|Demos]].<ref name="Spence" />}}

Additionally, ''The Canary''{{'s}} criticism of [[Charlie Brooker]]'s ''[[List of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe episodes#2016 Wipe|2016 Wipe]]'', a satirical programme. Accusing the show of "jaw dropping" [[character assassination]], the website went on to say:
{{quote|Charlie Brooker's ''2016 Wipe'' descended into a hatchet job on Jeremy Corbyn in its section on the Labour leadership election. The tipping point came when the Black Mirror creator suggested that Corbyn presides over racism in the Labour Party. After Brooker showed a clip of Corbyn being unable to recognise TV presenters Ant and Dec, he joked: "If you think that's tough, try getting him to recognise Ant n' Semitism." ... The quip cements a fabricated smear campaign from media pundits, the pro-Israel lobby, Conservative MPs, and Blairites who all have a common enemy: Corbyn.|Davies, Jack (3 January 2017). [http://www.thecanary.co/2017/01/03/jaw-dropping-moment-charlie-brooker-character-assassinated-jeremy-corbyn-video/ "The jaw-dropping moment Charlie Brooker character-assassinated Jeremy Corbyn"]. ''The Canary''.}}
This criticism was widely mocked on social media, even by supporters of Jeremy Corbyn. Brooker jokingly said to the author beforehand that "We originally planned a 25min pro-Corbyn musical number but our shadowy Blairite handlers insisted we scrap it."<ref>{{cite news|last1=York|first1=Chris|title=The Canary Tried To Take Down Charlie Brooker And It Didn't Quite Go To Plan|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/charlie-brooker-canary-corbyn_uk_586cf53ee4b0f24da6ea183e|work=The Huffington Post|date=4 January 2017}}</ref> The ''[[New Statesman]]''{{'s}} Media Mole responded to the controversy by suggesting satirical pro-Corbyn joke alternatives, such as "Why did Jeremy Corbyn cross the road? Because the trains had all been privatised" and "How do you tell the difference between Jesus and Jeremy Corbyn? The [[Mainstream media|MSM]] only [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucified Christ]] once."<ref>{{cite news|author1=Media Mole|title=What jokes would The Canary allow Charlie Brooker to make about Jeremy Corbyn?|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2017/01/what-jokes-would-canary-allow-charlie-brooker-make-about-jeremy-corbyn|work=New Statesman|date=4 January 2017}}</ref>


==Notable stories==
==Notable stories==

Revision as of 00:52, 9 January 2017

The Canary is a left-wing political blog in the United Kingdom, which editor-in-chief Kerry-Anne Mendoza says is "here to disrupt the status quo of the UK and international journalism, by creating content that compels audiences to view the world differently".[1] While it focuses on UK political affairs, it also has a "Global" section, a satire section ("Off the Perch"), and "Science", "Environment", and "Health" sections.[2]

History

The Canary was created in October 2015 with five founding members in an attempt to "diversify [the British] media", according to editor-in-chief Kerry-Anne Mendoza.[3] The website is funded by advertising and monthly contributions from about 1,500 supporters.[4]

A major factor motivating The Canary's founders, Mendoza said, was scepticism of the mainstream media, a scepticism shared by Corbyn. In his first address as Labour leader, he attacked pundits for not understanding the discontent among many ordinary British voters, and talked about the "power of social media".[4]

In April 2016, Mendoza said in Free & Fearless (a magazine produced by Hacked Off) that:

we are attracting an audience of 3.5 million unique users per month. On top of this: every two hours, 24 hours a day, seven days a week – someone becomes a paid subscriber of The Canary ... Our growing traffic is attracting advertisers who are now offering us a floor RPM (payment per 1,000 hits) of £3 and a ceiling of £9."[1]

This structure has been criticised for promoting clickbait as writers are only paid for their work if it becomes viral.[5] Mendoza disputes this, claiming that the payment structure means that people who generate the revenues get a fair share.[4]

In June 2016, the investigative journalist and former environment blogger for The Guardian, Nafeez Ahmed, joined The Canary's editorial board.[6] The website has an editorial team of around 30, although only 5 of The Canary's staff earn enough money to work full time.[4]

Political standpoint

Describing her website to Journalism.co.uk, Canary editor-in-chief Kerry-Anne Mendoza said that:

For us, this is ultimately about democracy. Informed consent in the public is the bedrock of democracy, and if that informed consent isn't there because people aren't aware of the kind of information that they need to be, they won't be equipped to make the decent democratic decisions that they need to, say, for example, on climate change, the justice system, or whether austerity is a positive economic policy.[3]

The Canary is generally supportive of Jeremy Corbyn, the current leader of the Labour Party, but has also supported Natalie Bennett (former leader of the Green Party) and the Greens' "radical alternative" to the "Tory-lite" policies of "the neoliberal Labour Party ... The Green Party's rise to viability preceded the election of Jeremy Corbyn, the Momentum movement, and the latest swathe of grassroots movements in Britain winning gains against the austerity politics of the Conservatives."[7] Mendoza claims that The Canary's news coverage was not biased, and that it was "a complete coincidence" that the website was created shortly after Corbyn's leadership victory. "We don't have any affiliations with political parties, we don't have any affiliations with political organisations, and we're not actually ostensibly left-wing," she added, calling the site’s editorial stance "a counterpoint to conservative media" and "broadly liberal".[8]

The website did not have a standpoint on the 2016 EU referendum.[9]

Responses

Support

Max Keiser has said that the site "really digs into some of the salient points that need to be made about austerity", saying in an interview with Kerry-Anne Mendoza that he has "been following this site for a while now".[10] Former Respect MP George Galloway also praised the website on his show Sputnik for RT.[11]

Criticism

Critics have dismissed the Canary as symptomatic of the narrow worldview some supporters of Jeremy Corbyn have. The Daily Telegraph described it as the "maddest left-wing website in the world"[12] and Private Eye commented it was a "pisspoor Corbynite clickbait factory".[4][5]

Kerry-Anne Mendoza has also been criticised by some political pundits on the left, notably Owen Jones and David Aaronovitch, for comparing Zionism to Nazism as part of her critiques of alleged Israeli war crimes.[13] "It's the perfect journal for Corbynism in that it has no connection to reality," Nick Cohen wrote for The Observer.[4]

It's fantastic that the barriers to actually create and share media commentary have been drastically lowered by the rise of the digital world. It's democratizing and it means that people don’t only have to complain about what they see to be wrong about the media — they can act on it. But ... The Canary is an echo chamber. ... Corbyn's opponents are the enemy; the Tories are contemptible, and so on. These echo chambers cut down on dissenting information, they eliminate us happening on other points of view. This is likely to make people even angrier, more outraged, more certain that that people we disagree with are evil, and more likely to live within the echo chamber itself. This isn't good for our capacity to hold reasoned, civil debate in public life.

— Carl Miller, expert in social media at Demos.[4]

Additionally, The Canary's criticism of Charlie Brooker's 2016 Wipe, a satirical programme. Accusing the show of "jaw dropping" character assassination, the website went on to say:

Charlie Brooker's 2016 Wipe descended into a hatchet job on Jeremy Corbyn in its section on the Labour leadership election. The tipping point came when the Black Mirror creator suggested that Corbyn presides over racism in the Labour Party. After Brooker showed a clip of Corbyn being unable to recognise TV presenters Ant and Dec, he joked: "If you think that's tough, try getting him to recognise Ant n' Semitism." ... The quip cements a fabricated smear campaign from media pundits, the pro-Israel lobby, Conservative MPs, and Blairites who all have a common enemy: Corbyn.

— Davies, Jack (3 January 2017). "The jaw-dropping moment Charlie Brooker character-assassinated Jeremy Corbyn". The Canary.

This criticism was widely mocked on social media, even by supporters of Jeremy Corbyn. Brooker jokingly said to the author beforehand that "We originally planned a 25min pro-Corbyn musical number but our shadowy Blairite handlers insisted we scrap it."[14] The New Statesman's Media Mole responded to the controversy by suggesting satirical pro-Corbyn joke alternatives, such as "Why did Jeremy Corbyn cross the road? Because the trains had all been privatised" and "How do you tell the difference between Jesus and Jeremy Corbyn? The MSM only crucified Christ once."[15]

Notable stories

The Canary has published a number of stories which have been notable enough to be picked up by mainstream media outlets.

Electoral fraud investigations

Regarding allegations of electoral fraud in the 2015 general election, the Canary has "dug into assorted expense claims and activities in several such seats crucial to Cameron's success", according to Michael White in the Guardian.[16] A whistleblower contacted the website into allegations of telephone push polling, claiming that people acting for the Conservative Party also paid telephone companies to conduct misleading surveys on voters which were biased in favour of the Conservatives, thus breaking election law in regard to the private polling they are allowed to do during campaigns.[16][17][18]

Suicide story

Main article: Kerry-Anne Mendoza § Suicide story

The coverage The Canary gave to a junior doctor committing suicide was criticised by Private Eye for allegedly flouting editorial guidelines on the coverage of such stories.[19]

Portland Communications story

Main article: Steve Topple § Portland Communications story

A piece by Steve Topple alleging a parliamentary coup d'état against Corbyn being co-ordinated Portland Communications and the Fabian Society went viral on pro-Corbyn social media, and was even referenced by Len McClusky (General Secretary of Unite). The piece was widely dismissed as a conspiracy theory.[8][20][21]

Fake news

In an article for The Independent in December 2016, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson announced that the Labour Party was commissioning an inquiry into fake news websites following the election of Donald Trump as President-elect of the United States.[22] Following Watson's comments, BuzzFeed News mentioned an anonymous source working with the campaign, who alleged that The Canary would be targeted for the campaign.[23] This prompted a response from editor and founder Kerry-Anne Mendoza, who incorrectly accused Watson of figure-heading "an anti-Corbyn coup" and said that "the man Tom Watson has placed in charge of the inquiry is anti-Corbyn MP Michael Dugher, who has written for the Daily Mail and The Sun. This, and other signs, point to this inquiry being no more than a witch hunt against Watson's political enemies on the left", accusing Watson of double standards when it comes to The Canary.[24][25]

However, in November 2016, BBC News noted that during the 2016 US presidential campaign, The Canary misled "with claims that 'a major media outlet just revealed who won the US election... a week in advance'."[26] The Canary article further claimed that "many have suggested the election is rigged. In October, the BBC and The Guardian both ran stories questioning the veracity of the election results".[27] The BBC noted that its article in question assessed "the validity of claims that the US election is rigged, finding that there's 'no justification for concern about widespread voter fraud'," but did not predict the outcome of the US election.[26] The organisation also rewrote a story originally on MintPress News regarding an alleged anti-ISIS march.[24][28] BuzzFeed News countered, "This week has seen millions of Shiite Muslims participate in Arbaeen, one of the world's largest pilgrimages, in Iraq. But they are not specifically marching against ISIS, nor has there been a 'media blackout'".[29] Mainstream publications such as The Independent, The Washington Post, the International Business Times and Reuters all commented on the story, mentioning that the pilgrimage was part of the traditional Arbaeen pilgrimage and not a specifically anti-ISIS demonstration.[30][31][32][33] Additionally, BuzzFeed News noted that the MintPress News article was sourced from American Herald Tribune, a website edited by Canadian professor Anthony Hall, a 9/11 and Sandy Hook shooting conspiracy theorist who had been suspended from his job at a university on charges of anti-Semitism.[29]

Petitions

Dismissal of Laura Kuenssberg

The Canary has been critical of Laura Kuenssberg's coverage of Jeremy Corbyn on BBC News, especially in the wake of the on-air resignation of Labour MP Stephen Doughty, and promoted a petition hosted by 38 Degrees (which was later taken down) which called for her resignation.[34][35] The Canary responded by repeating Craig Murray's allegations that the petition was taken down due to "Establishment pressure",[36] as opposed to the assertion from 38 Degrees that the petition was taken down due to "sexist and hateful abuse made towards Laura Kuenssberg".[37] Ian Middleton in the Huffington Post also wrote that: "if one looks at the list of comments published ... it's difficult to find anything remotely aggressive or sexist" and the accusations of abuse "may have been part of an orchestrated campaign on behalf of those looking to discredit the petition itself".[38]

Readership

During July 2016, The Canary achieved over 7.5 million page views, ranking 79th in readership among UK media organisations, slightly higher than The Spectator.[39] The majority of its site traffic comes from Facebook.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mendoza, Kerry-Anne (April 2016). "The Canary is a new media outlet shaking up journalism in a radical way" (PDF). Free & Fearless. Hacked Off. p. 6. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Official website". The Canary. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b Scott, Caroline (23 October 2015). "How news outlet The Canary aims to 'diversify media'". Journalism.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Spence, Alex (18 August 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn and the disruptive Canary". POLITICO. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Canary Wings It" (JPEG image). Private Eye. No. 1419. Pressdram Ltd. 26 May 2016. p. 10.
  6. ^ Ahmed, Nafeez (6 June 2016). "Nafeez Ahmed shared The Canary's photo". Facebook. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  7. ^ "The Green Party just got an opportunity to become the next big contender". The Canary. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  8. ^ a b Le Conte, Marie (10 August 2016). "How A Pro-Corbyn Viral Website With A Pay-Per-Click Business Model Is Taking Over Social Media". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Reply to comment". Facebook. The Canary. Retrieved 8 June 2016. We don't have a stance either way.
  10. ^ Kerry-anne Mendoza, Editor-in-Chief of The Canary. Keiser Report. RT UK. 1 February 2016.
  11. ^ Galloway, George. "'Sputnik' with George Galloway". RT Shows. Episode 138.
  12. ^ Deacon, Michael (26 February 2016). "Great news for Corbynistas... it's the maddest Left-wing website in the world". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  13. ^ Anti-Semitism on the Left (15:00 – 18:50). The Briefing Room. BBC Radio 4.
  14. ^ York, Chris (4 January 2017). "The Canary Tried To Take Down Charlie Brooker And It Didn't Quite Go To Plan". The Huffington Post.
  15. ^ Media Mole (4 January 2017). "What jokes would The Canary allow Charlie Brooker to make about Jeremy Corbyn?". New Statesman.
  16. ^ a b White, Michael (1 June 2016). "Why is there so little noise about the Tory election fraud claims?". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  17. ^ Editorial (2 June 2016). "The Guardian view on policing elections: harder, but no less important". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  18. ^ Crick, Michael (21 June 2016). "Could referendum 'push-polling' influence the result?". Channel 4 News.
  19. ^ "Canary in the Pit" (JPEG image). Private Eye. No. 1418. Pressdram Ltd. 26 May 2016. p. 7.
  20. ^ Singleton, David (29 June 2016). "Is it true that a PR firm full of Blairites is orchestrating the Labour coup?". New Statesman. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  21. ^ "Canary in the Pit (pt 94)". Private Eye. No. 1424. Pressdram Ltd. August 2016. p. 8.
  22. ^ Watson, Tom (22 November 2016). "Tom Watson: 'Fake news' is changing the way we see the world". The Independent. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  23. ^ Waterson, Jim (22 November 2016). "Labour Is Promising A Long Campaign Against Fake News". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Faking it". Private Eye. No. 1433. Pressdram Ltd. 9 December 2016. p. 8.
  25. ^ Mendoza, Kerry-Anne (23 November 2016). "Tom Watson announces plan to shut down 'fake news', by launching a witch hunt to censor his critics [EDITORIAL]". The Canary. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  26. ^ a b "US election: Fake news becomes the news". BBC News. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  27. ^ Gay, Jessica (4 November 2016). "A major media outlet just revealed who won the US election… a week in advance". The Canary. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  28. ^ Gay, Jessica (24 November 2016). "A massive march just happened in Iraq, but you won't find the UK media reporting it [TWEETS]". The Canary. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  29. ^ a b "Facebook Trending Promoted A Misleading Story About A Muslim Pilgrimage". BuzzFeed. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  30. ^ Sims, Alexandra (24 November 2016). "You probably haven't heard about this Muslim pilgrimage in defiance of Isis". The Independent. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  31. ^ Christia, Fiotini; Dekeyser, Elizabeth; Knox, Dean (21 November 2016). "Shiites are participating in the world's largest pilgrimage today. Here's how they view the world". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  32. ^ Sim, David (21 November 2016). "Arbaeen: Millions of Shia Muslims gather in Karbala in world's largest annual pilgrimage". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  33. ^ "Tight security for annual Shi'ite pilgrimage in Iraq's Kerbala". Reuters. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  34. ^ Bloodworth, James (9 May 2016). "Beware those critics that prefer Putin's propaganda to the BBC". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  35. ^ Dunt, Ian. "The activist left is conspiring in the demolition of the BBC". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  36. ^ "Petition to sack BBC's Laura Kuenssberg was 'probably' removed 'under establishment pressure', says former UK ambassador". The Canary. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  37. ^ Jackson, Jasper (10 May 2016). "Laura Kuenssberg petition taken down over sexist abuse". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  38. ^ Middleton, Ian (12 May 2016). "It's Going to Take More Than an Online Petition to Stamp Out Bias at the BBC". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  39. ^ "UK Media Publishers and Publications – Ranked for July 2016". similarweb.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
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