{"id":138055,"date":"2019-07-22T12:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=138055"},"modified":"2020-02-18T07:28:56","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T07:28:56","slug":"londons-media-freedom-conference-smacks-of-irony-critics-barred-no-mention-of-jailed-assange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/07\/londons-media-freedom-conference-smacks-of-irony-critics-barred-no-mention-of-jailed-assange\/","title":{"rendered":"London\u2019s \u2018Media Freedom\u2019 Conference Smacks of Irony: Critics Barred, No Mention of Jailed Assange"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a9 REUTERS\/Hannah Mckay<\/p><\/div>\n

15 Jul 2019 – <\/em>Irony is the word which comes to mind at the mention of the \u201cGlobal Conference for Media Freedom\u201d co-hosted by the UK and Canadian foreign ministers. Everything about this twilight zone gathering smacked of irony.<\/p>\n

Irony that governments which support terrorists in Syria and whitewash Israeli murders <\/a>of Palestinian journalists have the gall to hold a conference feigning concern for journalists\u2019 rights and media freedom.<\/p>\n

Irony that journalists actually suffering persecution and unjust imprisonment \u2013like Kirill Vyshinsky<\/a> and Julian Assange \u2013 were not the focus of the conference, with Assange only mentioned in passing, and Vyshinsky, presumably, not at all.<\/p>\n

Watch: \u2018Deeply hypocritical\u2019 UK govt vows to protect media freedom as Assange sits in British jail (VIDEO) <\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Irony most of all that a conference \u2014\u00a0according to<\/a> Global Affairs Canada, an \u201cinternational campaign to shine a global spotlight on media freedom<\/em>…\u201d\u2013 refused participation of<\/a> two major and sought-out media outlets, both Russian: RT and Sputnik.<\/p>\n

Organizers apparently tried to claim the reason for the exclusion was simply that they\u2019d met their quota of journalists attending. But they didn\u2019t maintain the lie to Western media, RT London correspondent Polly Boiko noted<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind our backs other news channels got a very different message: \u2018We have not accredited RT or Sputnik because of their active role in spreading disinformation.<\/em>\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Former Guardian Chief <\/a>Foreign Correspondent Jonathan Steele called<\/a> the exclusion of RT and Sputnik a \u201cdisgrace\u201d, also stating:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re trying to isolate RT and imply that it\u2019s not a genuine broadcaster in the hope that British people and others around the world who watched RT International won\u2019t continue to watch it.<\/em>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The irony \u2013yet again\u2013 is that Russia isn\u2019t doing the same, isn\u2019t isolating Western media.<\/p>\n

Russia-based journalist Bryan MacDonald tweeted<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like the world has turned on its head. Moscow is literally paying people to translate Western media into Russian (see @RT_InoTV<\/a>). But the UK is in a panic about Russian outlets, even running covert operations, such as \u201cIntegrity Initiative,\u201d to \u201ccombat\u201d a perceived threat<\/em>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed<\/a> concern at the UK\u2019s exclusion of RT and Sputnik.<\/p>\n

From the feedback on the UK Foreign Office tweet<\/a> featuring CNN\u2019s Christiane Amanpour about \u201creporting the truth<\/em>\u201d, it was refreshing to see that many saw this charade for what it was, calling it Orwellian<\/a>, and noting that Britain is<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201ctorturing journalist Julian Assange as it uses @CAmanpour<\/a> to produce propaganda claiming it cares about media freedom.<\/em>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I couldn\u2019t help chiming in, noting Amanpour’s exploitation of a Syrian child in order to demonize Russia.<\/p>\n

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Theatre of the absurd. Truthful? Amanpour waved photo of Omran Daqneesh in face of Lavrov & essentially accused Russia of airstriking boy's home. Boy's dad told me no airstrike. It was fake news. https:\/\/t.co\/x9iWhGTNaI<\/a>
Did Amanpour bother apologizing for her propaganda? Nope. https:\/\/t.co\/CBR1Yd4u55<\/a><\/p>\n

— Eva Karene Bartlett (@EvaKBartlett) July 11, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n