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Items tagged with: dontpaytheguardian
What's that? Another TERF screed from Sonia Sodha, couched in reasonable language and pseudoscience, reminding us all that we should not pay for The Guardian?
Why, yes, it is!
#DontPayTheGuardian, folks. See the rest of this thread for the whys, if it is new to you.
Teachers need guidance to resolve issues of gender identity in the classroom
Government must urgently plug the policy gap currently being filled by ideologySonia Sodha (The Guardian)
The Guardian also updated its editorial code this week, for the first time since 2011, so naturally I wondered if that contained any improvements;
Item 12, “Discrimination and incitement to hatred”, states the following;
“i) Journalists must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual’s race, colour, ethnicity, nationality, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or to any physical or mental illness.”
I wonder if that applies to their opinion pieces, though, and they asterisk for exceptions when it's ‘in the public interest’.
We’ll see.
The Guardian’s editorial code has been updated – here’s what to expect
The code sets out the principles, values and standards that drive Guardian and Observer journalism, writes the Guardian and Observer’s global readers’ editor Elisabeth RibbansElisabeth Ribbans (The Guardian)
Every now and then, when I tell people to stop paying for The Guardian until they cease platforming TERF rhetoric, they object, claiming that left-leaning news should be supported.
Well, here’s the latest results of their tactics, in terms of revenue;
"The Guardian’s parent company made record revenues for its news business last year as the group hired new staff and pushed for further international growth.”
Don't pay The Guardian, folks. If you want more detail, scroll up ⬆️
Guardian Media Group makes record revenues for news business
Total revenues rise to £264.4m but Guardian parent company records cash outflow of £21mJim Waterson (The Guardian)
They are making some progress on old harms, though;
"The owner of the Guardian has issued an apology for the role the newspaper’s founders had in transatlantic slavery and announced a decade-long programme of restorative justice.”
Point by point explainer;
And a long read by David Olusoga;
Includes a fund for reparations, although £10m isn't a whole lot for its intended scope.
#Reparations
#DontPayTheGuardian
Slavery and the Guardian: the ties that bind us
There is an illusion at the centre of British history that conceals the role of slavery in building the nation. Here’s how I fell for itDavid Olusoga (The Guardian)
“But the most noticeable missteps stem not from the news pages but from the editorial column. For it is here that readers find out what the paper thinks about the great issues of the day.”
That's what they wrote at their second centennial, two years ago, listing their ‘worst errors of judgment’;
Two decades of platforming TERF rhetoric was not on the list, and still isn’t.
#DontPayTheGuardian
#TransRightsAreHumanRights
What we got wrong: the Guardian’s worst errors of judgment over 200 years
Fiercely critical of Abraham Lincoln and at times racist, this newspaper’s leader columns did not always get it rightRandeep Ramesh (The Guardian)
For those who argue that The Guardian is one of the few left-wing news sources left, and therefore deserves their support, a reminder that platforming TERF rhetoric has been rather profitable, for them;
"The Scott Trust has historically given Guardian Media Group access to a cash injection of up to £30m a year. The latest financial accounts, which cover the 12 months to April 2022, show that Guardian Media Group performed so well it instead produced a cash surplus of £6.7m."
Don't pay them a cent until they change their behaviour, and acknowledge harm done.
Guardian Media Group records strongest financial results since 2008
Annual revenues up by 13% to £255.8m, aided by increased contributions from online readersJim Waterson (The Guardian)
Oh, and here's another one, from three Guardian US staffers, taking an issue with The Guardian UK's trans rights coverage, in 2018;
"We should work to hire trans people on staff. And our journalism should be grounded in the principle that trans women are women, and that trans people should have the right to feel safe to live as themselves.”
It's a long list, and if you are still surprised by this in 2023, you haven't been paying attention, and should ask yourself why it has escaped you for this long.
Why we take issue with the Guardian’s stance on trans rights in the UK
A recent editorial on the Gender Recognition Act in the UK was met with dismay by Guardian US journalists who believe it advanced transphobic viewpoints that are driving attacks on trans rights in AmericaSam Levin (The Guardian)
So what do I want to accomplish, with a hashtag like this? Should you stop linking to The Guardian entirely, like some people are advocating?
No, I don't think so. For one, none of the mainstream media sources available are innocent in this, and while I would encourage you to find other sources to link to, it's not always possible.
Instead, if you are, stop supporting their 'independent journalism'. Stop paying them. That's it. Hit them in their wallet.
And maybe, if you link, use the hashtag;
Well, I hear you think, that's still just two people, publishing opinion pieces, despite being on The Guardian's payroll. Do you have anything ... stronger?
3) In March of 2020, hundreds of Guardian staffers signed a letter condemning the pattern;
https://www.buzzfeed.com/patrickstrudwick/guardian-staff-trans-rights-letter
4) The Guardian removed part of an interview in which Judith Butler calls TERFism one of the dominant strains of fascism;
https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/09/08/judith-butler-guardian-interview-terf-trans/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/guardian-judith-butler-interview-trans-terfs_n_6138d856e4b0f1b9706915be
5) The former deputy editor of The Guardian, Ian Katz, was married to the co-founder of TERF forum Mumsnet, Justine Roberts;
So, a Top Guardian Editor Was Married to the Founder of Mumsnet
There have been lots of discussions of transphobia in the media over the past few weeks. Where does it come from? What does it mean? When the New York Times publishes a series of misleading articles…Jude Ellison S. Doyle (Medium)
But wait, you say, that's just opinion pieces, anyone can publish those. Surely that's not the fault of The Guardian?
I disagree, and think you need to go do some homework, but there's more;
2) Sonia Sodha, the chief leader writer at the Observer, and also a columnist. You can find her work here;
https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sonia-sodha
With gems like;
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/27/nicola-sturgeon-will-endanger-women-if-she-opens-single-sex-spaces-almost-everone
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/31/dont-buy-stonewall-line-gender-identity-cant-sack-you-now
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/06/stonewall-risks-all-it-has-fought-for-in-accusing-those-who-disagree-with-it-of-hate-speech
And she's not the only one, either. Here's Susanna Rustin, a Guardian leader writer;
https://www.theguardian.com/profile/susannarustin
Stonewall risks all it has fought for in accusing those who disagree with it of hate speech
The charity has forgotten that true power lies in solidarity and compromiseSonia Sodha (The Guardian)
OK, time to expand on this with a thread, and explain why The Guardian has been a platform for TERF rhetoric for many, many years, and why you shouldn't give them any money whatsoever until they acknowledge it as a problem, fix it, and then make amends.
1) Julie Bindel, who was a TERF before Twitter was a thing, still has a home there. Here's one of her screeds, from 2004;
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/31/gender.weekend7
—
This is an updated thread, since the earlier version on .lol, from mid-December of 2022, will disappear, and there's more information to add.
Gender benders, beware
Julie Bindel: I don't have a problem with men disposing of their genitals, but it does not make them women, in the same way that shoving a bit of vacuum hose down your 501s does not make you a man.Julie Bindel (The Guardian)
The Guardian is an important source of news in English-language Europe, but continues its practice of platforming TERF rhetoric on a regular basis. Until this stops, and they apologise for this behaviour, you should not support them financially.
