Why is police harassment of some journalists worth reporting and not others?
After right-wing hack Allison Pearson triggered press outrage because she was interviewed by police about an alleged ‘hate’ tweet, why is police harassment of some journalists worth reporting and not others?
Here’s Pearson’s account, along with a bit of commentary:
Hey @EssexPoliceUK. Why weren’t the officers allowed to tell Allison Pearson what was in the tweet? How can a person respond to an allegation if they don’t know what it is?
Did your officers get this wrong? pic.twitter.com/AQpkdv4x4x
— Key Behaviours (@keybehaviours) November 13, 2024
It is indeed hard to respond to an allegation if you don’t know what it is. I remember the controversy over the creation of secret courts in which, if a person was unlucky enough to be sent there, they were not allowed to know the charge against them or take part in the creation of any defence against it. I understand those courts are in operation in the UK today.
But some have made a stab at working out what the offending post might have been:
I see Allison Pearson trending on X, banging on about freedom of speech because she’s been investigated by police for hate speech
So, here’s that disgusting dollop of pustule calling for pro-Palestine rallies to be banned
Freedom of speech for me, but not for thee #Hypocrisy pic.twitter.com/0b74lyKiQj— George_T_Truth2🛞 (@George_T_Truth2) November 13, 2024
Personally, This Writer doesn’t see how pro-Palestinian marches have caused widespread fear or spread hateful messages – but I don’t see that this particular post is hateful either. It’s just misinformed and misinforming (in my opinion).
It isn’t the message that caused Ms Pearson to be interviewed by the police, though. Reading between the lines, one can see that it is not far from being a hate message. I wonder why the offending message has not been identified.
The widespread coverage of this police call at a right-wing newspaper journalist’s house, and the large reaction on the social media, contrasts starkly with the total press blackout of (for example) the police raid on the home of Electronic Intifada writer Asa Winstanley [pictured] in October.
This pro-Palestine social media journalist’s devices were seized under the Terrorism Act, as part of ‘Operation Incessantness’ – a counter-terrorism initiative about which Mr Winstanley was told hardly anything.
Did you hear about the detention at Heathrow Airport of Richard Medhurst and the arrest of Sarah Wilkinson in August 2024, both of them independent journalists who have been reporting Israel’s war on Palestinians?
What about the time Declassified UK‘s Matt Kennard was reported to the Metropolitan Police by a right-wing group of ‘Israel lobby’ genocide-deniers – for saying fascists are not welcome on UK streets?
No? None of them?
Only a few days ago, UK prime minister Keir Starmer published a comment piece for The Guardian in which he said, “Journalism is the lifeblood of democracy… Just because journalists are brave does not mean they should ever suffer intimidation.”
It seems he was only referring to journalists who have the same political views as him.
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Winstanley is not a journalist. That’s why no one cares. He’s a blogger. Putting the word “independent” in front of “journalist” doesn’t make one a journalist. The word independent means, winstanley in this case, isn’t a good enough writer to get a job in journalism, so he self-publishes on his blog and voila – “journalism”.
By that standard, I am also a blogger. But I happen to have decades of experience as a newspaper reporter and editor, on which I rely as a blogger now. So am I a journalist or a blogger? And just because somebody has chosen not to work for somebody else, does that mean they’re not good enough? How do you know whether Asa Winstanley is qualified enough? And what about all the other named people who’ve had their collars felt by the cops? Is their work not good enough to be described as journalism?
I think you might benefit from stepping back and thinking again.
He has lied in support of authoritarian regimes and spread false propaganda about Israel. What Israel does is bad enough – there’s no need to lie about it. I’m not saying one should be arrested just for lying, of course, but he did break the law by supporting terror groups that target civilians. No matter which side you’re on, civilians should never be a target for violence. Over the last year, there have been a number of people describing themselves as “independent journalists” who are nothing of the sort – more like biased propagandists. And if they choose to support or glorify terrorism as defined under UK law, they can be arrested for that.
You are making accusations without evidence. Please provide some so the rest of us can judge for ourselves.
Oh, and Sarah Wilkinson is an antisemite and holocaust denier. I have no problem with legitimate criticism of Israel – indeed, I strongly criticise the Israeli government myself. But Sarah goes too far and is bigoted against Jews. Her X posts have been Community Noted multiple times.
You are making accusations without evidence. Please provide some so the rest of us can judge for ourselves.