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The appointment of the former managing editor of The Sun, Paul Clarkson, as government press secretary is alarming for anybody aware of the track record of that publication in stoking racism in Britain.
Mr. Clarkson had to apologise for a Sun column in which racist grifter Katie Hopkins likened migrants to "cockroaches". The column was widely condemned, including by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, who said it was reminiscent of Nazi propaganda: https://stopfundinghate.info/2018/05/23/sun-apologises-for-column-likening-african-migrants-to-cockroaches/
Research by the UN High Commission for Refugees singled out The Sun, along with the Daily Mail, for showing hostility towards migrants: https://twitter.com/StopFundingHate/status/1217160957601906688?s=19
Following a ruling by the press regulator that a Sun article smearing "one in five British Muslims" as terrorist sympathisers was "significantly misleading", Mr. Clarkson had to apologise at the UK Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into Hate Crime: https://twitter.com/PMC112358/status/1334872128659857413?s=19
The sincerity (or otherwise) of Mr. Clarkson's apology can be assessed from the fact that he denied Islamophobia is an issue in the British Press, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2018/04/sun-s-managing-editor-says-islamophobia-isn-t-issue-mainstream-media
Did we mention that The Sun published a conspiracy theory from a neo-nazi website? https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/09/sun-publish-far-right-conspiracy-theory-labour
Mr. Clarkson was group managing editor at The Sun when it ran its crude, jingoistic pro-Brexit campaign - a campaign that paid little attention to facts. Was this what recommended him to the Irish government?
Mr. Clarkson's interest in facebook and digital media was reportedly a factor in him getting the job. Is he going to model the government's communications strategy on The Sun's Brexit campaign? If so, will ethics and truthfulness get a look in?
The government press officer influences the news agenda. That this post has been given to a former managing editor of The Sun doesn't inspire confidence. The last thing we need is the scapegoating of minorities for government failures & a further degradation of public debate
We have seen how, in Britain, media outlets such The Sun played a big part in normalising far-right talking points and demonising minorities. We are not immune from this here and need to remain vigilant.
One thing you can do is share your views on the future of media in Ireland with The Future of Media Commission, which is now looking for submissions from the public.
(Closing date for submissions is Friday 8th January 2021) https://futureofmediacommission.ie/public-consultation/
(Closing date for submissions is Friday 8th January 2021) https://futureofmediacommission.ie/public-consultation/
