What remains of the mainstream media in its labelling of Jeremy Corbyn as an obvious persona non grata has been left in a pool of desperation; at this point it’s safe to say that he fits between the lines of a Russian spy, anti-Semite, Trump friend, Terrorist supporter but most distinguished of all, a traitor.
The mainstream media highlights his flaws in a way that does not focus on showing his actual position on an array of different issues, instead it attacks his character in the form of an ad hominem attack where he is stripped bare to his own detriment. I am not in any way affiliated with Jeremy Corbyn, nor am I a supporter of his, but as a student of propaganda, it’s difficult to avoid how the British mainstream media has utilized a number of these techniques to push him out of the political sphere as he poses an apparent threat to the system itself. As the reporting of Jeremy Corbyn, as a leader of the Labour Party, has consisted of assassinating his character, I will seek to exemplify this through the various labels that have been stamped on his forehead as a sign that he's been an undesirable, yet undeniably gripping, force in British politics.
To illustrate the general tone of reporting when it comes to Corbyn, it has been overwhelmingly negative as Cammaerts et al from LSE have discovered.
Not only critical, but in some cases downright antagonistic, which should be alarming in a system that has been spiralling down the Freedom of Press rankings to 40th.
The tone is one part of it, but when viewing the aspects of those aforementioned labels, it's become clear that keeping this tone is rather simplistic, especially when the content of those articles keep portraying him as anything but a normal person. In essence, even when the article keeps a neutral tone, it's a commentary on issues that keep a stranglehold of him being portrayed as some sort of escapee from a mental health clinic. Since 2015, when his rise in popularity cemented his position as a force to be reckoned with, it coincided with articles attacking his character ad nauseam.
Recently, the mainstream media have attempted to link his persona with all those associations deemed negative, downgrading and dangerous to British society. We have, to begin with, the element of the ''Soviet Spy Scandal'' that was regurgitated and inured by the whole range of the political spectrum. This has come to light once more, in relation to the ongoing Skripal event, where he was once more painted as a ''an apologist to the Russian state'' for his call to wait for clear evidence before jumping to conclusions. It seems that his stance, calling for calm and reason to prevail, was something deemed unfavourable by MP's such as Mark Francois and co.
Not only do we have the mainstream media and its critical, antagonistic labels of him, but we have official representatives of the government, such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, that have publicly attacked him as a ''Mutton-headed mugwump''. In light of the Skripal scandal and the government depictions of Russia as the enemy, without a final conclusion to the investigation, the propagandistic term of flag waving once again relates to Jeremy Corbyn, or any other critic of the official government position, as traitors to the country.
This is precisely what the media has done. To best illustrate the whole package of labels that have been thrown at Jeremy Corbyn, take the latest article from Reuters titled ''Corbyn under fire over Russia, anti-Semitism and Brexit''. It's rather coincidental that he has to defend himself from not one, but three different fronts on accounts that have been vague, misleading and formed on the basis of half-truths. However, to be noted are two pieces posted by The Guardian and The Independent mentioning that, in light of recent controversial events by Boris Johnson and The Foreign Office in light of the same Skripal case, Corbyn was right to be cautious. Even in this regard, BBC has used propagandistic images of Corbyn (as shown by the cover image), to draw him in line with the position of the current enemy, Russia. With a photoshopped hat made to look ''more Russian'' and posing next to St. Basil's Cathedral, it's difficult to imagine this linkage as being free from bias. The BBC have been criticized by the general public and rightly so, as this display of propaganda has been deemed extreme in nature.
Being labelled an enemy of the state is one thing, but that certainly was not enough as the latest attack on his persona has come to light. The stamp of ''anti-Semite'' comes after an unearthed image posted by Corbyn in 2012, depicts an alleged group of individuals playing monopoly on a board mounted by naked people.
While the posting of this image was deemed anti-Semitic by the media and after a formal apology by Corbyn, the media continued the narrative of Antisemitism related to any action he undertook following the scandal. The highlighting of his support for Palestine, his decision to meet with pro-Palestinian groups in the wake of Passover and Labour's previous history of Antisemitism all came down like a hammer in a subliminal attempt of cognitive dissonance. Even in regards to the question of Antisemitism, it's a case of ''Pensée unique'' (French for 'Single thought') and obfuscation. The degree of confusion from the general public in light of this question was astounding. Corbyn, the Antisemite, became a reality shaped by a red herring.
It's safe to say that every step he takes from the spotlight, and the actions that he conducts to rectify the problem, alarmingly follow him and continue to pounce from left and right. There is not a single politician in British politics that walks on a thinner line of criticism from the establishment and the surrounding media outlets; Theresa May and Boris Johnson have seen their share of attacks from the general public, but very little from the media. This has been far from the same degree that Corbyn has received, the scale of criticism and antagonistic allegations are not comparable. A strong recommendation is to follow the Skripal case closely as the evidence for or against his calm, collected approach could give him a rare chance of redemption from those same, slanderous media outlets or it'll strike him down lower to a deemed ''Quisling-esque'' character that could, in reality, become a persona non-grata. If a familiar Trump effect takes the reins once more, it'll be interesting to see if these propagandistic attacks on his character could have an opposite effect.
Drago Victorien - Unpaid liar / Media Swindler
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