Carole Cadwalladr more than any other journalist has pursued the sinister funnel of money and connections between fixers involved in the Trump and Brexit campaigns, including Leave.EU, Ukip and their backer Arron Banks.
She has written about Russian meddling and fake social media accounts spreading disinformation just before the Brexit vote – a story finally picked up by the rest of the media.
Her articles about Cambridge Analytica LLC and SCL Elections Limited bought by Robert Mercer the secretive hedge fund billionaire and Trump backer and their controversial uses of social media data for targeted propaganda during the Brexit campaign have ruffled enough feathers for them to turn to legal action.
And her reporting of breaches of electoral rules, the Information Commissioner’s Office’s investigation of BeLeave, Vote Leave, Veterans for Britain and the DUP for potential offences, including illegal sharing of data and funnelling undeclared funds from secret offshore donors into the Brexit campaign have really pissed off Leave.EU.
So they decided to make this crude video with Carole Cadwalladr’s face superimposed onto someone being assaulted repeatedly in the comedy movie Airplane.
Innocent fun? Leave.EU also tweeted about pro-remain MP’s being traitors and a “cancer” – a tweet that has been deleted now. And in the current hysterical environment since the Jo Cox murder, inciting vitriol and violence against parliamentarians or individuals who unearth information that embarrasses you is a lot more sinister.
In a time when prominent female politicians are threatened with obscene acts and vile violence, it is easy and irresponsible to whip up social media to “dog pile” your enemies.
Imagine The Sun tomorrow if someone on the left had produced this video?
For now it seems it takes a lot more to silence Carole Cadwalladr:
h/t @ThomasPride
