Sunday 22 December 2019

So Stormzy didn't 100% say that the UK is a 100% racist country


Stormzy Weekend has taken another dramatic twist: ITV has 'clarified' an earlier 'viral' tweet:


So it seems he didn't say that the UK is "definitely" a "100% racist" country after all.

For God's sake, the state of broadcast journalism in this country! Just because some ITV journalist bungled a tweet and ITV then took an age to correct it, all Hell has descended on Stormzy this weekend for saying something he didn't actually quite say (though almost said).

(Update: ...though what he appears to have actually said is divisive and inflammatory and open to question too. It's just somewhat less extreme).

Close attention to accurate reporting, including of what people actually say, needs very urgently reviving as a basic journalistic skill. 

9 comments:

  1. It's still up at the G though. And they agree with Mr Stormzy.

    https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/20/stormzy-uk-is-100-racist-and-boris-johnson-has-made-it-worse

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    1. Scrub "For God's sake, the state of broadcast journalism in this country!" then. "The state of journalism" will do.

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    2. ............so what did he actually say then ? I can't find any clarification. Just the usual bellends demanding apologies. If he didn't say it, why didn't his management call the G and clarify on Friday ?

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    3. It's getting confusing. Weirdly, it seems to be mainly down to punctuation. When the Guardian report says...

      Stormzy has said Britain is “definitely, 100%” racist

      ...it isn't the same as saying:

      Stormzy has said Britain is “definitely, 100% racist".

      Lots of people, apparently misled by that original ITV tweet, think he said that the UK is a 100% racist country whereas he appears to have actually said that the UK is 100% a racist country. The former is much more extreme (not that the latter isn't pretty extreme too).

      The source is an an Italian magazine interview, but it's behind a paywall.

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    4. Aah, I see. So the squrge isn't in the flrimmel, it's a question of ghrtid. Thanks.

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  2. I’m sure Guardianistas like nothing more than flagellating themselves with the notion that Britain is 100% racist - or 100%, Britain is racist. Either way. The fact that pedalling this nonsense is hugely damaging and divisive is quite unimportant, compared with proclaiming their Woke identity. It’s very similar in effect to telling young men that masculinity is toxic.

    I am not altogether sure what Stormsy means by a “racist country”. He really needs to take a long look at the rest of the world. There are racists in every country. I would go as far as to suggest less in Britain than in most. Perhaps Stormsy would like to tell us which country is not, by his standards, racist.

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    1. The questions should be asked of Stormzy: How much travelling have you done within the UK in order to meet a genuine cross-section of British people? Is your opinion one gained by speaking to people of your own neighbourhood and people within the echo-chamber of London?

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