Does Anyone Else See The Humor Here?

[firstfloor]

Ordinary Russians are hearing nothing other than State propaganda. There is truly nothing funny about that. Protesters are being arrested. Their reality is as if you had nothing but Tucker Carlson in the USA.

All this gives Putin a free hand to murder Ukrainians, even Russian speaking Ukrainians in the eastern cities. The suffering is immense and there is no end in sight.

[Ronson]

Ordinary Russians are hearing nothing other than State propaganda. There is truly nothing funny about that.

Protesters are being arrested. Their reality is as if you had nothing but Tucker Carlson in the USA.

All this gives Putin a free hand to murder Ukrainians, even Russian speaking Ukrainians in the eastern cities. The suffering is immense and there is no end in sight.

Nice rant. Not sure if you understood the OP.

[firstfloor]

Nice rant. Not sure if you understood the OP.

Oh, I definitely understood it. If it seems inadvertently funny, it is just badly written. ‘Fake News’ is just anything that Russia decides does not compliment their own version of what is going on. They deliberately use the term fake news because of what it means to many people - a source spreading disinformation. That little hook makes the joke work - but it also means you’re hooked on the fake news meme.

This new Russian law is putting journalists at risk in Russia. They have already been shot at in Ukraine.

[rogue06]

The humor is what is implied.

BBC Suspends Reporting in Russia After New Law

Britain's BBC said Friday it would temporarily suspend the work of all its journalists and support staff in Russia following the introduction of a new law that could jail anyone intentionally spreading "fake" news.

Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC, said in a statement the legislation appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism.

"It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development," he said.

© 2022 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bbc...aw-2022-03-04/

This is true of a number of news services

tweet-cnn-putin-jail-fake-news-cnn-pulls-out-russia.jpg

[Ronson]

Oh, I definitely understood it. If it seems inadvertently funny, it is just badly written. ‘Fake News’ is just anything that Russia decides does not compliment their own version of what is going on. They deliberately use the term fake news because of what it means to many people - a source spreading disinformation. That little hook makes the joke work - but it also means you’re hooked on the fake news meme.

We see "fake news" every day from just about everywhere. Name a news source you like and I'm sure I can find something fake that they reported. It is dangerous to trust any of them without comparison and vetting. I don't know how old you are but news (in general) has deteriorated enormously since at least the 1990s. I used to work for a newspaper. I can see the difference in standards.

This new Russian law is putting journalists at risk in Russia. They have already been shot at in Ukraine.

Yeah, but that wasn't the humor of it. Does anyone on the Left have a sense of humor anymore? Or is everything deadly serious? The Left excelled at black humor once upon a time.

[Ronson]

This is true of a number of news services

tweet-cnn-putin-jail-fake-news-cnn-pulls-out-russia.jpg

Any one of them would have the same effect. I think FF above was offended because it was the BBC who shut down (with the horrible explanation), but it could have been Fox or Newsmax or OAN just as well.

[firstfloor]

We see "fake news" every day from just about everywhere. Name a news source you like and I'm sure I can find something fake that they reported. It is dangerous to trust any of them without comparison and vetting. I don't know how old you are but news (in general) has deteriorated enormously since at least the 1990s. I used to work for a newspaper. I can see the difference in standards.

I think the humour is more obvious if you have been trained to accept the word ‘fake’ as proof that news so labelled is false. It doesn’t mean that to me - I am suspicious of people who fend off criticism that way. It never used to be that simple.

It is not difficult to find reliable news sources, but I agree that there is a lot of garbage out there.

[CivilDiscourse]

Perhaps Russia fighting "fake" news will temper liberals here who want to censor "fake" news once they realize that such censorship means placing trust in potentially corrupt people to determine what is and is not "fake".

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

The humor is what is implied.

BBC Suspends Reporting in Russia After New Law

Britain's BBC said Friday it would temporarily suspend the work of all its journalists and support staff in Russia following the introduction of a new law that could jail anyone intentionally spreading "fake" news.

Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC, said in a statement the legislation appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism.

"It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development," he said.

© 2022 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bbc...aw-2022-03-04/

Note the inverted commas around the word "fake".

What Davie actually said [according to the report] was "It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development,"

That was a reference to the draconian legislation and its penalties that Russia has introduced and the BBC clearly does not want its journalists or their Russian staff being put at risk.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

If Russia came up with a new law that said it will begin prosecuting restaurants that serve poison, and McDonald's immediately suspended business, the implication is the same.

I'm not saying anything about the BBC's accuracy in news reporting, but its reaction to the law, and Davie calling a 'fake news' law an "unwelcome development", implies that the BBC is fake news. The BBC stepped in it through their actions and comments. I would think they would be more careful. Words are their business.

No it doesn't. That is your own bias [known to me from previous exchanges elsewhere] against the BBC.

However, do remember that for all the present faults across the BBC in general, the BBC Word Service is still regarded around the world as one of the most honest and balanced radio broadcasters.

It is now using shortwave to broadcast to Russia so that those who possess a shortwave radio can listen.

[CivilDiscourse]

Note the inverted commas around the word "fake".

What Davie actually said [according to the report] was "It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development,"

That was a reference to the draconian legislation and its penalties that Russia has introduced and the BBC clearly does not want its journalists or their Russian staff being put at risk.

Yes. That's where I find humor. The BBC has no problem fighting "fake news" https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38769996.

But this shows the issue with trying to censor fake news. It relies on the people in charge deciding what is and is not "fake". The russian law is a clear example of what happens when the person deciding what is and is not fake has an ulterior motive.

But US/UK politicians? They wouldn't ever have ulterior motivations for wanting to declare something fake....

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Yes. That's where I find humor. The BBC has no problem fighting "fake news" https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38769996.

But this shows the issue with trying to censor fake news. It relies on the people in charge deciding what is and is not "fake". The russian law is a clear example of what happens when the person deciding what is and is not fake has an ulterior motive.

But US/UK politicians? They wouldn't ever have ulterior motivations for wanting to declare something fake....

Despite the long standing attempts by various governments [predominantly Conservative] and their main media supporter [Rupert Murdoch] to destroy, undermine, demonise, and privatise the BBC it remains a non-state outlet of news. Unlike the present situation in Russia.

[CivilDiscourse]

Despite the long standing attempts by various governments [predominantly Conservative] and their main media supporter [Rupert Murdoch] to destroy, undermine, demonise, and privatise the BBC it remains a non-state outlet of news. Unlike the present situation in Russia.

Thats nice, but didn't actually address what I said.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Thats nice, but didn't actually address what I said.

It makes my point.

[CivilDiscourse]

It makes my point.

So, you can't address what I said. No surprise.