The Rupert Murdoch-owned ‘Talk’ TV and radio channels keep broadcasting slurs against migrants, comparing refugees and asylum seekers to animals, insects and pests. This language has been shown to directly increase the risk of real-world harm, and to pave the way for fascism. We’re calling on brands to pull their ad spending and stop supporting dangerous media.
Tell me more…
For years, there has been a well-established connection between hateful, dehumanising speech in the media, the direct threat of violence on the streets and the rise of fascism in a society.
It’s a shameful history that can trace a line right back to the propaganda of Nazi Germany.
So if you ever hear the press likening people to ‘vermin’ or ‘cockroaches’ or ‘rats’ – pests that are dealt with by extermination – we all ought to be alarmed.
In recent months, exactly this sort of dangerous, dehumanising language has been appearing on Rupert Murdoch’s Talk TV and Radio channels.
Hateful narratives, knowingly and recklessly broadcast.
And, sure enough, this summer has also seen outbreaks of racist violence rising on UK streets.
This year alone, Talk has aired comments describing refugees as “vermin”, “parasites”, and “cancerous”.
One Talk TV contributor described refugees as “the vermin washing up on our shores”. In another show, a caller described refugees as “vermin” who “invade”, likening them to “a cancerous cell”.
And, in yet another instance: when a caller referred to refugees as “parasites”, the presenter not only left the comment unchallenged but seemed to actively affirm what had been said.
The hateful content coming from Talk is so extreme that Ofcom – the UK’s broadcasting regulator – is currently being sued for not taking action over Talk’s transphobia.
Advertising money is central to the financial support of commercial broadcasters. So, if the media regulator is failing to do its job, brands can at least do the bare minimum and ensure that their ad budget doesn’t help bankroll the peddling of hate and division.
How can I get involved?
Join us in putting pressure on Talk’s advertisers, to get them to pull their spending with the channel – and show that hate is not profitable.
Right now, we’re petitioning Kopparberg to cut their ads with Talk: actionstorm.org/petitions/kopparberg-stopfundinghate