58
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by LibsEatPoop@hexbear.net to c/news@hexbear.net

Edit - Much better summary of the whole thing here.

Here's the statement:

I am writing this statement as unfortunately Novara Media have left me little choice. In light of the organization’s refusal to address the actions of one of its senior employees that led to the persecution of three young women of color and their ultimate conviction under the UK’s racist and Islamophobic counterterrorism laws, I have asked that my interviews be removed from their platforms.

Amidst an ongoing genocide, and at a time in which Palestinian political expression is under attack, this staff member chose to collaborate with the British police and the right wing media in their campaign of persecution, incitement, and hate-mongering. This has caused serious legal and social repercussions and psychological harm to the individuals involved.

I have been the target of countless smear campaigns which I have usually disregarded as background noise. However, I chose to speak out in this instance, even though it did not directly affect me, because the silence of Novara, an organization self-described as “always politically committed,” represents a complete failure in upholding the principles of accountability, solidarity, and anti-racism, and should concern us all.

One might argue that Aaron Bastani’s actions fall within the realm of free speech, however, exploiting an atmosphere that is already hostile to Palestinians and collaborating with the British establishment to smear, police, and punish us and our allies sounds less like free speech and more like harassment and incitement. Where does Novara, an institution that purports itself to be a voice on the side of justice, stand when one of its staff members causes such harm? Bastani’s actions—and his colleagues’ silence—must not be separated from this context. Demanding accountability is not “sowing division,” what is divisive is putting a target on the most vulnerable among us, the most susceptible to state violence.

Novara’s above-average reporting on Palestine is not a gift they are bestowing upon us, it is as simple as journalists doing their job. It does not give them a special license to police our movement. (There is a joke to be made here about British institutions and colonial legacies.) If Novara wants to contribute to the larger anti-capitalist, anti-racist movement, it has a responsibility to hold itself accountable for violence that is produced within its own institution.


TLDR - There was a pro-Palestinian rally in London back in October. Photos of some protesters (the women in color mentioned above) went viral among right-wing circles because they had images of the Hamas paragliders on their jackets. Aaron Bastani joined in the denouncements. Apparently, the UK Police has since prosecuted these women and Novara Media, the organization Bastani co-founded has remained silent till now.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] assyrian@hexbear.net 14 points 2 months ago
[-] GayTuckerCarlson@hexbear.net 2 points 2 months ago

I actually wrote about it first on my fetlife

load more comments (1 replies)
this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2024
58 points (100.0% liked)

news

23242 readers
583 users here now

Welcome to c/news! Please read the Hexbear Code of Conduct and remember... we're all comrades here.

Rules:

-- PLEASE KEEP POST TITLES INFORMATIVE --

-- Overly editorialized titles, particularly if they link to opinion pieces, may get your post removed. --

-- All posts must include a link to their source. Screenshots are fine IF you include the link in the post body. --

-- If you are citing a twitter post as news please include not just the twitter.com in your links but also nitter.net (or another Nitter instance). There is also a Firefox extension that can redirect Twitter links to a Nitter instance: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/libredirect/ or archive them as you would any other reactionary source using e.g. https://archive.today . Twitter screenshots still need to be sourced or they will be removed --

-- Mass tagging comm moderators across multiple posts like a broken markov chain bot will result in a comm ban--

-- Repeated consecutive posting of reactionary sources, fake news, misleading / outdated news, false alarms over ghoul deaths, and/or shitposts will result in a comm ban.--

-- Neglecting to use content warnings or NSFW when dealing with disturbing content will be removed until in compliance. Users who are consecutively reported due to failing to use content warnings or NSFW tags when commenting on or posting disturbing content will result in the user being banned. --

-- Using April 1st as an excuse to post fake headlines, like the resurrection of Kissinger while he is still fortunately dead, will result in the poster being thrown in the gamer gulag and be sentenced to play and beat trashy mobile games like 'Raid: Shadow Legends' in order to be rehabilitated back into general society. --

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS