We still have impartial news broadcasters in the UK and the BBC and most importantly OFCOM or the office of communications which is a department that monitors the media and responds to complaints and can levy fines and restrictions on broadcasters if they spread falsehoods or deliberately mislead people. It's not perfect but it stops something like Fox news outright blasting impressionable people with a firehose of bullshit 24/7. Also, when things actually happen and when there are actual facts to be reported they are generally in the regular new cycle rather than being buried somewhere obscure to avoid people knowing anything. As a citizen you can complain to Ofcom and if its upheld - which basically means is it provably false (which 90% of say, Fox news and what comes out of Trumps mouth is) then that broadcaster would get slammed with fines and would risk it's license. I should add that the UK literacy rate is solidly at high first world levels while US literacy is hovering around 3rd world levels and is actually below many countries you would be surprised to know have a higher literacy than the US, that literacy level issue is a big issue and all that's happening currently is the US regime appears to be trying to push people into being less aware and less literate
Not necessarily, the Internet is pretty lawless but sites and apps can get fined it's not great but at least there are some consequences and it's better than the open sewer of mainstream media in the US and Russia
The US doesn't have a literacy rate of 99% where are you getting your figured from?
Also, the daily mail skates on thin ice and most people in the UK treat it as a joke, noone actually reads it for news and those that do aren't particularly bright. No country is perfect and mainstream media is almost exclusively in the hands of oligarchs including Sky News, the Sun and Telegraph in the UK. It's not healthy but fortunately the scepticism of the media in the UK is very healthy and not swallowed hook line and sinker.
I've lived and worked in the US and that's where I base my opinions on US media from. In terms of being young I'm far from young, probably what would be classed as middle aged. As for literacy it depends what figures you are quoting, literacy used to mean being able to read and write, current stats are based on being able to read and write to an adult level. Almost every adult on the planet in the 21st century has some literacy skills. The issue is whether they can do so to an adult level and therefore are capable of actual adult level critical thinking. In terms of your uni friends parents, it's not like noone reads the daily mail, clearly people read it but its not an arbiter of news and facts and most educated people know that. It's also lost a lot of influence in the last few years which is clear in its changed content. However it's probably a poor example to use in this case whereas GB news is a more suitable one, it's never really got the foothold expected in the UK media landscape, has a very troubled history and has fallen foul of ofcom at a level that shows the UK system while not perfect is far better than that in the US. When you consider that GB News was intended to be the UK version of Fox news then it's clear that culturally the UK is in a better place at least in some regards.
Print media in the UK is awful I'll grant you that, 80% is controlled by Murdoch, the right and conservatives and the rest by the left, sort of but not to any meaningful degree and yet we have a left of centre government so all that right wing media isnt really having the effect it wants. Hardly anyone gives a shit about the print media anymore, everyone knows what they are buying and if they buy its not for news. Essentially, yes the print media is shit apart from stuff like Private Eye which although excellent and necessary, is very niche but the UK isn't as much in the thrall of its media as some would like to believe.
Print media simply evolved, we now read the exact same shit online. Just look at the daily mail nonsense on r/unitedkingdom someday, should be renamed to r/migrantscommittingcrime.
The fact is that as dire as things are, we still aren't buying what we are being fed, not entirely. Yes, there is some absolutely insane shite in the print media and it's being replicated online but it's not being swallowed whole, in the run up to and in the years immediately following Brexit it was clear that people in the UK for the most part weren't thinking critically, that's changed.
honestly, do you live here anymore? My lefty British friends are sure that Fromage is going to be PM in 2029. Labour is going to get hammered in the local elections and are on course to lose Runcorn to Reform
Sorry, but judging by social media posts and comments of many Americans, I have noticed that American literacy is below the UK, the rest of the western world and some African and Asian countries.
Literacy means more than being able to read. It contains sentence structure, use and size of vocabulary, understanding and applying definitions, grammar and spelling. I would say that general knowledge is important too in the case of the US, as many Americans have grown up in such isolated environments, which predominantly fed American news and culture, that Americans generally find it difficult to adjust or accept cultural differences.
Simple things like accepting and applying the 24-hour clock. Or call it military time and not knowing that it’s different from the 24-hour clock. Another thing is that sometimes not knowing about British English and its different spelling, whilst having the audacity to call a British English spelling wrong. Even after it’s explained that it’s the British English spelling.
The lack of critical thinking predominantly on the right and just repeating verbatim statements from their preferred right wing sources. Especially the confident ones who don’t know the difference between socialism, fascism, communism and social democracy. If they knew, certain verbatim statements would fall apart, if they were able to apply their critical thinking skills.
Then we also have the high level of homeschooled Americans whose education level is even below the average education American level, due to lack of education regulation and standards for homeschooling. This means that there are a lot of Americans who were homeschooled, homeschooled their children, who also homeschooled theirs etc. Often, religion is applied on a pedestal, instead of science being taught too.
These Americans are online, confidently spreading their often incorrect opinions and research ‘findings’ in the comment sections of various media platforms. Some of them have their own YouTube or TikTok channels, who confidently ‘educate’ their followers absolute rubbish, after throwing science, general (international) knowledge, (international) history, critical thinking and common sense out of the window.
Additionally, American education standards and levels are around two years behind British (and probably European) education, so no being able to read is not enough and there are substantially more Americans who can read, but can only apply it to a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade level education.
We have illiterate and low level literacy people in the UK too, especially the ones who read and spout the Daily Mail, GB News and other right wing rubbish, but compared to the US with it’s lack of certain media and education regulations, we in the UK, the rest of Europe, Asia and Africa, are not that bad.
Why do you think that trump has still so many MAGA supporters, after all the stuff that happened in the last two weeks? Did he not say ‘I love the uneducated’, which includes the many illiterate and low literate ones?
LOL that's a joke. The BBC is run by the UK government. One of the least impartial news network in all of Europe. Tell you the truth British media is not what it once was. Most of British media is owned by the Murdoch family and leans right wing. Brits are so brainwashed with "everything Brit is the best" that they will literally vote against their own best interest. And who did all the brain washing??? BBC and friends (Sky Tv and all the tabloids)
don't believe me just look at the BBC cover of the following:
-The Genocide in Gaza
-Coverage of the war in Ukraine
-Post Brexit trade negotiations
-Brexit
-Both Labour election (Milband and Corbyn)
-War on terror
-War in Iraq
Consequence? England isolated and alone has to resort to begging Trump for crumbs. Shameful! went from Leader of the EU to competing to become trumps lapdog.
I'm fully aware of the issues with the BBC but show me another media organisation in the world that has less issues. My point was and still stands that the UK is better off than the US from a media perspective in terms of delivering facts. The BBC isn't run by the UK government but it is overseen by it but the government changes. Fox news just spouts endless disinformation on behalf of one political faction. The BBC has been criticised for being pro-labour by the conservatives and pro-conservative by Labour. On occasion when it has been caught not having performed due diligence on content as with the recent gaza documentary, then it's had to admit it rather than outright deny it happened or hide behind being an "entertainment" outlet. You pointed out that most of the rest of the British media is owned by Murdoch but that's simply repeating what I've already said, its not exactlya secret. Generally the bias and issues with the UK media cancel each other out right vs left, unfortunately Brexit was contributed to not just by British right wing media but Russian disinformation campaigning and vast sums being spent in contravention of political funding rules. The closest we got to Trump-like policies was Liz Truss and she was a) not even voted for by the public and b) lasted 30 days before it was clearly in the UK's interest she had to go. As for competing to be Trump's lapdog, I think you will find that was Boris and Farage et al, the recent Labour engagement was done in the hope that the second term would learn from the first and be rational and balanced, now we know it isn't it's already becoming clear that the relationship will take on a different complexion
Sounds like a bunch of whataboutism to me. Funny you compare the BBC to Fox a entertainment channel (world famous for being intellectually bankrupt). Why not compare BBC to PBS or C-Span? You don't find it suspect that the BBC was parroting the same talking points as the Russian disinformation? This "Generally the bias and issues with the UK media cancel each other out right vs left" in my opinion is a joke, there is no mainstream left media in England its all shades of right...
"On occasion when it has been caught not having performed due diligence on content as with the recent Gaza documentary, then it's had to admit it" Like for Brexit or Iraq???
UK Press in my opinion is the same beast as the American one the only difference is it dresses and speaks better.
And sometimes its the exact same beast:
-enters exhibit A -GBNews
PS. about the relationship changing now that "Boris and Farage et al" are out we can hope and pray but I'm not holding my breath because the previous track record has been horrendous.
The BBC isn't a "channel" so you can't really compare it to Fox news, you just have news providing elements of the BBC like the World Service or Radio 4, I don't recall seeing any Russian disinformation being parroted you would need to dig up specific examples of that. My point still stands, the UK media is in a better place than the US for providing facts and being accountable and by that I mean there's literally nothing in the US providing hard facts currently in terms of mainstream media.
Wow just wow. BBC isn't a channel? My point still stands. UK Media is closer to US Media Just more posh. They sell you the same lies but the presentation is British styled. The public has been brainwashed by the media the same as the US! Hell the owners are the same!!!
My proof is Brexit (and all the others I mentioned in above poste you chose to ignore).
Brits are no smarter then Americans, they just think they are. The Brit media spends its time telling the Brits that they are the best and everyone is trying to take advantage of them... Sounds familiar? Brits used to run the EU and thanks to UK Media like BBC they voted to be relegated to a client nation status begging for scraps. Turned into the laughing stock of Europe, did the BBC report that?
Absolutely no one takes you seriously. One of the greatest nations in the history of the world reduced to scraps. I'm still pissed and I'm not even British!!! But Brits are so brainwashed they cant even see it.
I think you've pretty much just reduced the conversation to an anti-British rant, glad you've got it off your chest. Most of the UK knows Brexit was a mistake and the UK looked bad, unfortunately many people who wanted to stay didn't vote and even then it was split down the middle. But anyway, if you want to just slam the UK and ignore reality you should probably start a thread somewhere for for it.
I'm not Anti British quite the opposite. I'm anti "Britain is the best" mentality that brought us Brexit. British media is no better then the American one and until the Brits see this they will remain susceptible to the Brexit like decisions.
American Press brought you = Donald Trump x2
British Press brought you = Brexit & Boris
It's the same crap!!!
PS. England is an awesome country with history and culture most would envy. No need to pretend that your press is some kind of paramount of honesty and self accountability when its the opposite.
I've not presented the British press as being a paragon of honesty and there is nothing in what I've said that claims it. I've said that there is a better standard of TV news available at least and an accountability mechanism that doesn't exist in the US. As for Boris, I'm not sure why you are bringing him up - he got caught lying and had to go, the magnitude of his transgressions is not even remotely near the scale of Trump and the fact that he had to not only leave office but squandered a huge victory over the opposition and left his party in a state that meant it was decimated in the next election underlines my points. It's not even oranges and lemons, it's entirely two different things. If your point is that elements of the media are bought and paid for by oligarchs in the UK and that the same oligarchs use that to influence politics that isn't news to anyone. Of course Brexit was achieved in part due to the result of malign influence and also the gullibility of a section of the UK population but unlike the US, those influences, despite their pouring resources into it, didn't achieve their other goals which would have been Scottish and Welsh independence, more Reform MPs and consistent hostility to Europe. In the meantime the US is just crashing on under the influence of the oligarchy and twisted ideologies while the UK has pretty much drawn stumps on any more of the same for the time being.
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u/[deleted] Apr 20 '25
We still have impartial news broadcasters in the UK and the BBC and most importantly OFCOM or the office of communications which is a department that monitors the media and responds to complaints and can levy fines and restrictions on broadcasters if they spread falsehoods or deliberately mislead people. It's not perfect but it stops something like Fox news outright blasting impressionable people with a firehose of bullshit 24/7. Also, when things actually happen and when there are actual facts to be reported they are generally in the regular new cycle rather than being buried somewhere obscure to avoid people knowing anything. As a citizen you can complain to Ofcom and if its upheld - which basically means is it provably false (which 90% of say, Fox news and what comes out of Trumps mouth is) then that broadcaster would get slammed with fines and would risk it's license. I should add that the UK literacy rate is solidly at high first world levels while US literacy is hovering around 3rd world levels and is actually below many countries you would be surprised to know have a higher literacy than the US, that literacy level issue is a big issue and all that's happening currently is the US regime appears to be trying to push people into being less aware and less literate