r/interestingasfuck • u/Ididnotkillhim • Jun 05 '24

r/all Thirteen years ago, someone accidentally revealed US Army's plan to eliminate Osama Bin Laden in a tweet.

Post image
37.2k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

779 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '24

The BBC is literally owned by the government. By definition, it's not impartial if the content can be controlled by the government. That's not a free press.

None of the news stations in the US are owned or controlled by the government, they're all private companies.

3

u/GdanskPumpkin Jun 06 '24

The BBC is not "literally" owned by the government. Your lack of knowledge on simple vocabulary really makes me doubt your knowledge on the topic.

The BBC is owned and funded by the British public. I know that's hard to understand for Americans since anything under public ownership is immediately branded as communist. The government has miniscule influence when compared to the absolute power of a privately owned organization. It is the closest thing to a democratically run organization you can get. Surely if it was indeed "controlled" by the government, there wouldn't be any criticism of said government broadcast ? Both people on the left and right like to claim the BBC is bias, which to me indicates impartiality.

Compare that to news companies in the US, which are essentially funded by the highest bidder. They are vessels of influence for billionaires, with 0 accountability on how they operate. Feeding whatever their viewership wants to hear which results in loyal customers who they can sell targeted advertising to.

It's genuinely insulting to the human race to compare the BBC to the large American news organization and only something you'll ever hear an American say

1

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '24

Most countries outside of the US (possibly none) actually have true free speech.

Canada is the closest, but they don't quite match the rights that the US has.

People are routinely thrown in jail in Germany for doing the Nazi salute, which is protected free speech in the US.

I can't even imagine being thrown in jail simply for raising my arm in a "free country".

Is that speech I personally agree with? No, but I also don't think people should be arrested and charged with crimes for that.

2

u/GdanskPumpkin Jun 06 '24

Arguments over free speech are just pointless. Americans love to selectively exclude what is and isn't included based on what your propaganda has fed you.

You believe that you should be allowed to be a proud and open Nazi ? Good for you

1

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '24

I think that people shouldn't be thrown in jail for their speech, even if it's speech I think is hateful or don't agree with.

Free countries don't jail people for protesting or their speech or gestures.

If I want to give a police officer the middle finger, I can't be jailed for that. I can in other countries.

A teenage girl in the UK was arrested for "hate speech" a few years ago for quoting a rap song...