The campaign by Rupert Murdoch against Tommy Sheridan, and through
him against socialism, in
Rupert Murdoch’s Sky News evidently decided to
apply the maxim used by Big Brother in George Orwell’s ‘1984’ – "Ignorance
is Strength" - when reporting on Tommy Sheridan’s press conference, in
Dundee on 4 October.
While millions watched on television, many on
giant plasma screens reminiscent of the ‘telescreens’ used by Big Brother, the
idea they should be allowed to hear the truth of what Murdoch’s press said
about the working class and socialists was just too much for his editors in the
‘Ministry of Truth’ to stomach.
Tommy Sheridan was reminding those present at the
news conference of the track-record of Murdoch’s Sun/News of the World, when
their papers described the miners as "Scum" or the striking fire
fighters as "Sadamms stooges." He also spoke of the Liverpool
Hillsborough stadium disaster when the Sun, under the headline, "The
Truth", reported that survivors were stealing money from the dead and
urinating on the emergency services; allegations that were later confirmed as a
pack of lies and resulted in a mass boycott of the Sun in Merseyside.
So, rather than let the viewers hear the real
history of Murdoch’s press, and its role in attacking socialists and the
working class, the solution was simple. Cut Tommy Sheridan off in mid sentence.
Sky ‘telescreens’ went blank and the test card went up instead. This is Murdoch’s
democracy in action – his thought-police obviously decided such comments were
not healthy for the viewers to hear. However, they will not prevent the
socialist case being put in