Sep 24, 2026 · 17 min · 7 segments
Gareth looks at the UK's announcement that it plans to launch a new 'misinformation unit' to combat hostile threats from the likes of Russia (and the public?). He compares it to George Orwell's…
Gareth IckeHost
Jaymie IckeHost
That's gonna be great fun, innit? "Security chiefs will set up," as if they haven't already, "a new national center to tackle disinformation and deepfakes from hostile states su- such as Russia, Andy Burnham has announced, saying the government had a duty to stem the poisonous tide from damaging British interests." Well, pretty sure consecutive British governments have done nothing but, uh, but damage British interests.
It literally seems to have been, certainly in my lifetime, a prerequisite of those in charge of the United Kingdom to basically destroy the nation.
That's not to say that the recent lot are not like, do you know what I mean, gold, gold medal winners, um, on that front, but it's not a new phenomenon.
Obviously, you've got all the immigration stuff, like that's, that's a major part of it, but it's not all of it.
Public services are on their backside all across, and that's gradually happened throughout my lifetime.
I'm, I'm a, I'm a kid of the '80s, and gradually throughout that time, that went on.
Of course, the border has become more porous, which doesn't help with public services, 'cause it's just more people.
You got millions and millions of kids in poverty now, millions and millions of kids with, with mental health problems.
And I'm not surprised, because every time they walk into school, they're told the world's gonna end.
In fact, the council is, is giving people, you know, 20% off lunar buggies just so they can get to work.
And pretty much any large town or city in the UK, you're more likely to get stabbed than you are employed.
"The National Center for Information Defense..." Straight off the pages of 1984, mate.
"The National Center for Information Defense will detect, um, attribute, and disrupt information attacks by foreign powers.
"Bringing together the intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and social media companies." There we go.
"It will be tasked with making sure the UK has the defensive capability necessary to combat information warfare and build national resilience." It is newspeak, innit? Um, "by helping communities to identify and combat disinformation, prevented, preventing," sorry, "a distorted and untrue narrative about the UK." Right.
It's a very long-winded way of saying basically any information, true or not, that the state doesn't want the population to know will be subject to banning, deletion, or algorithmic suppression even worse than it is already.
That's gonna be great fun, innit? "Security chiefs will set up," as if they haven't already, "a new national center to tackle disinformation and deepfakes from hostile states su- such as Russia, Andy Burnham has announced, saying the government had a duty to stem the poisonous tide from damaging British interests." Well, pretty sure consecutive British governments have done nothing but, uh, but damage British interests.
It literally seems to have been, certainly in my lifetime, a prerequisite of those in charge of the United Kingdom to basically destroy the nation.
That's not to say that the recent lot are not like, do you know what I mean, gold, gold medal winners, um, on that front, but it's not a new phenomenon.
Obviously, you've got all the immigration stuff, like that's, that's a major part of it, but it's not all of it.
Public services are on their backside all across, and that's gradually happened throughout my lifetime.
I'm, I'm a, I'm a kid of the '80s, and gradually throughout that time, that went on.
Of course, the border has become more porous, which doesn't help with public services, 'cause it's just more people.
You got millions and millions of kids in poverty now, millions and millions of kids with, with mental health problems.
And I'm not surprised, because every time they walk into school, they're told the world's gonna end.
In fact, the council is, is giving people, you know, 20% off lunar buggies just so they can get to work.
And pretty much any large town or city in the UK, you're more likely to get stabbed than you are employed.
"The National Center for Information Defense..." Straight off the pages of 1984, mate.
"The National Center for Information Defense will detect, um, attribute, and disrupt information attacks by foreign powers.
"Bringing together the intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and social media companies." There we go.
"It will be tasked with making sure the UK has the defensive capability necessary to combat information warfare and build national resilience." It is newspeak, innit? Um, "by helping communities to identify and combat disinformation, prevented, preventing," sorry, "a distorted and untrue narrative about the UK." Right.
It's a very long-winded way of saying basically any information, true or not, that the state doesn't want the population to know will be subject to banning, deletion, or algorithmic suppression even worse than it is already.
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