# taz.de -- Spotlight Populism: Step back, reflect and ask
> There were many factors that facilitated the rise of populism in Britain,
> but the media has taken much of the blame.
IMG Bild: Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom's Independence Party
Britain’s rising populism reached a rapid crescendo around the EU
referendum in June. Following a campaign in which legitimate concerns mixed
freely with poor information and outright lies – most infamously, the Leave
campaign’s empty promise that exiting the EU would allow the government to
spend £350 million more a week on the UK’s national health service – 52% of
the population voted out. Chief among their concerns were immigration,
sovereignty and the perceived power of the liberal elite; Brexit was seen
as an opportunity to seize back control. Yet many people felt that rarely
in UK politics has campaigning been so divisive, disingenuous and
personality-driven.
There were many factors that facilitated the rise of this movement, but the
media has taken much of the blame. Many of the UK’s most popular newspapers
campaigned against EU membership, often using misleading information and
provocative headlines. This was the culmination of many years of negative
reporting on the EU: false and exaggerated reports have become so
commonplace in the British media since the 1990s that the EU now runs its
own “Euromyths“ blog to debunk the stories.
In recent years, this has escalated into some truly vicious journalism on
issues relating to immigration and the EU. In April 2015, for example, The
Sun newspaper published a column by Katie Hopkins – a reality TV star
turned commentator – in which she described migrants and refugees crossing
the Mediterranean as “cockroaches“ and suggested they should be turned away
by gunboats. More recently, after the High Court ruled that under British
law the government cannot trigger Article 50 to leave the EU without
parliamentary approval, The Daily Mail printed photographs of the three
judges who made the decision on its frontpage under the headline: “Enemies
of the People“.
There remains a big question over how far the media is able to influence,
rather than simply reflect, these populist sentiments. Not all publications
have behaved in this way and the efforts made by some to reveal
inaccuracies during the referendum campaign were often ignored. With so
many other sources of information now available, the media may be complicit
in populist fervour – it may exacerbate the problem and stoke divisions –
but it is unlikely to be the root cause.
## The role of media
Nonetheless, this kind of behaviour by the media does play a role.
Importantly, it helps to set the tone of the debate. The established media
is often regarded as a marker of what is considered mainstream and
acceptable, and what is not. Looking at the headlines, those parameters
have been blown wide open in recent times.
It is also part of a wider context in which the public has lost trust in
mainstream media, seeing it as biased, unreliable and inextricably tied to
the same establishment it is supposed to critique. Surveys show that there
is less trust in the press in Britain than almost anywhere else in Europe.
It is healthy for the media to be scrutinized and questioned by its
readers, forcing it to improve. But when people feel they cannot believe
what they read in the newspapers, they turn to other – often less reliable
– sources instead; a problem that has been exacerbated by the rise of
unregulated news sources online. The proliferation of fake news stories
surrounding this year’s US presidential campaign is a case in point. This,
in turn, undermines the media’s ability to act as a “fourth estate“ – it
cannot hold authorities to account if the public does not believe what it
reports.
Newspapers in the UK are regulated by a code of ethics that includes
accuracy and fairness in reporting, but we should resist calls for greater
regulation that could have the effect of restricting freedom of expression.
Instead, the quality media must take steps to win back some of the trust
that has been lost and work hard to re-engage readers. There is a demand
for reliable, high-quality journalism that is open about its interests,
honest about its cause and serious about the facts. Newspapers need to
ensure greater transparency in their reporting; to tackle concerns about
their editorial independence; and to re-prioritise factual accuracy, which
has been eroded by digital competition and a lack of financial resources.
A reliable and responsible media is crucial to the democratic system. It
may not be the root cause of populism, but it is clear that it has become
part of the problem. As journalists we need to step back, reflect and ask
what we can do.
Jessica Abrahams is a British journalist and writer for Prospect magazine,
and has contributed to publications including The Guardian and The
Telegraph. She was based at taz in 2016 as a fellow of the International
Journalists' Programme.
28 Mar 2017
## AUTOREN
DIR Jessica Abrahams
## TAGS
DIR taz international
DIR taz in English
DIR Populismus
DIR Schwerpunkt Brexit
DIR Großbritannien
DIR Schwerpunkt Brexit
DIR taz in English
DIR USA
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