Emma Monk

Not yet, but it’s something we’ll be doing soon!

So - quick question.

We are now on episode three of Bear and Monk Debhnk, and @monkemma.bsky.social and I are enjoying the hell out of it.

We’ve covered various issues, from ostriches to immigration to London itself, and would love to hear from everyone:

What would you like us to cover next? 🐻

I definitely did a transcript, I’m just not sure where to find it!

I’ll try and locate it for you

No-Go London, No-Dogs Britain: The Internet’s Favourite Scare Stories Fact-Checking the London ‘No-Go Zones’ and the Viral ‘Muslims Want to Ban Dogs’ Claims

Episode 3 of the podcast by the Bear (@bearlypolitics.co.uk) and Emma (@monkemma.bsky.social) is quite brilliant. I urge you to listen to it. You can do so here.

monkdebunks.substack.com/p/no-go-lond...

Bear and Monk Debunk #3: London and Dog Bans Is London an irredeemable fiery tip, and are there calls for dogs to be banned? Both these topics are discussed in detail this week.

On your way to work and want some company?

Let @monkemma.bsky.social and I join you for the ride with episode 3 of Bear and Monk Debunk.

This week we discuss whether London is a post apocalyptic hellhole and the myth of the Muslim dog ban.

In both cases, it’s mostly nonsense.

Listen below 👇

Great breakdown of one of those types of stories you see regularly.

A great takedown of crappy rage-baiting.

The Met hired rapists because vetting collapsed. Not because of diversity A case study in how selective framing turns a policing scandal into a culture-war narrative.

Debunked by @monkemma.bsky.social

Blimey! That’s not a great way to do reporting!

Thanks! Thats a good call!

Thanks. I need something more mainstream - Guardian, Mirror or I guess a ‘neutral’ one - BBC, Sky, I paper…

Random request!

I’m giving a talk this evening on understanding the modern media landscape and some of the red flags to look out for

But it is to an apolitical audience and obviously most of my misleading headline examples are RW newspapers!

Does anyone have a good example of a LW dodgy headline?

Bear and Monk Debunk #2: Immigration Benefits and “Perks” From leisure cards, and benefit claims to PlayStations: what these stories really mean

Are you getting ready for a long commute to work on this chilly blue-Monday morning? Why not bring @monkemma.bsky.social and I with you on the journey with episode 2 of Bear and Monk Debunk?

In it we discuss the so-called “perks” of immigration and poke a few holes in the narratives we often hear.

Bear and Monk Debunk #2: Immigration Benefits and “Perks” From leisure cards, and benefit claims to PlayStations: what these stories really mean

Emma & The Bear (@monkemma.bsky.social & @bearlypolitics.co.uk) counter the lies of the RW press on immigration rationally and factually.

If you have readers of the Mail, Express or Telegraph in your house, tie them to a chair & make them listen to this

www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/bear-and-m...

Bear and Monk Debunk #1: Minneapolis & The Online Safety Act Separating fact from froth: Minneapolis, the Online Safety Act, and the misinformation pipeline connecting them.

Quick Update:

After some feedback from all of you, @monkemma.bsky.social and I sent Episode One to an actual editor. Sound now fixed (I'm actually audible) and it's far closer to what we originally intended.

Thank you to the 2,000 people who have listened so far, we're both very grateful!

The least surprising news ever! 😂😂🙄

Ha ha - fair!🙈

There is nobody better at this sort of thing than Emma.

Funny you should mention that!

That 4th sub-heading line was added to the article in 2021!

They’re clearly desperate for these ridiculous stories!

Ultimately the story itself is irrelevant…

So, why do you think this 8 year old story was posted this week?

Have you questioned who you blamed when you saw the headline?

Do you still feel angry now you know the context?

Do you feel manipulated?

All good questions to sit with👍🏼

12/12

He failed to hold a necessary licence for his business.

He got caught and fined.

And then went to a National Newspaper to advertise the fact that his roofing business doesn’t abide by national regulations 🤷🏼‍♀️

11/

And sure, he can pretend he was fined for “having some crisp packets in his car”

And the Daily Mail can get a great click bait story.

And Rage baiting Twitter accounts can get their income from posting 8 year old click bait stories…

But the reality is far more boring.

10/

Fly tipping is a huge problem.

Regulating businesses who generate commercial waste is necessary and important.

9/

“Well I think waste regulations are stupid. Businesses dealing with waste should just be sensible and use common sense!”

Yeh, that’s not how it works! If regulation doesn’t exist, they don’t generally “do the right thing”. They do the easiest and cheapest thing!

8/

He was fined for not having a licence to carry building waste in his car while carrying building waste sacks.

No one can fill a 2ft bag with lunch wrappers! Surely?!🤷🏼‍♀️

7/

Oh it was just some crisp packets in his car. How can he be fined for that?

That is a 2 ft high building waste bag - used for collecting waste from building sites, for which you need a licence.

He wasn’t fined for having crisp packets in his van🙄

6/

If you carry any sort of construction waste as part of your business you need a licence.

He claims he had “no idea” he needed a licence.

Which is worrying - what other regulations did he have no idea about and therefore not bother with?

5/

Basically this was a story about a roofer who didn’t have a necessary licence he needed for his job and got caught

Whether or not you *believe* such licences are important is irrelevant.

He was required to have one and he didn’t bother. So he got fined.

What other regulations was he ignoring?

4/

Yup!

A load of anti-Starmer, anti-Labour and general “isn’t Britain awful nowadays” comments.

So just in case you need this spelling out - the Tories were in power at the time. And that’s largely irrelevant anyway!

This is just classic rage bait for Right wing engagement

3/