NEWS 10
BRIDGETOWN-GREENBUSHES STAR SEPTEMBER 2023
SWITCH OFF “THE LIGHT” IN BRIDGETOWN It claims to tell the uncensored truth, but you can’t believe a word of it.
A
publication with the appearance of a newspaper is being distributed around Bridgetown peddling a bizarre mix of conspiracy theories and antisemitism. The Light is closely related to a British-based publication with the same name and masthead. According to a story on the BBC’s website, it has links with the extreme right in Britain and Germany, including a group connected to a failed German coup attempt in 2022. It’s notorious for publishing violent calls for action against members of parliament, doctors, nurses and journalists, and for promoting misinformation about vaccines, climate change and the financial system, among other things. The Light has given a platform to extremists who have denied the holocaust, championed white supremacy, and made claims about plots to “replace” white people. According to the BBC, the British version directly defended a radio host who referred to Jewish people as “filth” and “rats” and suggested “they deserve to be wiped out”. Despite this the publication garnered a following among anti-vaxxers when conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers and violent far right extremists coalesced at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Josh Roose, Senior Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute of Deakin University, has researched the far right’s ability to take on the language of antivaxxers and conspiracy theorists “to exploit their anger and distrust”. The challenge for those who value freedom of speech is how to respond to it. Britain’s Stroud News believes the answer is not to ban it, but to “Switch off The Light”. It’s been encouraging its readers to pick up as many copies of The Light as possible, “have a read and make up your own mind”. “We are confident that if you do decide to take a look at The Light, you won’t like what you see. “And this is why we urge to you to take a copy. In fact, the more copies you take, the better. “Each copy taken off our street wastes the resources of those who publish it.” It’s encouraging its readers to take as many copies as possible and put them in the bin. The Bridgetown-Greenbushes Star endorses that approach, though The Light could also be put to good use lighting fires, cleaning windows or lining bird cages.
We are confident that if you do decide to take a look at The Light, you won’t like what you see.
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