DOCSLIB.ORG

Analysis of News Coverage of Extremist Terror Attacks Between 2016 and 2017

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Master’s Thesis 2020 30 ECTS Faculty of Landscape and Society Analysis of News Coverage of Extremist Terror Attacks Between 2016 and 2017 Ahmad Mansoor MSc International Relations This page intentionally left blank 1 The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric,was established in 1986 and is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments. The Noragric Master’s theses are the final assignments submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master programme ‘International Environmental Studies’, ‘International Development Studies’ and ‘International Relations’. This thesis is submitted as part of a Master’s degree in International Relations The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, contact Noragric. © Ahmad Mansoor, August 2020 [email protected] Noragric Department of International Environment and Development Studies Faculty of Landscape and Society P.O. Box 5003 NO-1432 Ås Norway Tel: + 47 67 23 01 11 Fax: + 47 67 23 06 91 Web: www.nmbu.no/noragric 2 Declaration I, Ahmad Mansoor, declare that this thesis is a result of my research investigations and findings. Sources of information other than my own have been acknowledged and a reference list has been provided. This work has not been previously submitted to any other university for award of any type of academic degree. Signature: Ahmad Mansoor Date: 17th August 2020 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank God for helping me in every way throughout writing this thesis. There have been some truly difficult times this year and I am eternally grateful to have experienced spirituality that has kept me focused. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Paul Beaumont, for providing quick, in-depth and skilful feedback on my work. I have honestly learnt a lot from being supervised by him and I wish him the very best in his professional endeavours. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents, who have always been supportive of my plans and always pushed me to study diligently. I hope I have made you both proud and always continue to do so. 4 Abstract Since September 11, Islamist terrorism has been widely represented by news broadcasters around the world. News coverage has consistently conflated Islam and Muslims with terrorism, focusing intrinsically on ‘War on Terror’ news frames. However, research has shown that transnational white nationalist terrorism is a recent and emerging threat to society. The point of departure is that news framings have typically victimised white supremacist terrorists in their news representations. Previously, scholars have examined news framings of terrorism, but research on this topic, the representation of white nationalist terrorism, remains scarce. This gap is addressed by assessing MailOnline, a bona fide right-wing British newspaper, and its representation of Islamist and white supremacist terror attacks in UK. Using discourse analysis, this thesis investigates news framings of the Jo Cox murder in 2016 and the Westminster Bridge attack in 2017, perpetrated by a white supremacist and Islamist respectively. Analysis was guided by four distinct categories; Self and Other, representations of ideology, representations of motivations of terrorists and identity of perpetrators. The findings show that MailOnline framed white supremacist terrorists in humanising terms, which was anticipated, but it was unexpected to see MailOnline portraying an Islamist terrorist in a similar, humanising and personalising way. It represents both terrorists as in need of help; MailOnline adopts a hybrid position to frame terrorists empathetically while maintaining labels of terrorist only for the Westminster Bridge attacker, even though both cases were legally defined as terrorism. These unexpected findings suggest that right-wing papers are moving away from the traditional ‘War on Terror’ frames established since September 11. Right- wing newspapers such as MailOnline are subtly shifting styles of reporting to be mindful of conflating Islam with terrorism. That being said, scholars need to place further emphasis on prominent threats within topics dealing with media representations of terrorism. A good place to start would be temporal comparisons of news framings of white nationalist terrorism. 5 Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 8 Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 14 Representation of Islam and terrorism in a global context ................................................ 14 Representation of white nationalists and terrorism in a global context ............................. 18 Dominant frames in the media surrounding reporting of terrorists .................................... 21 Sensationalising terrorism ............................................................................................... 22 War on Terror .................................................................................................................. 23 State of mind: mental health considerations of a terrorist ................................................. 24 Lone wolf versus collective extremist groups ................................................................... 25 Why these framings of terror attacks matter? .................................................................. 26 Why does it matter how Islamists and white nationalists are framed? .............................. 27 Why MailOnline? ............................................................................................................. 28 Gap in current research ................................................................................................... 30 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................... 32 Self and Other ................................................................................................................. 32 Representations of ideology ............................................................................................ 33 Representations of motivations of terrorists ..................................................................... 34 Identity of perpetrators ..................................................................................................... 34 Framing ........................................................................................................................... 35 Methodology...................................................................................................................... 38 Selection of articles for discussion and analysis .............................................................. 38 Strategy for analysis ........................................................................................................ 43 Limitations of the research ............................................................................................... 44 Analysis and Discussion .................................................................................................. 46 Brief explanation of the Jo Cox attack .............................................................................. 46 Brief explanation of the Westminster Bridge attack .......................................................... 47 Self and Other ................................................................................................................. 47 Representations of ideology ............................................................................................ 51 Representations of motivations of terrorists ..................................................................... 56 Identity of perpetrators ..................................................................................................... 59 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 65 Implications for research .................................................................................................. 67 Limitations and future research ........................................................................................ 68 References ........................................................................................................................ 70 6 This page intentionally left blank 7 1. Introduction “Take an angry person, tell them you feel their pain, give them a target for their anger and help them to switch off their brain… Treat people as stupid, hate-filled, gullible and mean while simultaneously helping them to blame all their problems on ‘others’ and they will love you for it. So much so, that you could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a single vote” - James O’Brien, How to be Right, 2018 Since September 11, white nationalist extremists have killed more people in USA than other types of domestic extremists (Waters, 2019). White nationalist extremists consist of individuals and groups that follow
Recommended publications
  • EU and Member States' Policies and Laws on Persons Suspected Of

    EU and Member States' Policies and Laws on Persons Suspected Of

    DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS’ RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS CIVIL LIBERTIES, JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS EU and Member States’ policies and laws on persons suspected of terrorism- related crimes STUDY Abstract This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE Committee), presents an overview of the legal and policy framework in the EU and 10 select EU Member States on persons suspected of terrorism-related crimes. The study analyses how Member States define suspects of terrorism- related crimes, what measures are available to state authorities to prevent and investigate such crimes and how information on suspects of terrorism-related crimes is exchanged between Member States. The comparative analysis between the 10 Member States subject to this study, in combination with the examination of relevant EU policy and legislation, leads to the development of key conclusions and recommendations. PE 596.832 EN 1 ABOUT THE PUBLICATION This research paper was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and was commissioned, overseen and published by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs. Policy Departments provide independent expertise, both in-house and externally, to support European Parliament committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation
  • Duckduckgo Search Engines Android

    Duckduckgo Search Engines Android

    Duckduckgo search engines android Continue 1 5.65.0 10.8MB DuckduckGo Privacy Browser 1 5.64.0 10.8MB DuckduckGo Privacy Browser 1 5.63.1 10.78MB DuckduckGo Privacy Browser 1 5.62.0 10.36MB DuckduckGo Privacy Browser 1 5.61.2 10.36MB DuckduckGo Privacy Browser 1 5.60.0 10.35MB DuckduckGo Privacy Browser 1 5.59.1 10.35MB DuckduckGo Privacy Browser 1 5.58.1 10.33MB DuckduckGo Privacy Browser 1 5.57.1 10.31MB DuckduckGo Privacy browser © DuckduckGo. Privacy, simplified. This article is about the search engine. For children's play, see duck, duck, goose. Internet search engine DuckDuckGoScreenshot home page DuckDuckGo on 2018Type search engine siteWeb Unavailable inMultilingualHeadquarters20 Paoli PikePaoli, Pennsylvania, USA Area servedWorldwideOwnerDuck Duck Go, Inc., createdGabriel WeinbergURLduckduckgo.comAlexa rank 158 (October 2020 update) CommercialRegregedSeptember 25, 2008; 12 years ago (2008-09-25) was an Internet search engine that emphasized the privacy of search engines and avoided the filter bubble of personalized search results. DuckDuckGo differs from other search engines by not profiling its users and showing all users the same search results for this search term. The company is based in Paoli, Pennsylvania, in Greater Philadelphia and has 111 employees since October 2020. The name of the company is a reference to the children's game duck, duck, goose. The results of the DuckDuckGo Survey are a compilation of more than 400 sources, including Yahoo! Search BOSS, Wolfram Alpha, Bing, Yandex, own web scanner (DuckDuckBot) and others. It also uses data from crowdsourcing sites, including Wikipedia, to fill in the knowledge panel boxes to the right of the results.
  • Far-Right Anthology

    Far-Right Anthology

    COUNTERINGDEFENDING EUROPE: “GLOBAL BRITAIN” ANDTHE THEFAR FUTURE RIGHT: OFAN EUROPEAN ANTHOLOGY GEOPOLITICSEDITED BY DR RAKIB EHSAN AND DR PAUL STOTT BY JAMES ROGERS DEMOCRACY | FREEDOM | HUMAN RIGHTS ReportApril No 2020. 2018/1 Published in 2020 by The Henry Jackson Society The Henry Jackson Society Millbank Tower 21-24 Millbank London SW1P 4QP Registered charity no. 1140489 Tel: +44 (0)20 7340 4520 www.henryjacksonsociety.org © The Henry Jackson Society, 2020. All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and are not necessarily indicative of those of The Henry Jackson Society or its Trustees. Title: “COUNTERING THE FAR RIGHT: AN ANTHOLOGY” Edited by Dr Rakib Ehsan and Dr Paul Stott Front Cover: Edinburgh, Scotland, 23rd March 2019. Demonstration by the Scottish Defence League (SDL), with supporters of National Front and white pride, and a counter demonstration by Unite Against Facism demonstrators, outside the Scottish Parliament, in Edinburgh. The Scottish Defence League claim their protest was against the sexual abuse of minors, but the opposition claim the rally masks the SDL’s racist beliefs. Credit: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Alamy Live News. COUNTERINGDEFENDING EUROPE: “GLOBAL BRITAIN” ANDTHE THEFAR FUTURE RIGHT: OFAN EUROPEAN ANTHOLOGY GEOPOLITICSEDITED BY DR RAKIB EHSAN AND DR PAUL STOTT BY JAMES ROGERS DEMOCRACY | FREEDOM | HUMAN RIGHTS ReportApril No 2020. 2018/1 Countering the Far Right: An Anthology About the Editors Dr Paul Stott joined the Henry Jackson Society’s Centre on Radicalisation and Terrorism as a Research Fellow in January 2019. An experienced academic, he received an MSc in Terrorism Studies (Distinction) from the University of East London in 2007, and his PhD in 2015 from the University of East Anglia for the research “British Jihadism: The Detail and the Denial”.
  • Appendix 3 Chronology of Events Surrounding Increased Security

    Appendix 3 Chronology of Events Surrounding Increased Security

    Appendix 3 Chronology of events surrounding increased security measures Notable European terror related incidents • Nov 2015 – Paris Attacks. 130 killed and 413 injured by suicide bombers and mass shootings • March 2016 – Brussels Bombing. 35 killed and 300 injured by suicide bomber • July 2016 – Nice attacks. 86 killed and 458 injured by a cargo truck driven into crowds • Dec 2016 – Berlin Xmas market attack. 12 killed and 56 injured by a truck driven into crowds • Aug 2017 – Barcelona attack. 13 killed and 130 injured by truck driven into crowds Recent British terror related incidents • May 2013 A British soldier, Lee Rigby, was murdered in an attack by two Islamist extremists • June 2016 MP Jo Cox murdered by white nationist • March 2017 Westminster attack - Islamist, drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. 4 killed and 50 injured. A police officer killed in the grounds of the Palace of Westminster • May 2017 Manchester Arena bombing – An Islamist suicide bomber, blew himself up at Manchester Arena, 22 killed and 139 injured • June 2017 London Bridge attack – Three Islamists drove a van into pedestrians on London bridge before stabbing. Eight people were killed and at least 48 wounded • June 2017 Finsbury Park attack –a British man, drove a van into Muslim worshippers near Finsbury Park Mosque, London Recent Guildhall security related incidents. Evidence cycle thefts and anti-social related incidents surrounding rough sleepers in the area that have not formally been reported. • Feb 2014 - Planned demonstration at full council. Demonstration prevented by joint operation between Facilities and Police to monitor building access. • Feb 2015 – Planned demonstration at full council.
  • Immigration Reform in Refugee and Asylum Policy

    Immigration Reform in Refugee and Asylum Policy

    NOTE IMMIGRATION REFORM IN REFUGEE AND ASYLUM POLICY: DISENTANGLING IMMIGRATION FROM THE NATIONAL SECURITY DISCOURSE Rachel Chernov* ABSTRACT After September 11, 2001, a large-scale overhaul of existing US immigration infrastructure fused immigration with the country’s national security apparatus. Enhanced national security efforts became characterized by increased immigration enforcement and were purportedly justified by government officials’ rhetoric portraying newcomers as a threat to public safety. The Trump Administration employed inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric to shore up popular support for harmful immigration policies, precluding the United States from fulfilling obligations to refugees and asylum-seekers under international law. This Note argues that the United States shares virtually none of the geopolitical challenges preventing certain countries from compliance with treaty obligations; however, rhetoric conflating immigration and national security results in immigration policy damaging to refugees and asylees seeking protection in the United States. This Note argues that the United States must work towards compliance with its international commitments by dismantling needlessly punitive immigration enforcement policies and abolishing xenophobic rhetoric, and by providing fair and full protection for the growing number of individuals displaced around the globe. * J.D. Candidate, 2021, Fordham University School of Law; B.A., 2018, Lehigh University; Notes & Articles Editor, Fordham International Law Journal, Volume XLIV. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the editorial staff of Volume XLIV for their guidance as I worked through writing and editing this Note. I would also like to thank my family for their continued support—especially my parents and grandparents, who uprooted their lives to come to the US, ultimately giving me the opportunity to attend law school and see my written work through to publication.
  • Community Champions Science Club You Said

    Community Champions Science Club You Said

    ISSUE 3! 2nd December 2016! SCIENCE CLUB! COMMUNITY YOU SAID, WE DID! This week at Science club the At our recent Y7 and Y11 parents students were enjoying making CHAMPIONS! evening you kindly gave us slime. We investigated how feedback and as a result we are in concentration of PVA affected the process of making some the stretchiness of slime; They changes. really got stuck into it! ✓ You asked us to improve our parents evening booking system and wait time. You will be pleased to know that we have purchased an online system that will go live after The BBG Community Champions Christmas. This will allow you to have done a sterling job during book online and ensure we keep to their Applied Resilience lessons appointment times. this term, helping the Friends of ✓ One feedback form expressed Birkenshaw Churchyard group to some concern over parental clear up at St Paul’s. They have communication. We have added the helped to clear weeds, spread weekly newsletter and Twitter posts woodchip, clear up leaves, plant and have a commitment to respond bulbs and collect litter. The to parents within 24 hours of students have been a real parental contact where possible. pleasure to work with and have ✓ Two feedback forms requested thrown themselves into the work the reduction of Rise and Read. As enthusiastically. discussed at Y6 Open Evening we are committed to the Rise and Read programme and we do believe that there are many benefits that will enhance student progress across all subjects not just English. ✓ There was concern expressed over the difficulty and cost of ordering PE kit.
  • December/January 2018 Bramhope Methodist Church, Eastgate, Leeds

    December/January 2018 Bramhope Methodist Church, Eastgate, Leeds

    December/January 2018 Bramhope Methodist Church, Eastgate, Leeds LS16 9AA www.bramhopemethodist.org.uk Minister: Rev Roger Smith Deacon Jenny Parnell email: [email protected] Telephone: 01943 874 735 email: [email protected] Telephone: 0113 250 9805 Dear Friends Before moving here in the summer I lived in Cleckheaton where, for just over a year, Jo Cox was my MP and I feel privileged to have met her. She was full of energy and enthusiasm; she combined a love of the area where she had grown up with a passionate concern for those in need around the world; she inspired children and young people; she reached out across political divides. And, of course, as we all know, her life was brutally cut short on the streets of Birstall. Jo Cox connected with people of faith. She didn’t hold religious beliefs herself but understood the significant part faith plays in people’s lives. This made her a very effective MP in a multi-faith constituency. I heard her speak at the Friends Meeting House about her work in Israel/Palestine with Oxfam. She told us about going into Gaza and meeting people longing for a better future. As an MP she was a strong voice for the suffering people of Syria. She was also passionate about the needs of her constituency. It was one of the most poignant moments in all my time as a minister to open up Birstall Methodist Church on the day Jo Cox died so the police could use it 24/7 for rest breaks and planning their huge operation.
  • A Connected Society: a Strategy for Tackling Loneliness | 1

    A Connected Society: a Strategy for Tackling Loneliness | 1

    A connected society A strategy for tackling loneliness – laying the foundations for change Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ Publication date: October 2018 © Crown copyright 2018 You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, Any enquiries regarding this document / publication visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government- should be sent to us at [email protected] licence/version/3/ or write to the Information Policy Team, The National This publication is available for download at www.gov.uk/ Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email psi@ government/collections/governments-work-on-tackling- nationalarchives.gov.uk loneliness A connected society: a strategy for tackling loneliness | 1 Contents Foreword 2 People’s experiences of loneliness 4 Executive summary: 5 • Our vision 6 • The focus of government’s work 7 • The structure of this strategy 10 About this strategy: 13 • The purpose of this strategy 14 • The development of the strategy 14 • The guiding principles 14 • The scope of the strategy 15 • The role of government, communities and the individual 15 • What good looks like: measuring success 16 Chapter 1 — Evidence and insights 17 Chapter 2 — Organisations that support and enable people’s relationships 23 Chapter 3 — Community infrastructure that empowers social connections 35 Chapter 4 — Building a culture that supports connected communities 46 Chapter 5 — Next steps: building on this strategy 59 Annex A — Summary of insights from the call for evidence 63 Annex B — Measures for success 66 Thanks to stakeholders 68 References 73 2 | A connected society: a strategy for tackling loneliness Foreword from the Prime Minister As Prime Minister I was pleased to be able to support the Loneliness Commission set up in Jo's name and I am determined to do everything possible to take forward its recommendations.
  • Violent Radicalisation & Far-Right Extremism in Europe

    Violent Radicalisation & Far-Right Extremism in Europe

    merging trends in the European political con- text, including the rise of nativist nationalism and the emergence of hostile public discourses E on immigration, have brought ideas traditional- ly attributed to the far-right into mainstream discussion, VIOLENT in the process popularising and in some cases ‘normalis- ing’ them in the eyes of particular audiences. Öztürk Bilgehan Zeiger, Aristotle Kallis, Sara Especially since the turn of the new millennium, the dis- cussion on the dynamics of, and threats from, violent rad- RADICALISATION icalisation has received considerable fresh attention since a series of recent terrorist attacks testified to its highly disruptive and destructive potential. Taken together with the appreciable rise in instances of hate speech and in vio- lent incidents against vulnerable groups (Muslim, Jewish, & FAR-RIGHT Roma communities; immigrants and refugees, etc.), it is now feared that we may be witnessing a much broader and profound ‘reverse wave’ towards more intolerance, exclusion, and normalisation of violent extremism in EXTREMISM contemporary societies. IN EUROPE Aristotle Kallis, Sara Zeiger, Bilgehan Öztürk 9 789752 459472 VIOLENT RADICALISATION & FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISM IN EUROPE EUROPE IN EXTREMISM FAR-RIGHT & RADICALISATION VIOLENT VIOLENT RADICALISATION & FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISM IN EUROPE VIOLENT RADICALISATION & FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISM IN EUROPE Edited by Aristotle Kallis, Sara Zeiger, and Bilgehan Öztürk SETA Publications 34 First Published in 2018 by SETA ISBN: 978-975-2459-47-2 © 2018 SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, without permission in writing from the publishers.
  • Transnational Neo-Nazism in the Usa, United Kingdom and Australia

    Transnational Neo-Nazism in the Usa, United Kingdom and Australia

    TRANSNATIONAL NEO-NAZISM IN THE USA, UNITED KINGDOM AND AUSTRALIA PAUL JACKSON February 2020 JACKSON | PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM About the Program on About the Author Extremism Dr Paul Jackson is a historian of twentieth century and contemporary history, and his main teaching The Program on Extremism at George and research interests focus on understanding the Washington University provides impact of radical and extreme ideologies on wider analysis on issues related to violent and societies. Dr. Jackson’s research currently focuses non-violent extremism. The Program on the dynamics of neo-Nazi, and other, extreme spearheads innovative and thoughtful right ideologies, in Britain and Europe in the post- academic inquiry, producing empirical war period. He is also interested in researching the work that strengthens extremism longer history of radical ideologies and cultures in research as a distinct field of study. The Britain too, especially those linked in some way to Program aims to develop pragmatic the extreme right. policy solutions that resonate with Dr. Jackson’s teaching engages with wider themes policymakers, civic leaders, and the related to the history of fascism, genocide, general public. totalitarian politics and revolutionary ideologies. Dr. Jackson teaches modules on the Holocaust, as well as the history of Communism and fascism. Dr. Jackson regularly writes for the magazine Searchlight on issues related to contemporary extreme right politics. He is a co-editor of the Wiley- Blackwell journal Religion Compass: Modern Ideologies and Faith. Dr. Jackson is also the Editor of the Bloomsbury book series A Modern History of Politics and Violence. The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Program on Extremism or the George Washington University.
  • British Fascism: a Discourse- Historical Analysis'

    British Fascism: a Discourse- Historical Analysis'

    H-Socialisms Cohen on Richardson, 'British Fascism: A Discourse- Historical Analysis' Review published on Sunday, October 27, 2019 John E. Richardson. British Fascism: A Discourse-Historical Analysis. Explorations of the Far Right Series. Stuttgart: Ibidem, 2017. Illustrations. 307 pp. $45.00 (paper), ISBN 978-3-8382-1031-5. Reviewed by Joshua Cohen (University of Leicester) Published on H-Socialisms (October, 2019) Commissioned by Gary Roth (Rutgers University - Newark) Printable Version: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=54281 Analyzing British Fascism When Colin Cross wrote "British Fascism ended in May 1940 and has not since been revived under that name," he correctly assessed that Sir Oswald Mosley's Union Movement (UM), formed in 1948, neither hid nor disowned its fascist past. Still, this reference to the past and "ex-fascists" implied acceptance of the UM's claim to have transcended fascism, that it went "beyond both fascism and democracy."[1] The idea of fascism as a historical phenomenon existing mainly in the past was expressed in Stanley Payne's assertion that fascism was "primarily limited to Europe during the era of the two world wars."[2] One of the most important contributions John E. Richardson makes in the excellent British Fascism: A Discourse-Historical Analysis is his repudiation of such analyses by demonstrating the long continuities within British fascism, its survival across the postwar period into the present, and, above all, the grave danger of regarding fascism as "over." He engages both with historiography and the "heuristic blind spot" of some political scientists that makes them reluctant to acknowledge contemporaneous movements as "fascist." For Richardson, this accounts for the continual formation of such myriad terms as "extreme right," "radical right," and "extreme right-wing populist"—he does not say it but "alt-right" suggests itself here too (pp.
  • Age Uk Joins Jo Cox Commission to Raise Awareness of Loneliness

    Age Uk Joins Jo Cox Commission to Raise Awareness of Loneliness

    AGE UK JOINS JO COX COMMISSION TO RAISE AWARENESS OF LONELINESS Age UK is taking part in a government initiative to increase the public’s awareness of loneliness, in memory of murdered MP Jo Cox. The Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness was started by MP Jo Cox before her murder in June 2016. Jo was passionate about the issue of loneliness, and in her memory, the Commission will now be taken forward by Rachel Reeves MP (Labour, Leeds West) and Seema Kennedy MP (Conservative, South Ribble). Start a conversation The Commission aims not to simply highlight the issue of loneliness, but more importantly act as a call to action. Under the slogan ‘start a conversation’, its goal is to mobilise us all to help our neighbours, family and friends – whether it be talking to a neighbour, visiting an old friend, or just making time for the people you meet. Several charities will be involved in the Commission to shine a light on different aspects of loneliness and the positive steps we can all take to combat it. Age UK will join these charities as a partner: Action for Children, Alzheimer’s Society, The British Red Cross, The Campaign to End Loneliness, Carers UK, The Co-op, Eden Project Communities, Independent Age, Refugee Action, Royal Voluntary Service, Sense and The Silver Line. Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, explained the importance of the Commission: “Loneliness sucks the joy out of life and undermines our sense of self-worth. It can affect our mental, emotional and physical health and disconnect us from others.