Rebel News Podcast - EZRA LEVANT ｜ Leftists try to cancel a brand new news channel even before it launches. But they’re fighting back!

00:00:00.000 Hello, my friends. Today, I want to tell you an amazing story of an attempted cancel culture mob in the UK and how the guy they were trying to cancel is fighting back and maybe he's going to win.

00:00:10.700 I'm watching in real time. I'll keep you up to date and I'll even have a follow up report tomorrow.

00:00:17.180 I'm riveted. So that's the podcast today.

00:00:20.980 But before I let you get to that, I want to invite you to become a subscriber to Rebel News Plus, which is the video version of this show.

00:00:27.600 You also get access to video by exclusive video by Sheila Gunnery, David Menzies, Andrew Chapin.

00:00:34.860 It's all for eight bucks a month, which I think is pretty reasonable, you know, and you can get that at rebelnews.com.

00:00:41.420 OK, here's today's podcast.

00:00:57.600 Tonight, leftists in the UK try to cancel a brand new news channel even before it launches, but they're fighting back.

00:01:05.360 It's June 17th and this is the Ezra Levant Show.

00:01:09.820 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?

00:01:13.580 There's 8,500 customers here and you won't give them an answer.

00:01:17.660 The only thing I have to say to the government about why I'm publishing it is because it's my bloody right to do so.

00:01:23.500 This last weekend, a brand new TV network launched in the UK by the name of GB News.

00:01:34.600 GB stands for Great Britain, of course.

00:01:36.920 And I can tell you from my time covering the trials of Tommy Robinson that the UK media is even worse than Canada's.

00:01:44.600 I tell you, it's true.

00:01:45.680 I know you don't believe me.

00:01:46.600 I think I might have told you once the story of how a BBC journalist literally contacted the police about my journalism, asking for me to be arrested.

00:01:58.120 He demanded that they investigate me.

00:02:01.320 Don't let me go on a tangent here.

00:02:02.780 But I was also in court live tweeting a trial.

00:02:07.740 That's what I do.

00:02:08.600 And a rival journalist literally passed a note to one of the judges in the middle of the trial, asking the judges to kick me out for what I was live tweeting.

00:02:21.360 They actually stopped the trial.

00:02:24.400 The judges stepped out.

00:02:26.280 They read the note.

00:02:28.300 Then they came back in and told the little snitch that tweeting is permitted.

00:02:33.700 And they got back to the trial.

00:02:35.780 It's insane over there.

00:02:38.080 That's how bad the media party is in the UK.

00:02:40.640 They literally wanted to have me arrested and thrown in jail.

00:02:43.580 They actually called the police.

00:02:45.280 They actually interrupted a trial.

00:02:47.140 This wasn't during a lockdown or anything.

00:02:49.760 It's not that I wasn't wearing a mask.

00:02:51.300 This was pre-pandemic.

00:02:52.940 I was literally just in the court typing.

00:02:56.520 And the BBC, absolutely atrocious.

00:02:59.180 The worst of the worst.

00:02:59.820 You think the CBC is bad?

00:03:01.520 That's $1.5 billion a year of left-wing extremism.

00:03:05.580 Well, the BBC is £5 billion a year.

00:03:10.620 That's $8.5 billion Canadian dollars.

00:03:13.500 Imagine that.

00:03:15.180 If the CBC had six times as much funding as they do.

00:03:18.500 Imagine how they'd smother and destroy everything else.

00:03:21.360 They're just so awful.

00:03:22.640 Now, the BBC is so vast, there are a few journalists within it.

00:03:28.280 You can count them on one hand, who accidentally might be called conservative.

00:03:33.860 Andrew Neal was one of them.

00:03:36.060 He's had a lot of different media jobs in the UK, editing several newspapers.

00:03:41.660 Very senior guy.

00:03:42.740 Started another TV station for Rupert Murdoch.

00:03:45.000 So he's a senior guy.

00:03:46.400 I first came upon him after the terrorist attack on the Bataclan nightclub in Paris.

00:03:51.760 I just saw this guy on TV with a rant.

00:03:55.260 Here's a short clip of that.

00:03:56.480 I'd never seen him before, but he was a pretty senior guy even then.

00:04:00.660 Take a look.

00:04:01.540 Even though, welcome to this week. 0.99

00:04:03.700 A week in which a bunch of loser jihadists slaughtered 132 innocents in Paris 0.98

00:04:08.840 to prove the future belongs to them, rather than a civilisation like France. 0.98

00:04:15.840 Well, I can't say I fancy their chances.

00:04:17.920 France, the country of Descartes, Boulet, Monet, Sartre, Rousseau, Camus, Renoir, Berlioz, Cézanne,

00:04:25.620 Gauguin, Hugo, Voltaire, Matisse, Debussy, Ravel, Sanson, Bizet, Satie, Pasteur, Molière,

00:04:33.820 Frank, Zola, Bolzac, Poulonk, Cutting Edge Science, World Class Medicine,

00:04:39.920 Fearsome Security Forces, Nuclear Power, Coco Chanel, Chateau Lafitte, Coco Van, Daft Punk,

00:04:47.180 Zizou Zidane, Juliette Binoche, Liberty, Egality, Fraternity and Crème Brûlée.

00:04:55.580 Versus what?

00:04:57.560 Beheadings, crucifixions, amputations, slavery, mass murder, medieval squalor, 0.70

00:05:04.460 a death cult barbarity that would shame the Middle Ages. 0.83

00:05:08.440 Well, IS or Dash or ISIS or ISIL or whatever name you're going by, 1.00

00:05:13.220 I'm sticking with IS as in Islamist scumbags. 1.00

00:05:17.180 I think the outcome is pretty clear to everybody but you. 1.00

00:05:20.880 I love that.

00:05:21.780 And I said, who is this fellow Andrew Neil?

00:05:23.860 Anyways, he's always been an outstanding journalist, very rigorous, very fair.

00:05:27.840 Conservative, sure.

00:05:28.880 But I've never seen anyone, I've never seen him give anyone a gentle interview,

00:05:34.380 especially Conservatives.

00:05:35.680 I think he's sensitive to that.

00:05:37.320 So he almost goes extra hard on them.

00:05:39.520 Here's just an example.

00:05:41.480 This is him, I think, devastating Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister who calls himself

00:05:47.780 a Conservative.

00:05:48.600 Now, in this case, they're talking about a free trade deal and Brexit, but it really doesn't

00:05:52.900 matter.

00:05:53.660 Look at this guy.

00:05:56.180 I'm going to play a minute of this.

00:05:57.420 As we come out, to agree under GATT 24, paragraph 5B, that both sides agree to a standstill,

00:06:05.620 a protraction of their existing zero-tariff, zero-quota arrangements until such time as

00:06:11.680 we do a free trade deal.

00:06:13.220 And that would be one way forward.

00:06:14.800 And I think that would be very attractive.

00:06:16.740 And of course it would be up to our friends and partners to decide whether they want it

00:06:21.420 to go along with that.

00:06:22.420 How would you handle, you talk about Article 5B in GATT 24.

00:06:26.320 Article 24, get the detail right, get the detail right, Andrew.

00:06:29.360 It's Article 24, Paragraph 5B.

00:06:31.340 And how would you handle Paragraph 5C?

00:06:35.040 I would confide entirely in Paragraph 5B, because that is...

00:06:40.100 How would you get around what's in 5C?

00:06:42.280 I would confide entirely in Paragraph 5B, which is enough for our purposes.

00:06:47.020 No.

00:06:48.080 I thought you were a man of detail.

00:06:49.500 Well, you didn't know whether it was an article or a paragraph, but there's enough in Paragraph

00:06:56.600 5B to get us...

00:06:58.460 No, 5C says...

00:07:00.500 Yeah, Andrew Neal is a Conservative, but he is a journalist first.

00:07:04.900 And don't try to pull a fast one on him, eh?

00:07:08.000 Well, the great news is that when the BBC was done with Andrew Neal, when they were tired 0.98

00:07:13.620 of him, when they were tired of an old white male, they threw him on the trash heap. 0.87

00:07:18.400 He didn't stay there. 0.91

00:07:19.900 He, you know, started a rival TV network called GB News.

00:07:24.000 And my God, is it good.

00:07:26.580 It's obviously focused on the UK.

00:07:28.620 And so I'd say half of what they talk about is probably not going to interest people outside

00:07:32.320 the UK.

00:07:32.940 But the other half, I think they're universal issues.

00:07:35.780 Cancel culture, censorship, I don't know, transgender extremism, taking a knee in sports, 1.00

00:07:40.240 which is ripping up their soccer league right now.

00:07:42.840 Joe Biden, the pandemic, lockdowns, Iran, taxes, spending, borrowing, all of those things

00:07:47.980 are of great interest to us, too.

00:07:50.300 To anyone in the Free West, you can download the GB News app on your phone for free.

00:07:54.740 I did.

00:07:55.460 And I have to say, I'm sort of hooked.

00:07:58.300 I showed this clip on my live stream on Monday at noon.

00:08:03.640 But in case you don't watch that, if you missed it, check out this opening declaration by Andrew

00:08:08.500 Neill.

00:08:08.860 Does this not get you excited?

00:08:11.280 Good evening.

00:08:12.040 I'm Andrew Neill.

00:08:13.400 And this is GB News.

00:08:22.200 It's 8 p.m. on Sunday, June the 13th, 2021.

00:08:26.660 Welcome to the launch of GB News, Britain's news channel dedicated to covering the news that

00:08:32.260 matters to you, and to giving a voice to those who felt sidelined or even silenced in our great

00:08:38.140 national debates.

00:08:39.660 Because if it matters to you, it matters to us.

00:08:42.960 GB News will not slavishly follow the existing news agenda.

00:08:46.520 We're not a rolling news channel, nor will we be providing conventional news bulletins.

00:08:51.920 But on all of our programs and platforms, you'll always know what's going on and what

00:08:57.360 the country is talking about.

00:08:58.800 We will broadcast news programs throughout the day that are appointments to view, built

00:09:04.560 around passionate presenters with character, flair, attitude, opinion, and yes, a sense

00:09:10.760 of humor.

00:09:11.820 They will concentrate on the stories that matter to you and that others are neglecting.

00:09:16.200 And even when we're covering the same stories as others, we'll come at them in a very different

00:09:21.140 way.

00:09:22.040 We put together a lineup of youth and experience, of familiar faces and fresh ones.

00:09:26.520 They come from all backgrounds and all parts of our country too.

00:09:31.700 Our team of national and regional reporters covering the whole of the UK is the backbone

00:09:36.700 of GB News, embedded in communities they know because that's where they hail from, delivering

00:09:42.600 the huge range of stories and voices that reflect the views and values of our United Kingdom.

00:09:49.020 What unites us is the firm belief that now is the time to do news differently.

00:09:55.640 We are committed to covering the people's agenda, not the media's agenda.

00:10:00.220 We will not lecture you or talk down and nobody will be allowed to Hector.

00:10:05.400 Indeed, Hector has been banished from the studio.

00:10:08.860 GB News will not be yet another echo chamber for the metropolitan mindset that already dominates

00:10:14.640 so much of our media.

00:10:15.980 It is our explicit aim to empower those who feel their stories, their opinions, their concerns

00:10:22.380 have been ignored or diminished.

00:10:25.420 We are proud to be British.

00:10:28.340 The clue is in the name.

00:10:30.500 And while we will never hold back from covering our country's many flaws and problems, we will

00:10:35.960 not come at every story with the conviction that Britain is always at fault, usually to blame

00:10:41.140 when things go wrong, generally useless.

00:10:44.420 We won't forget what the B stands for in our title.

00:10:48.720 We will cover the good news as well as the bad, because even in grim times there is much

00:10:53.840 that is great and uplifting to report and celebrate about our country.

00:10:59.220 We will encourage debate and conversation to include voices you don't often hear on other

00:11:04.580 news broadcasts.

00:11:05.820 We will sometimes quote controversy, but we want civilised discourse, not shouting matches

00:11:11.160 no matter how heated our discussions become.

00:11:14.180 And we like heated discussions, but we will always demand respect for opposing points of

00:11:19.380 view.

00:11:20.240 We won't dwell much on the latest gossip of the Westminster bubble, which is too often

00:11:25.240 obsessed about matters of no importance to anybody else.

00:11:28.700 We will puncture the pomposity of our elites in politics, business, media and academia, and

00:11:35.740 expose their growing promotion of cancel culture for the threat to free speech and democracy

00:11:41.940 that it is.

00:11:43.460 We'll be more concerned with what will raise prosperity and create jobs in our left-behind

00:11:49.400 towns than what some overprivileged and ahistoric students decide to hang on their walls in Oxford.

00:11:56.360 Social mobility and a fair chance in life for all will matter more to us than the wasteland

00:12:02.860 to nowhere that is identity politics.

00:12:06.140 And if you want fake news, lies, disinformation, distortion of the facts, conspiracy theories,

00:12:14.040 then GB News is not for you.

00:12:17.080 Because in everything we do, we will be guided by the highest journalistic standards, written

00:12:22.240 into the contracts of everybody who works here at GB News.

00:12:26.820 Robust, even disputatious debate, of course.

00:12:30.040 A much wider variety of voices than you currently hear in broadcasting, certainly.

00:12:34.820 But never the promotion of matters we know to be untrue, or the pushing of facts that are

00:12:40.620 convenient to a viewpoint that may be convenient, but not properly checked.

00:12:47.280 And when we do make mistakes, as we will, we will correct them quickly and without quibble.

00:12:53.420 Along the way, we hope to have fun.

00:12:56.020 We hope you will too.

00:12:57.740 GB News will aim to inform, inspire and entertain.

00:13:02.000 We start the journey tonight.

00:13:04.760 We hope you'll join us, because if it matters to you, it matters to us.

00:13:09.700 I'm Andrew Neil, and this is GB News.

00:13:12.960 Isn't that great?

00:13:18.840 Well, I have enjoyed it.

00:13:20.020 It's only been a couple of days.

00:13:21.700 I'd watch it just for Andrew Neil.

00:13:23.280 He's on every night.

00:13:24.420 Here he is grilling the Tory finance minister.

00:13:26.680 They call him the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

00:13:28.660 Take a look.

00:13:29.100 The manifesto contained a promise of the triple lock on pensions.

00:13:34.340 Does that promise maintain?

00:13:36.600 Yeah, that's very much our policy.

00:13:39.340 Are you going to maintain it?

00:13:41.300 I mean, the triple lock, just for our viewers, is that pensions should be increased either

00:13:46.520 by inflation or the increase in average wages, or by 2.5%, whatever is the higher.

00:13:53.140 Is that still government policy?

00:13:55.060 Of course that's still government policy.

00:13:56.740 And actually, if we look at what has that policy achieved, it has ensured that pension

00:14:00.680 of poverty is now far lower than it was when that policy was implemented.

00:14:05.020 That's why that policy was introduced.

00:14:06.580 So it's something that has actually delivered for pension.

00:14:08.360 Average wages are now rising by almost 6%.

00:14:11.140 It could be 8% by July.

00:14:13.800 So you're telling the people tonight that pensions will rise by 8%.

00:14:17.960 Well, I think formally, Andrew, and I have to be careful, because I can't comment about

00:14:22.780 fiscal policy outside of events, which you'll appreciate.

00:14:25.460 With regard to pensions uprating, there's actually a statutory review that's carried out

00:14:30.760 later in the year that sets the uprating, which is then brought to Parliament.

00:14:34.220 You promised me the triple lock, and the triple lock earnings are the highest of the three

00:14:39.260 metrics in your manifesto.

00:14:42.580 So you're saying tonight that pensions will rise by about 8% if that's what average earnings

00:14:48.420 are.

00:14:49.080 He's good.

00:14:50.260 He also grilled on how he's going to pay for Boris Johnson's net zero climate BS.

00:14:54.860 That was a hoot. 0.66

00:14:55.720 And it was painfully clear that this chancellor of the exchequer doesn't want to go down that

00:15:00.140 green insanity.

00:15:01.100 Um, GB News is a very diverse outlet, by the way.

00:15:05.760 I'm not talking about race, in case you thought I was, although it is diverse that way.

00:15:10.660 Also, I'm talking about opinions.

00:15:13.060 Mercy Maroki and Inaya Fuller and Aman are warriors in the battle against cancel culture 1.00

00:15:20.460 and against critical race theory.

00:15:23.240 They are so good.

00:15:25.680 Oh, I followed them even before GB News snapped them up.

00:15:28.620 I wish we had a critical mass of pro-individualist thinkers like them in Canada.

00:15:33.560 They're the best.

00:15:34.480 Anyways, great start.

00:15:35.980 Great channel.

00:15:36.900 I have to make sure I don't spend too much time watching it, because I live here in Canada.

00:15:41.120 Canada has to be my number one concern.

00:15:43.620 I should say one more thing, though, just before I go on their opening night, which I

00:15:48.060 watched on the app, I was blown away by how many ads they had on.

00:15:53.920 Almost too many.

00:15:55.420 Like, I almost had enough of the ads, but it's amazing.

00:15:57.920 And they were from all the big brands.

00:16:00.880 Now, some brands I don't really know about because they're UK oriented, but you could

00:16:04.300 tell they were very blue chip, very professional ad campaigns.

00:16:07.240 For example, Amazon, obviously, just doesn't get any bigger than that.

00:16:10.900 Even green energy companies, beer companies, like very hip.

00:16:14.900 I don't know how it happened that they got so many great ads.

00:16:18.320 Sun News in Canada never got ads like that.

00:16:21.400 Fox News in America gets ads, but they're often from ideological supporters like the MyPillow

00:16:26.660 guy.

00:16:27.180 How did that happen?

00:16:28.900 Well, that's the thing.

00:16:29.720 I noticed one thing about GB News even before they were launched.

00:16:33.240 And this is part of a universal theme, too.

00:16:35.220 Something that applies to us here, too.

00:16:36.600 Even before they launched their first minute on TV, they hadn't said anything yet.

00:16:43.300 They were being denounced as racist and white supremacist and far right.

00:16:47.620 That's what they call the alt-right over there in the UK.

00:16:50.240 There were boycotts even before they said a word.

00:16:53.660 How does that even work?

00:16:55.780 Well, it works just fine.

00:16:57.020 If you're a fascist and censorship is the whole point of shutting someone up, it's not

00:17:04.260 a debate that we want them to shut up.

00:17:05.480 So the best way to shut someone up is before they even get started.

00:17:08.880 Censorship isn't about what they said.

00:17:11.220 It's about who they are and who they aren't.

00:17:13.780 Well, the debut of the channel was a smash hit in the ratings.

00:17:17.920 GB News, literally on its first night, was the top-viewed news channel in the UK, even

00:17:22.580 beating the BBC's all-news channel.

00:17:25.080 How did that happen?

00:17:26.180 Unless you think there was just some opening night curiosity, they did it again and they

00:17:30.200 did it again.

00:17:30.900 It helps that they're getting huge and prominent guests like the finance minister I mentioned

00:17:35.940 and they're very important people in the UK and people with an international profile too.

00:17:40.440 But again, that's to their credit.

00:17:42.120 They're just good journalists.

00:17:43.340 They command that respect.

00:17:44.820 But the mob, the censorship mob works in funny ways.

00:17:48.060 I've seen it many times around the world in the US and Canada, in Australia too even.

00:17:52.300 You may think you're brave.

00:17:54.120 Maybe you are.

00:17:54.820 But until you go through a mob, a Twitter mob, a cancel culture mob, you just don't

00:18:00.120 know what it's like and maybe you're not up to it.

00:18:02.780 I don't know.

00:18:04.580 You have to go through it on Twitter.

00:18:07.400 A zillion accounts, many of them anonymous, most of them just the equivalent of photocopies

00:18:12.100 of a master account, start hounding you, surrounding you, chattering at you, claiming to be a customer

00:18:17.640 of yours, claiming that they're going to stop being a customer unless you stop advertising

00:18:21.560 with someone or stop supporting someone or fire someone or stop being friends with someone.

00:18:25.660 And they basically say, either you join with our pitchforks and torches mob and we're going 0.99

00:18:31.000 to kill our target and you join us or you're the target. 0.86

00:18:35.040 Decide quickly because we've got a burning torch here and you've got a grass hut. 0.99

00:18:38.780 It's a kind of blackmail, a kind of shakedown.

00:18:41.680 Join us in the mob or the mob's going to get you.

00:18:44.520 And most woke corporations just capitulate.

00:18:48.180 And it's not even always a decision made by a real decider, like the company president,

00:18:53.720 but rather it's usually some hard left wing millennial social media intern or whatever,

00:18:58.280 or just someone who panics.

00:18:59.960 Look at this.

00:19:00.480 A company called Money Supermarket got some anonymous Twitter tweet by Shazza G8.

00:19:07.220 Who is Shazza G8?

00:19:09.920 Nobody.

00:19:11.020 They just literally set that Twitter account up this month.

00:19:13.280 They have less than 10 followers.

00:19:15.000 It's just a fake account to pester GB News advertisers like this.

00:19:21.980 How long do you plan to advertise on the awful GB News channel?

00:19:25.120 I'm really surprised a company like yours would want to be associated with them in any way.

00:19:29.480 I will be moving my business to another comparison site that isn't happy to fund GB News.

00:19:35.160 Boycott.

00:19:35.800 A comparison site.

00:19:36.900 You don't even know what you're saying, do you?

00:19:38.740 Yeah. 1.00

00:19:39.260 You liar. 0.97

00:19:40.420 You don't have an account with Money Supermarket. 0.96

00:19:42.260 You don't know what Money Supermarket is.

00:19:43.720 You're just a fake robot. 1.00

00:19:45.380 You're a troll. 1.00

00:19:46.320 But look at this. 0.99

00:19:47.820 Thanks for getting in touch.

00:19:49.740 We understand there are strongly held views on both sides when it comes to this topic.

00:19:53.480 Because GB News is such a new channel, we need time to fully understand it.

00:19:57.340 With that in mind, we've decided to pause our ad slots pending a review.

00:20:01.060 That's all it took.

00:20:02.600 That's all it took.

00:20:03.240 So it worked.

00:20:04.340 The boycott worked.

00:20:05.000 It's some fake account with less than 10 followers just set up, anonymous, telling lies.

00:20:10.820 I will go to a different category company.

00:20:13.720 Well, you don't even know what Money Supermarket is.

00:20:16.160 And now you have Money Supermarket, whatever it is, thinking it gets to decide the political

00:20:21.500 commentary on news channels.

00:20:23.780 How about stick to your Money Supermarketing, whatever that is.

00:20:27.920 Ikea was the worst, by the way.

00:20:29.440 But here's a Twitter account with 19 followers.

00:20:33.480 Hey, Ikea UK, as you're advertising on a right-wing news channel, we will not be buying

00:20:38.260 from your website or stores in the near future.

00:20:40.860 Boycott GB News.

00:20:42.100 And Ikea, that Swedish furniture company, they jumped.

00:20:46.540 We are in the process of investigating how this may have occurred to ensure it won't happen

00:20:50.480 again in future and have suspended paid display advertisements in the meantime.

00:20:55.020 Dennis.

00:20:55.900 Hey, thanks, Dennis.

00:20:56.800 And they said this to another person on Twitter.

00:21:01.180 Ikea has not knowingly advertised on GB News.

00:21:03.980 We have safeguards in place to prevent our advertising from appearing on platforms that

00:21:07.720 are not in line with our humanistic values and vision to side with the many people.

00:21:13.580 Dennis, what language is that?

00:21:16.100 You know Ikea's humanistic values, right?

00:21:18.340 You know that Ikea was, you know they were started by a Nazi, right? 0.99

00:21:23.760 Like an actual Nazi. 0.74

00:21:26.800 You could probably tell that, guess that, by how hard it is to assemble the bloody things.

00:21:31.580 I mean, I'm not holding that against the company in 2021. 0.96

00:21:35.040 I have some Ikea stuff, but don't tell me about your humanistic values, you Nazis. 1.00

00:21:40.200 Even today, literally this week, just this week, they were fined a million euros for spying on their own staff. 0.92

00:21:48.740 Super gross.

00:21:49.980 I wonder if they called it the Gestapo system in Ikea. 0.93

00:21:53.360 So gross. 0.56

00:21:54.580 But guys, they're humanists. 0.98

00:21:56.920 And you can tell they're humanists because they've set up stores all across Saudi Arabia where they stone gays to death and they don't let women drive or even go out in public without their man owner. 0.77

00:22:09.000 But they have humanistic values and they would never advertise with GB News.

00:22:13.300 Yeah, humanistic values.

00:22:14.420 But here's what's new.

00:22:16.820 And here's what I'm excited about.

00:22:18.280 And I know that Andrew Neal himself is planning to do a rant on this subject tonight.

00:22:22.200 Maybe I'll show you a clip about it tomorrow.

00:22:25.160 He's fighting back.

00:22:26.500 Look at this exchange with some green energy tycoon that got messed up in this.

00:22:30.500 So in a BBC story, this green energy guy made a bit of a smear.

00:22:35.600 Octopus is the company.

00:22:36.940 Octopus said it would only run ads in the future if the news channel proved, quote, genuinely balanced.

00:22:42.360 Greg Jackson, the company's founder, said it did not advertise on platforms whose primary purpose is the distribution of hate.

00:22:49.940 Well, and this is interesting, there's a little bit of a backlash to that backlash.

00:22:54.920 I hope GB News and Andrew Neal sue people like this guy for slander.

00:23:03.300 Platforms whose primary purpose is the distribution of hate is an outrageously dishonest slur, even if you don't share the political slander of GB News.

00:23:11.680 And he's right, isn't he?

00:23:13.920 I mean, seriously, saying that the primary purpose of this platform, you got 150 people, a huge operator, your primary platform is not to tell the news.

00:23:24.960 It's not to make money.

00:23:26.200 It's to distribute hate.

00:23:27.580 That's your purpose.

00:23:29.200 Who says something so insane?

00:23:32.420 That actually is legally defamatory, isn't it?

00:23:37.420 Well, that woke CEO read that tweet from a critic.

00:23:41.980 And I don't know, maybe he was spooked by how crazy he looked to the world now that he read his own words.

00:23:48.260 Because he seemed to climb down a bit right away on Twitter.

00:23:50.860 He said, some people were saying we shouldn't advertise on platforms with spread hate.

00:23:55.780 We confirmed that we don't.

00:23:57.480 We separately said we want to see GBN output before deciding whether to advertise.

00:24:02.660 Some media reported out of context.

00:24:04.500 And I think that's led to misinterpretation.

00:24:07.780 Yeah, I don't think it was out of context.

00:24:10.500 I think you know exactly what the story was about.

00:24:12.920 And you said what you said.

00:24:14.140 I think you were taking liberties and you realized how insane you sounded.

00:24:20.120 Well, Andrew Neal needs no defending, as you saw with Boris Johnson.

00:24:24.380 He can take on pretty much anyone he likes and come out on top.

00:24:27.420 So this is what he said.

00:24:28.500 He said, maybe you should boycott the media that's reporting you out of context instead of GB News.

00:24:34.280 Have a look at our content.

00:24:35.440 You'll find no hate.

00:24:36.420 Let me know if you want to advertise.

00:24:38.020 And I'll let you know if we want your ads or whether we organize a boycott of you.

00:24:45.000 Isn't that amazing?

00:24:46.980 And that's the thing.

00:24:48.060 Why only play defense?

00:24:49.600 And seriously, you're going to accuse Andrew Neal and his diverse team of being hate mongers? 0.99

00:24:55.540 And by the way, who the hell are you? 0.98

00:24:57.040 Some green lobbyist? 0.55

00:24:59.300 So that green energy guy, I think he's chasing a bit.

00:25:02.340 He wrote back, he said, actually, Andrew, I'm watching your interview with Rishi right now.

00:25:07.180 Currently, the bit about gas boilers.

00:25:09.080 As per my message, we didn't boycott.

00:25:10.960 I wanted to see the channel and am true to my word.

00:25:14.720 Sounds more reasonable.

00:25:17.080 Sounds like a bit of damage control.

00:25:19.620 Here's Andrew Neal.

00:25:21.580 How many other channels have you watched before deciding to advertise?

00:25:24.980 I will be looking at brands to decide if they are fit to advertise with us.

00:25:29.500 I will have something to say about that and more on a special media watch tonight on GB News, 8 p.m.

00:25:34.820 Oh, seriously, do these brands, does IKEA, for example, examine the editorial policy of every news media it advertises?

00:25:42.220 And of course not.

00:25:43.580 But maybe Andrew Neal has something to say about their Nazi past.

00:25:46.700 And his last word on Twitter, here's Andrew Neal.

00:25:48.780 He says,

00:25:50.020 I resent even the thought that a channel of which I was chairman would peddle hate.

00:25:55.200 You should know better.

00:25:56.220 I'll let you know what Andrew Neal says on his show tonight.

00:25:59.400 I'll play a clip of you for tomorrow.

00:26:00.880 By the way, I think the money supermarket guys got scared.

00:26:03.980 Here's what they wrote later.

00:26:05.920 Just to confirm, guys,

00:26:07.680 money supermarket is not boycotting its advertising on GB News.

00:26:11.700 Sorry for any confusion caused.

00:26:13.560 Sorry, guys.

00:26:15.420 And here's what actually a really socially conscious chain called Co-op UK wrote.

00:26:21.060 And I think they do the smartest job of all.

00:26:24.000 You tell me.

00:26:24.740 They said, in response to these hecklers, they said,

00:26:28.760 we have developed a detailed and thoughtful advertising approach,

00:26:32.200 which is driven by three principles.

00:26:34.180 One, we will not seek to affect the editorial independence of publications or channels.

00:26:40.220 That's a great way of putting it.

00:26:42.040 Two, we will not undermine the commercial value of our society for our members.

00:26:47.400 Society, I think that they're talking about the co-op.

00:26:49.860 So they have sort of members.

00:26:51.460 That's their way of saying shareholder value.

00:26:55.040 Three, we will ensure our values and principles are clear and undiminished,

00:26:59.620 regardless of surrounding content.

00:27:03.000 So what does that mean?

00:27:04.800 What means they're not going to try and muscle TV or radio or newspaper stations to change who they are?

00:27:10.120 Good for them.

00:27:10.900 Good for them.

00:27:11.640 They're not censors.

00:27:12.440 Number two, they're not going to make dumb business decisions in the name of being woke.

00:27:16.700 They're not going to stop advertising somewhere because someone heckles them.

00:27:20.560 And finally, they know who they are and they want their members to know who they are.

00:27:24.140 I thought that was refreshing and surprising.

00:27:26.280 I want to watch Andrew Neal's counterattack tonight.

00:27:29.580 He's strong because of a lifetime of credibility and judgment and senior posts in many other media outlets.

00:27:35.720 He's a publisher, editor, presenter.

00:27:37.360 He has high society friends too, rich and powerful friends too.

00:27:40.440 He's not marginalized and he's smart and he's not going to let his new project be killed by some cancel culture mob losers.

00:27:49.360 Let's watch what he does and maybe, like so many things on GB News,

00:27:55.840 maybe he could be a bit of a role model for us over here too.

00:28:01.740 Stay with us.

00:28:02.340 Stay with us.

00:28:32.340 Stay with us.

00:29:02.860 there's new legislation that makes it illegal for people to protest here.

00:29:08.520 I've spoken to a few locals.

00:29:10.020 They say that the protests have been moved on into the city.

00:29:13.940 Tomorrow there is a mass protest in Hong Kong which is organized

00:29:17.960 and they're expecting up to half a million people there.

00:29:21.680 This is just an ordinary night here in Hong Kong

00:29:24.380 and one of many across the city where people are just spontaneously gathering.

00:29:29.760 So what we've got here is you've got hundreds of police in full riot gear

00:29:36.120 looking like they're in formation, getting ready to move on the crowds.

00:29:41.040 And this is crowds of, you know, people literally wearing protective gear.

00:29:49.720 A peaceful protest is what I would call this.

00:29:53.120 Everyone's been pretty nice to us.

00:29:55.920 I haven't seen any violence or intimidation or anything that would require police.

00:30:07.460 This is a state in crisis with no end in sight.

00:30:13.000 Do you see the police? Do you believe that they're a bit over the top?

00:30:17.600 They will beat you up. They will shoot you. 0.99

00:30:19.760 Yeah. Have you guys dealt with a lot of this?

00:30:22.540 We've experienced before.

00:30:23.060 It's unbelievable.

00:30:26.420 Yes, but actually it happened.

00:30:28.740 How do you see this ending? How do you see it playing out?

00:30:32.060 No, ask the government. We have no authority.

00:30:34.660 This is our duty to fight against something like Nazi.

00:30:39.200 If we don't fight here now, we'll lose forever. It's no more Hong Kong.

00:30:44.660 I have to admit, my favorite moment was when he asked this one Chinese fellow in Hong Kong 0.67

00:30:50.240 what his message to Donald Trump was and should Trump trust China. Remember this?

00:30:56.860 China is a evil party. Hong Kong, no more to stand with China. 0.99

00:31:01.960 We need independence.

00:31:03.340 Yes. And what's your message to... Have you seen Donald Trump? Do you think he should step in?

00:31:10.300 Donald Trump, don't trust China. China is an asshole. 1.00

00:31:13.080 That's amazing. Well, it's not safe for Avi to go back to Hong Kong anymore. 1.00

00:31:18.040 It's not even safe for Hong Kong people to speak up.

00:31:21.760 I should tell you that yesterday, Chinese police raided the headquarters of a major pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong

00:31:31.500 called Apple Daily, arresting five executives, including their senior editor,

00:31:38.440 charging them with all sorts of trumped up, you know, undermining of the state and colluding with foreign interests.

00:31:45.700 It's the typical Stalinist language used for arresting democracy activists.

00:31:51.880 It's the same language the Soviet Union used over the years.

00:31:55.180 Joining us now from Melbourne, Australia, is our friend, Avi Amini.

00:31:58.660 Avi, great to see you again. Very bad news for Hong Kong.

00:32:01.500 And so far, not a lot of reaction from the West.

00:32:06.000 I think that is the shocking part, because if you look at, you know,

00:32:10.880 if you've been following Hong Kong closely, you would expect this escalation.

00:32:15.700 You would expect the clamping down of, you know, Apple Daily.

00:32:20.860 To be fair, I don't know how they survived so long.

00:32:24.020 Jimmy Lay, the founder of it, I think it was last month,

00:32:28.100 he was sentenced to 14 months in prison on trumped up charges that I predict will somehow

00:32:34.760 there'll be extra charges added at some point.

00:32:38.240 So I don't think it's a surprise that they've come in like that.

00:32:42.800 The shocking part is that the world before COVID was actually vocal, and it was bipartisan.

00:32:51.620 It was both sides.

00:32:53.420 It seemed to agree on this one issue of China, and everybody was outraged.

00:32:58.120 Everybody was talking about it.

00:32:59.420 And now, it's far worse than it was, like you said in the intro there.

00:33:04.220 Even then, I was able to be there at the front line, where now, if I show up in Hong Kong,

00:33:10.260 I'll definitely be shipped over to mainland China. 0.91

00:33:13.200 So it would be a risk probably not worth doing.

00:33:16.200 Probably better to advocate for Hong Kong outside of there.

00:33:19.400 But back then, I could, and the world was talking about it.

00:33:21.620 Right now, it's unsafe for anyone, including Apple Daily, the brave journalists.

00:33:28.900 And I met a lot of them over there.

00:33:31.020 We did a good relationship with them.

00:33:33.460 They're great people literally standing there in the firing line, just reporting what's happening.

00:33:39.860 And you can see what they're doing to them.

00:33:41.700 But, again, it's the silence from the world right now that's truly shocking in this story.

00:33:47.600 But I can kind of understand why, besides for coronavirus taking the headlines over the last year,

00:33:54.760 it's the fact that we've all become kind of used to that sort of police, CCP-style policing,

00:34:03.280 because that was something that we only saw in mainland China or in Hong Kong during the protests.

00:34:09.640 But, you know, in the last few days, we've seen that even in Australia.

00:34:14.760 We've seen that over the last year.

00:34:16.740 Heck, I've been arrested five times in similar fashion to how those police officers,

00:34:24.160 to the Hong Kong police are treating the journalists there.

00:34:28.620 So even this week in Sydney, there's a, you know, he's a left-wing journalist.

00:34:32.380 But, again, the overreach of the police state once again has taken down somebody who dare criticise them.

00:34:41.160 So I think that there is on both sides, again, this kind of people are used to it.

00:34:48.520 And it's not so shocking anymore.

00:34:50.480 Yeah, we're becoming more like China in terms of authoritarianism and cracking down on free speech.

00:34:56.560 We're becoming more like them.

00:34:57.960 They're not becoming more like us.

00:35:00.820 And the worst thing is, it's just, as you say, it's the new normal.

00:35:04.060 I don't know if Donald Trump was as vigorous with China as he could have been when it came to Hong Kong.

00:35:10.900 But I do know this, that the Chinese government did not do these moves when Trump was in power.

00:35:17.800 It did not dare mass arrest journalists, democracy activists.

00:35:23.200 I don't know if it just wasn't in their timing or if they thought we better not provoke Trump more.

00:35:28.660 I think that Joe Biden's disastrous trip to the G7, to NATO, and his meeting with Putin,

00:35:36.580 where he forgot where he was, where he forgot what he was saying,

00:35:40.460 where he forgot the name of Putin and called him Trump by accident,

00:35:45.000 I think the world immediately got the measure of Joe Biden and thought,

00:35:48.360 OK, good, there's a new sheriff in town and he's sleepy all the time.

00:35:53.740 Just in case you're kidding, you think I'm kidding, here's a clip of Joe Biden calling Vladimir Putin Donald Trump.

00:35:59.960 Take a look.

00:36:00.720 I caught part of President Putin's press conference.

00:36:06.520 Yeah, I don't think China is quite as worried about Donald Trump.

00:36:11.040 Sorry about Joe Biden as they are Donald Trump.

00:36:12.920 I find it very sad.

00:36:15.520 You know, the day is young.

00:36:16.640 I haven't seen Justin Trudeau weigh in on it either.

00:36:19.420 I think that most of the world is just going to shrug.

00:36:23.660 Is there any ally for these folks at Apple Daily?

00:36:27.580 All the folks who railed against Donald Trump being the enemy of the media,

00:36:33.040 are they going to speak out there?

00:36:34.640 Are there any allies to these folks?

00:36:36.600 Ezra, is there someone that with a straight face can say anything anymore?

00:36:40.360 That's the thing.

00:36:41.540 Like, which government can turn around and criticize China for arresting journalists in 2021?

00:36:48.300 Name one.

00:36:49.180 Yeah.

00:36:49.640 Well, it's funny because I was watching an interview the BBC had with,

00:36:53.660 I think it was the president of Azerbaijan,

00:36:55.960 who asked him about repression of journalism.

00:37:00.380 And he replied by asking about Julian Assange.

00:37:03.660 Here's a quick clip of that.

00:37:05.460 Internet is free.

00:37:06.580 There is no censorship and there are 80% of internet users.

00:37:11.260 We have millions of people on Facebook.

00:37:13.040 How can you say that we don't have free media?

00:37:15.280 This is, again, a biased approach.

00:37:18.460 This is an attempt to create a perception in Western audience about Azerbaijan.

00:37:24.000 We have opposition.

00:37:25.160 We have NGOs.

00:37:26.480 We have free political activity.

00:37:28.880 We have free media.

00:37:29.800 We have freedom of speech.

00:37:32.840 But if you raise this question, can I ask you also one?

00:37:36.440 How do you assess what happened to Mr. Assange?

00:37:41.560 Is it a reflection of free media in your country?

00:37:44.660 We're not here to discuss my country.

00:37:46.920 Let's discuss, let's discuss.

00:37:48.280 No, no, President Ali.

00:37:49.240 In order to accuse me, saying that Armenians will not have free media here,

00:37:54.560 let's talk about Assange.

00:37:56.360 How many years, sorry, how many years he spent in Ecuadorian embassy?

00:38:00.500 And for what?

00:38:01.540 And where is he now?

00:38:02.860 For journalistic activity.

00:38:04.880 You kept that person hostage, 0.56

00:38:06.680 actually killing him, morally and physically.

00:38:11.100 You did it, not us. 0.92

00:38:12.720 And now he's in prison.

00:38:14.000 So you have no moral right to talk about free media when you do these things.

00:38:18.240 Yeah, so if, you know, what are you going to say?

00:38:20.440 Is Justin Trudeau going to criticize this when he's putting through his censorship bill in Parliament?

00:38:26.040 Joe Biden, I mean, I don't think he's arresting journalists yet,

00:38:29.420 but I just think you're right.

00:38:31.320 We've lost our moral authority on free speech in the West

00:38:33.920 and don't think our enemies won't throw it back at us.

00:38:36.340 Last word to you, Avi.

00:38:37.780 Do you think that Hong Kong is going to continue to slide down this slippery slope?

00:38:45.800 We're on it now.

00:38:46.720 We're on this.

00:38:47.260 It's a cliff.

00:38:47.980 It's not even a slope.

00:38:49.400 Do you think there will come a time soon

00:38:53.440 when you see an exodus of anyone who wants to hold on to their political and journalistic liberties?

00:39:01.220 I mean, I'm sure the bankers will stay.

00:39:03.640 They'll find a way to stay and make money.

00:39:05.420 But do you think you'll see an exodus of the intellectual class, of the democratic class from Hong Kong?

00:39:12.200 I think so now.

00:39:14.080 I remember when I was there, I was inspired by their grit and their willingness to fight.

00:39:19.660 But I also remember that there was a sense of an ally in Trump.

00:39:24.680 I don't think Hong Kong has maybe agreed with a lot of Trump's rhetoric,

00:39:29.540 but when it came to his stance on China and the way he spoke to China on that specific issue,

00:39:37.680 it empowered him.

00:39:39.460 And there was this kind of sense when you walked around, you know, we're never giving up and the world is with us.

00:39:45.900 And I think, you know, I'm just guessing from looking from a distance now,

00:39:51.580 I think that that feeling must be gone on the street now.

00:39:54.960 It cannot be the same because they see that the world – I think the world empowered him.

00:40:01.760 Trump empowered him.

00:40:02.680 And I just don't see – you know, I'm feeling depressed for them here watching nobody talk about it.

00:40:12.640 So I can just imagine how they are there.

00:40:14.780 So, yeah, sadly, I do think there is going to be an exodus.

00:40:17.100 And I think people are going to – they're losing that fight that I, a year and a half ago,

00:40:23.240 didn't think that they were going to lose just from the way they were so passionate and willing to stand and fight.

00:40:31.660 But I think that fight is – I can't see it going on because China is going to escalate and it's going to get worse and worse.

00:40:37.940 Yeah.

00:40:38.640 If you use Mahatma Gandhi's passive resistance, that only works when you're up against the British Empire

00:40:46.960 or, you know, a liberal-minded, rule-of-law-oriented occupier with a conscience.

00:40:55.880 It doesn't work against Xi Jinping or Stalin or Hitler. 0.99

00:40:59.500 If you say, make love, not war, they'll kill you and throw your body on the pile.

00:41:04.780 It only works when you're up against noble opponents like the Brits. 0.99

00:41:09.660 What a shame.

00:41:10.560 I remember you interviewed one fellow who said he sort of longed for the days of being a British colony.

00:41:18.120 Remember this?

00:41:18.640 Here's a clip.

00:41:19.060 We want the British government to come back and rule us again.

00:41:22.520 We don't want the Chinese government to rule us anymore. 0.99

00:41:26.020 You want the British to come back? 1.00

00:41:27.660 Yes, of course. 0.98

00:41:29.260 The Chinese government is terrible.

00:41:31.340 What's your message to people who call the old British government a colonial power that used to abuse the entire world?

00:41:40.480 No.

00:41:41.420 Simply we just want the British government to come back and rule us again.

00:41:45.400 Is that simple?

00:41:46.480 Okay.

00:41:47.220 So you think the British did well? 0.93

00:41:49.040 The British government did very well.

00:41:51.260 Yeah, I bet a lot of folks do.

00:41:53.060 Well, I find it very sad in how things turn in 18 months to move from a democracy protest in Hong Kong.

00:41:59.720 From an inspiring democracy protest.

00:42:02.360 A democracy protest that we could have all learned from.

00:42:05.200 Yeah.

00:42:05.500 And it's a shame.

00:42:06.320 Yeah, and now they threw the Wuhan virus at us and we're reeling.

00:42:10.900 Avi, great to talk to you.

00:42:11.760 Keep up the freedom work in Australia.

00:42:13.140 Thanks, Mike.

00:42:15.100 Thanks for having me.

00:42:15.800 All right.

00:42:16.240 There you have it.

00:42:16.800 Avi Amini, Chief Political Correspondent, Chief Everything Correspondent for Rebel News in Australia.

00:42:22.300 Stay with us.

00:42:22.800 More ahead.

00:42:23.140 Hey, welcome back.

00:42:35.180 On my show last night, Kirk writes,

00:42:37.160 The last CBC employees to criticize the liberal government were Johnny Wayne and Frank Schuster.

00:42:41.340 Yeah, you know what?

00:42:42.260 That gives me a childhood memory.

00:42:43.960 I remember those two.

00:42:45.520 Bruce writes,

00:42:46.140 It's amazing you wrote this email to us before we interviewed Avi Amini today, who told us the similarities between the Western world and his experience in China.

00:43:15.340 And Hong Kong, just incredible.

00:43:17.560 I am afraid that we are not out of this authoritarian trap yet.

00:43:21.700 I think that parts of America are, but not all parts.

00:43:24.620 And I think very few parts of Canada are.

00:43:26.720 And I think that they all intend to come up with a new variant of concern in September.

00:43:32.180 That's my horrible premonition.

00:43:34.020 I hope I'm wrong.

00:43:35.100 Anyways, that's our show for today.

00:43:36.300 Until tomorrow, on behalf of all of us here at Rebel World Headquarters, to you at home, good night and keep fighting for freedom.

00:43:41.680 We'll be right back.

Rebel News Podcast - June 18, 2021

EZRA LEVANT ｜ Leftists try to cancel a brand new news channel even before it launches. But they’re fighting back!

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