Watch the video stream of Brexit The Outsiders - The Empire's New Clothes]]>With representatives from France, Germany, Italy and Ireland, Ian Dunt will be chairing a panel to leave this shores and look at the UK’s messy breakup with the European Union from beyond our borders – and find out what our neighbours really think of Britain in these turbulent times.
Chair:
Ian Dunt is editor of politics.co.uk. He specialises in issues around immigration, civil liberties, democracy, free speech and social justice and appears regularly on the BBC, Sky and Al-Jazeera as well as a variety of radio stations. He also writes lifestyle columns for other publications and websites.
Speakers:
Stefanie Bolzen is the UK and Ireland Correspondent for German WELT and Sunday edition WELT am Sonntag. Since 2016, a lot of her reporting has focused on Brexit and its economic implications for the European Union. Until 2013, she worked as WELT’s Europe Correspondent in Brussels, covering EU and NATO affairs. Previously, she was a foreign news reporter and editor for Die Welt in Berlin covering issues including EU enlargement, the Balkan conflicts, and energy policy.
Antonello Guerrera is UK & Ireland Correspondent for La Repubblica, a leading Italian newspaper and the most read news website in Italy. He works at La Repubblica since 2012: before becoming Ireland and UK Correspondent, he was journalist on the foreign desk. During his career, he has reported from the United States, England, Ireland, continental Europe, Chile and South Africa, covering everything from the 2017 Manchester attack to the funerals of Winnie Mandela. Before joining La Repubblica, he held positions at Il Post, Internazionale, Il Riformista and La Gazzetta dello Sport, the leading sport newspaper in Italy.
Marion Van Renterghem is a multi-award winning French reporter, very much focused on European countries. Now a free-lance journalist and an author, she worked at the daily Le Monde for some 30 years. She just finished a book on the rise of populism in Europe, to be out on May 6 in France. Her latest book, a profile of Angela Merkel, has won one of the Simone Veil Awards (dedicated to the memory of the former French minister and President of the European Parliament).
photograph courtesy of T Smith, Flickr, via Creative Commons.
Watch the video stream of Brexit The Outsiders – The Empire’s New Clothes
A Byline Event – join us for a screening of a unique film which explores the role of Cambridge Analytica in the Brexit vote and election of Donald Trump, followed by an update on recent developments with the pioneering Observer journalist Carole Cadwalladr, since her story broke two months ago. We are also joined by director Thomas Huchon and CEO of Byline Peter Jukes.
Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States by winning three key states, a victory engineered by an ultra-conservative faction that quietly mapped its way to power using fake news, lies and psychometrics.
This explosive documentary follows the money to the reclusive multi-billionaire Robert Mercer, who bought Breitbart News and funded the effort while inserting Steve Bannon into the presidential campaign as its manager. Using data of millions of Americans acquired from Facebook, Google, banks, credit companies, social security and more, Cambridge Analytica, another Mercer-owned company, used tactics honed during the UK’s Brexit campaign to identify voters deemed “most neurotic or worried,” whom they believed could swing for Trump. In the days before the election, using “dark posts,” a little-known Facebook feature, they deployed highly manipulative and personalized messages that could be seen only by the user before disappearing.
In the darkness of the web, democracy was trumped by data.
As this is a third party event, tickets available through EventBrite
Run Time: 1 hr 15 mins
]]>In the last 48 hours, Shahmir Sanni, a whistleblower working for Vote Leave/BeLeave has come forward with material evidence pointing to foul play.
The whistleblower evidence suggests senior Vote Leave staff members – including some now working in No.10 – may have broken campaign coordination rules and overspent to the tune of up to £1 million, on top of their already £7 million limit. That extra money could have bought billions of extra online adverts in the final days of the election. With a result so close, any such cheating could have made the difference.
Shahmir Sanni, will be speaking with Chris Wylie, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, and Byline’s Peter Jukes on Monday, at 8pm at the Frontline Club. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/2pDpVBk
In 2013, 23-year old CHRIS WYLIE, a Canadian analytics guru who had worked on the Obama campaign, was recruited as head of research for SCL Ltd. Within months he met Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer to set up Cambridge Analytica – an election machine designed to win the 2016 US Presidential elections, using Brexit as its ‘petri dish’ The award-winning Observer journalist, CAROLE CADWALLADR persuaded Chris to come forward as the key whistleblower last year.
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In 2013, 23-year old CHRIS WYLIE, a Canadian data scientist who had worked on the Obama campaign, was recruited as head of research for SCL Ltd, a contractor developing military ‘information operations’ for the US and UK. Within months he met Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer to set up Cambridge Analytica – a ‘propaganda machine’ designed to win the 2016 US Presidential elections, using Brexit as its ‘petri dish’. The tools of cyber warfare were now turned on the countries that developed them.
The award-winning Observer journalist, CAROLE CADWALLADR persuaded Chris to come forward as the key whistleblower last year.
Chris will be in conversation with Byline’s PETER JUKES to discuss the story behind the story of one of the biggest political scandals of this century.
Tickets are sold out for tonight’s event, for those who missed it, watch our Facebook live stream here: https://www.facebook.com/FrontlineClub/
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Chris Wylie is coming tonight to disclose the inner workings of Cambridge Analytica and its massive data breach of 50 million Facebook accounts to manipulate public opinion.
In 2013, 23-year old CHRIS WYLIE, a Canadian analytics guru who had worked on the Obama campaign, was recruited as head of research for SCL Ltd. Within months he met Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer to set up Cambridge Analytica – an election machine designed to win the 2016 US Presidential elections, using Brexit as its ‘petri dish’
The award-winning Observer journalist, CAROLE CADWALLADR persuaded Chris to come forward as the key whistleblower last year. In conversation with Byline’s PETER JUKES both will discuss the story behind one of the biggest political scandals of this century.
Buy your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-most-important-whistleblower-since-snowden-the-mind-behind-cambridge-analytica-tickets-44257837383
]]>Is truth stranger than fiction? Kompromat was originally conceived as a counter-factual, satirical work of fiction. However, in light of recent events, has Stanley in fact, pinpointed some of the glaring truths behind 2 of the biggest political earthquakes in recent history?
Kompromat explores, in a light-hearted way, the increasingly plausible possibility of Russian involvement in both the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election as the 45th President of the United States.
Link to book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kompromat-Stanley-Johnson/dp/1786074141
Stanley Johnson
Stanley Johnson is a former MEP, environmental campaigner, journalist and author of twenty-five books. Stanley won the Newdigate Prize for Poetry and has awards from Greenpeace and the RSPCA. He recently received the RSPB Medal as well as the WWF’s Leader of the Living Planet Award, both awarded for services in conservation. In the run-up to the EU Referendum 2016, he founded and co-chaired Environmentalists for Europe. Stanley Johnson recently starred in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! He was one of the first presenters of More 4’s The Last Word, and has appeared on Have I Got News For You, The One Show, Pointless and the Fake News Programme.
Rachel Johnson
Rachel Johnson is a journalist, author and television presenter. Rachel is an author of seven books as well as currently a columnist for The Mail on Sunday. Over her career she has worked for the BBC, The Financial Times, The Evening Standard and several other publications. In 2014 Rachel was a judge on the BBC Woman’s Hour Power List. She sits on the boards of Bright Blue, the modernising Tory think-tank, and Intelligence Squared.
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The Serious Fraud Office has had a big year. In January, its investigation into corruption at Rolls-Royce – which lasted four years, involving 30 million documents — led to a landmark deferred prosecution agreement and the largest fine ever imposed on a UK company for criminal conduct. In March, it reached another substantial DPA, with Tesco Stores Ltd, and in June it charged Barclays and some of its former senior executives with fraud offences. It has probes ongoing into Airbus, Rio Tinto, and other household names.
The fines add up. Since April 2014, the SFO has cost the taxpayer £216 million, but earned the Treasury £676 million – a return of £1million for every employee.
Then came the general election, at which the Conservative Party’s manifesto promised to “incorporate” the SFO into the National Crime Agency – widely taken to involve stripping the SFO of its independence. Although that promise did not make it into the Queen’s Speech, thanks to Theresa May failing to win a majority, the future of the SFO is not resolved. This is therefore a time of both success, and uncertainty.
At the Frontline Club’s seventh kleptoscope, hosted as usual by journalist Oliver Bullough, SFO director David Green will talk about how the SFO works, and what might lie ahead for the investigation of fraud and corruption in the UK post-Brexit. He will be joined by Camilla de Silva, who led a key strand of the SFO’s investigation into Rolls-Royce and was recently rewarded with the Bar Council’s Award of Employed Barrister of the Year, for what promises to be a fascinating evening even by kleptoscope’s standards.
]]>EU-27 governments and the Brussels institutions have been tough on the bloc’s negotiating position and are now waiting to hear what the UK wants. Meanwhile official reaction on the continent to the high court’s ruling on article 50 has been quiet, with national governments regarding the decision as an internal matter.
We will be joined by EU correspondents and European journalists to discuss European reactions to Brexit negotiations and explore how UK press coverage matches up to sentiments on the continent.
Chaired by Simon Wilson, Editor, BBC Europe Bureau
Speakers (full panel announced soon)
Matthew Holehouse is a journalist covering Brexit for MLex, the news agency specializing in global regulatory risk. He was previously Brussels Correspondent and Political Correspondent at the Daily Telegraph.
Joris Luyendijk is a Dutch journalist and author of Swimming with Sharks: My Journey Into the World of the Bankers. He used to write the Guardian‘s Banking Blog, which looked at the world of finance from an anthropological perspective.
Alex Barker is Brussels Bureau Chief for the Financial Times
Sonia Stolper is UK and Ireland Correspondent for Libération.
]]>How have cuts within the industry, the decline of newspapers and the turn to online news impacted the quality of reporting? What role have the news and social media played in recent political events? And how can journalism maintain its integrity in a time when unverified information circulates on social media under the guise of ‘news’?
Readers across the political spectrum are calling for new standards of accuracy and impartiality. In a new series of exclusive talks hosted by journalist Roy Greenslade, we are bringing together today’s leading news editors to discuss editorial policies and press freedom in an era of polarising politics.
Speakers:
Roy Greenslade is one of Britain’s foremost media teachers. He is a leading commentator and columnist on the media, and currently blogs for The Guardian. As a journalist he rose to the highest levels of management in a career taking in The Sun, the Sunday Times, and culminating in the editorship of the Daily Mirror.
Emma Tucker is Deputy Editor of The Times. Emma joined The Times from the Financial Times where she started her career as a graduate trainee eventually becoming Editor of the Weekend FT. During her career with the FT, Emma spent four years as UK Economics Reporter before moving to Brussels in order to cover the European Union.
]]>This special two-part series explores the interwoven history of the European project and the far right in postwar Europe – both East and West. Beginning with the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community from the ashes of World War II, we chart the trajectory of European integration, in tandem with the story of the European far right, recounting the series of shifts that have led to today’s critical juncture: a post-Brexit EU and a stark rise in support for far right parties across Europe.
We also trace the way in which far right politics has increasingly crept into the mainstream, setting the political agenda on issues such as the EU and immigration. Combining documentary storytelling with panel discussion, the series comprises both historical interpretation and incisive analysis on the history and future of Europe.
Runtime: 48′
Produced by: Al Jazeera English
Laurence Lee joined Al Jazeera in 2007 as Delhi correspondent and has also worked as Europe correspondent for the channel. A lifelong reporter, he began his career at the BBC before moving to Sky News. Laurence has reported from more than 40 countries around the world, covering the second Palestinian intifada and the Iraq war. He spent several years in Moscow covering Russia and the former Soviet bloc. Laurence’s work has won several RTS awards in the UK and he won the ‘Golden Verb’ prize for international correspondents in Moscow.
Sanjiev Johal first joined Al Jazeera in 2008 and has worked on projects covering current affairs and global geopolitics across various formats. He is part of a team currently working on special projects including an exploration of post-World War Two US political history.
