Don’t Menshn Hacked Off

A lie, as the saying goes, is halfway round the world before the truth has got its socks on, and despite the intervention by the serially tenacious Tim Ireland of Bloggerheads, showing that some bloggers never lose their Mojo, confirming that Alex Wickham, newly anointed teaboy to the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines at the Guido Fawkes blog, had told a pack of lies about Wednesday’s Hacked Off event, others still believe the spin.

(c) Doc Hackenbush 2014

And halfway around the world, or at least in a reassuringly exclusive part of Mantattan, the less than totally honest creativity of the Fawkes rabble was eagerly embraced as the unvarnished truth. Yes, (thankfully) former Tory MP Louise Mensch was ecstatic at hearing the news served up in exactly the style that she wanted, the kind of thing that would put anyone with brain engaged on their guard.

You’ll love this: “Hacked Off in Parliament. Compare journalists to murderers. Journalist tweets it. They demand he stands up. Then they drown him out”. That comparison was not made, no demand was made, nobody was drowned out, and he isn’t a journalist. Have another go. “If you want to understand the truly sinister nature of #HackedOff's attempt to muzzle UK free press” and citing the Fawkes blog. As a single source.

Whatever next? “Cleese compares journalists to murderers, whereupon #HackedOff tries to silence the journalist truthfully tweeting it, yes?” Er, no. At no time was Wickham prevented from Tweeting. Then she had a go at James Doleman, who is a real journalist: “he doesn't need ‘clarification’, reporting what Cleese  said and doing so accurately - journo not your  PR”. Doleman is the journo. Wickham isn’t.

How about some blatant hypocrisy? “It’s actually hilarious that a zillionaire like John Cleese would compare free press to murderers #HackedOff stop journalists tweeting it”. He still wasn’t stopped from Tweeting, and if John Cleese is a “zillionaire”, where does that leave Peter Mensch? “Press Association reports [Hacked Off] try to silence journalist reporting John Cleese comparison to murderers”. They didn’t, and he didn’t.

But there’s more: “#HackedOff give a practical demonstration, in Parliament, of how they wish to censor a free press”. Nobody was censored, and nobody wants to censor the press. Oh look, now it’s Harriet Harman getting sneered at: “[Harriet Harman] at #HackedOff ‘journos are murderers’ event? Can't think why she'd want control of press”. She doesn’t, and note the “comparison” has been reinvented as actual fact.

Not doing very well here, is she? “Fair to say that Hacked Off have Mucked Up” she trilled, citing the HuffPost UK. But we know what was said, and it wasn’t that. So all she had was mutual congratulation: “You know Harry, it's funny thought [Peter Jukes] was all for Twitter-based journalism? Apparently not, eh?” she told the odious flannelled fool Henry Cole. But Peter Jukes also did not dissent from Wickham’s right to Tweet what he wanted.

I can’t wait for Ms Mensch’s next Sun column. Nor can Hacked Off’s lawyers. Allegedly.