Farage reflects on BBC Question Time clash with Russell Brand
Piers Morgan has slammed “the British Government” after the chair of Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee wrote to a number of social media platforms asking them to confirm whether Russell Brand was still able to monetise his content on their platforms. Dame Caroline Dinenage DBE went on to ask whether they”intend to join YouTube in suspending Mr Brand’s ability to earn money on the platform”.
Dinenage, who is a Conservative MP for Gosport and Minister of State for Digital and Culture, is understood to have sent the letter to video platforms Rumble and TikTok. Rumble responded by sharing the letter on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said it was “deeply inappropriate and dangerous that the UK Parliament would attempt to control who is allowed to speak on our platform or to earn a living from doing so”.
It went on to say: “Although it may be politically and socially easier for Rumble to join a cancel culture mob, doing so would be a violation of our company’s values and mission. We emphatically reject the UK Parliament’s demands.”
Brand has denied all of the allegations being made against him, suggested it is a”co-ordinated attack” – and asked”is there another agenda at play?”. Brand has, in recent years become a political activist with a large social media platform that he uses to voice alternative viewpoints.
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Piers Morgan also slammed the move. On X, he said: “The British government writing to tech firms demanding they financially punish and cancel Russell Brand before he’s been through due legal process over the allegations against him is a very disturbing Orwellian development.”
Technically, the letter has not come from the Government, but was sent by Dinenage acting in her capacity as the chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Nonetheless, the letter has been condemned by many on social media.
In her letter to Rumble’s CEO, Dinanage wrote: “Dear Chris, I am writing concerning the serious allegations regarding Russell Brand, in the context of his being a content provider on Rumble with more than 1.4 million followers.
“The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is raising questions with the broadcasters and production companies who previously employed Mr Brand to examine both the culture of the industry in the past and whether that culture still prevails today.
However, we are also looking at his use of social media, including on Rumble where he issued his pre-emptive response to the accusations made against him by The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.
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“While we recognise that Rumble is not the creator of the content published by Mr Brand, we are concerned that he may be able to profit from his content on the platform.
“We would be grateful if you could confirm whether Mr Brand is able to monetise his content, including his videos relating to the serious accusations against him. If so, we would like to know whether Rumble intends to join YouTube in suspending Mr Brand’s ability to earn money on the platform.
“We would also like to know what Rumble is doing to ensure that creators are not able to use the platform to undermine the welfare of victims of inappropriate and potentially illegal behaviour.”
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Rumble’s CEO responded with the following statement on X: “Today we received an extremely disturbing letter from a committee chair in the UK Parliament. While Rumble obviously deplores sexual assault, rape, and all serious crimes, and believes that both alleged victims and the accused are entitled to a full and serious investigation, it is vital to note that recent allegations against Russell Brand have nothing to do with content on Rumble’s platform.
“Just yesterday, YouTube announced that, based solely on these media accusations, it was barring Mr Brand from monetizing his video content. Rumble stands for very different values. We have devoted ourselves to the vital cause of defending a free internet – meaning an internet where no one arbitrarily dictates which ideas can or cannot be heard, or which citizens may or may not be entitled to a platform.
“We regard it as deeply inappropriate and dangerous that the UK Parliament would attempt to control who is allowed to speak on our platform or to earn a living from doing so. Singling out an individual and demanding his ban is even more disturbing given the absence of any connection between the allegations and his content on Rumble.
“We don’t agree with the behavior of many Rumble creators, but we refuse to penalize them for actions that have nothing to do with our platform. Although it may be politically and socially easier for Rumble to join a cancel culture mob, doing so would be a violation of our company’s values and mission. We emphatically reject the UK Parliament’s demands.”
X CEO Elon Musk congratulated Rumble on its response, commenting: “Good for you”.
Lawrence Fox, leader of The Reclaim Party, has demanded that Dinenage resign. In video statement shared on X, he said: “The foundations of modern liberal democracy and civilisation itself depend on the presumption of innocence. This core tenant of modern life means that we have seen an end to the dark days fo summary lynchings, vigilantism, anarchism and mob rule.
“Therefore, the behaviour of many in the media – but most concerning within Government itself – over the recent allegations against Russell Brand are all the more concerning and should be a cause of deep concern for us all. Britain, once known for its pride in the defense of free speech, where ideas openly debated led to the best decisions being made, is finished.”
Dinenage, whose husband Major General John Mark Lancaster was Deputy Commander of 77th Brigade – a British Army Unit that combats ‘new forms of warfare in the information environment’ – until 2020, is yet to publically comment on the criticism,
GB News reports that not all members of the Culture, Media & Sport Committee were supportive of the letters. Its source reportedly said: “We know at least one committee member is not comfortable with the language used before Mr Brand has been found guilty of any crime.”
UKIP MEP candidate Carl Benjamin said: “Caroline Dinenage has violated one of the few clauses of the Magna Carta which are still in effect, that an Englishman’s property may not be arbitrarily seized or stripped from him without the lawful judgement of his peers. She must resign or be fired immediately.”
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