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(US) BBC says democrats want big government (beehaw.org)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by debanqued@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

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BBC World Service was covering the US elections and gave a brief blurb to inform non-US listeners on the basic differences between republicans and democrats. They essentially said something like:

Democrats prefer a big government with a tax-and-spend culture while republicans favor minimal governance with running on a lean budget, less spending¹

That’s technically accurate enough but it seemed to reflect a right-wing bias that seems inconsistent with BBC World Service. I wouldn’t be listening to BBC if they were anything like Fox News (read: faux news). The BBC could have just as well phrased it this way:

“Democrats prefer a government that is financed well enough to ensure protection of human rights…”

It’s the same narrative but expressed with dignity. When they are speaking on behalf of a political party it’s an attack on their dignity and character to fixate on a side-effect rather than the goal and intent. A big tax-and-spend gov is not a goal of dems, it’s a means to achieve protection of human rights. It’s a means that has no effective alternative.

① Paraphrasing from what I heard over the air -- it’s not an exact quote

#BBC #BBCWorldService

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[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 50 points 9 months ago

It's not accurate, technically or otherwise. It's how Republicans, and only Republicans, describe the difference between the parties, and as usual it's a lie. I'd like to know why BBC is airing Republican propaganda as if it's a factual description of anything.