In what seems an awful lot like the classic magician’s trick where you direct the audience’s attention to one hand so you won’t see what’s happening with the other hand, Russell Brand hopped on Rumble—his new video-hosting platform after YouTube demonetized his channel—for a new episode of his daily show Stay Free and revealed that “apparently independent” news organizations are secretly “collaborating” or “conspiring to control global news narratives in some of the most important stories in the world.” Gasp! Surely that is way worse than anything else that might be going on with anyone right now!
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Deadline notes that Brand is referring to the Trusted News Initiative, a predictably controversial (in a stupid way) partnership started by the BBC that encourages other media organizations and tech companies—including AP, Google/Youtube, Meta, Microsoft, and something called “Twitter”—to “tackle challenges of disinformation.” Some guy on Fox News called it the “woke media Avengers” and said that their powers include “shilling for Democrats and silencing opposition.” (Sounds kinda cool, ngl.)
But here we are doing exactly what Brand wanted, so let’s get back on topic: He’s bringing this evil collaboration up in the wake of the multiple sexual assault allegations that have come out about him recently, and he seems to be implying that this Trusted News Initiative is to blame for running a conspiracy that is working against him in one way or another.
Deadline says he did not specifically address the allegations in this video, beyond a reference to the “events of last week,” but he did thank his viewers for questioning the information they’ve heard and pointed out the Trusted News Initiative as a reason why they should continue to do that—as if some of the biggest and most powerful organizations in the world, with infinite resources at their disposal, having nothing better to do than this.