@patricksudlow

Lest we forget: “The Guardian had gone in six short years from being the natural outlet to place stories exposing wrongdoing by the security state to a platform trusted by the security state to amplify its information operations”

in “How the UK Security Services neutralised the country’s leading liberal newspaper”

By Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis in The Daily Maverick (2019)

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-09-11-how-the-uk-security-services-neutralised-the-countrys-leading-liberal-newspaper/

#Press #UK #Guardian #SecurityServices #Neutralised #Snowden #DSMA #DNotice

“Files expose Britain’s secret #DNotice #censorship #regime”

by Kit Klarenberg and William Evans in The Grayzone

@uk_politics
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews

“Documents [..] reveal how British soldiers and spies censor news reporting on ‘national security,’ [..]. The files show the [#DSMA] Committee boasting of a ‘90% + success rate’ in enforcing the official British line on any controversial story – or disappearing reports entirely”

https://thegrayzone.com/2025/11/30/files-expose-britains-secret-d-notice-censorship-regime/

#Press #UK #Censorship #Australia

"A new trove of documents obtained by The Grayzone through freedom of information (FOI) requests provide unprecedented insight into Britain’s little-known military and intelligence censorship board. The contents lay bare how the secretive Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee censors the output of British journalists, while categorizing independent media as “extremist” for publishing “embarrassing” stories. The body imposes what are known as D-Notices, gag-orders systematically suppressing information available to the public.

The files provide the clearest view to date of the inner workings of the opaque committee, exposing which news items the British national security state has sought to shape or keep from public view. These include the bizarre 2010 death of a GCHQ codebreaker, MI6 and British special forces activity in the Middle East and Africa, the sexual abuse of children by government officials, and the death of Princess Diana.

The files show the shadowy Committee maintains an iron grip over the output of legacy British media outlets, transforming British journalists to royal court stenographers. With the Committee having firmly imposed themselves on the editorial process, a wide range of reporters have submitted “apologies” to the board for their media offenses, flaunting their subservience in order to maintain their standing within British mainstream media.

In addition, the documents also show the Committee’s intentions to extend the D-Notice system to social media, stating its desire to engage with “tech giants” in a push to suppress revealing disclosures on platforms like Meta and Twitter/X."

https://thegrayzone.com/2025/11/30/files-expose-britains-secret-d-notice-censorship-regime/

#UK #Censorship #DNotice #DSMA #News #Journalism #PressFreedom #SocialMedia