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British Broadcasting Corporation

2026-04-12T05:00:30Z

157.143.11.177: Added information about disinformation along with examples + sources

[[File:BBC logo.png|thumb|Logo]]
The '''British Broadcasting Corporation''' ('''BBC''') is a [[United Kingdom|British]] state media outlet.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/aboutbbcnews/spl/hi/history/html/default.stm</ref> British intelligence agencies such as [[MI5]] investigate the majority of BBC staff to prevent [[Left-wing politics|leftists]] or [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialists]] from entering the BBC.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|author=[[Alan MacLeod]]|newspaper=[[MintPress News]]|title=The BBC-to-NATO Pipeline: How the British State Broadcaster Serves the Powerful|date=2022-10-06|url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/bbc-nato-pipeline-british-state-broadcaster-serves-powerful/282156/|retrieved=2022-10-06}}</ref> Considering Britain's role in global [[capitalism]] and [[imperialism]], their public broadcast service tends to support imperial wars and demonize the anti-colonial struggles of the periphery.

The BBC tends to, according to conservative commentators, have a "[[Liberalism|liberal]]" and "center-left" bias,<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/10/bbc-review-liberal-bias</ref> much in the same way that [[Fox News Channel|Fox]] viewers would describe America's public broadcasting service, [[PBS]], even though its former head of political programming, Robbie Gibb, was a supporter of the [[Conservative and Unionist Party|Conservative Party]].<ref name=":0" /> However, when it comes to questions of imperial wars and [[anti-communism]], the "liberal media" in the Western world tends to closely align with their corresponding right-wing media outlets.

== Controversies ==

=== Disinformation ===
The BBC has a documented history of spreading pro-[[Western]] propaganda and disinformation.

In a 2021 video depicting the recovery of Wuhan from the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the BBC deliberately edited footage from the city with a color filter, giving it a grayish and smog-like appearance. The use of the "underworld filter" resulted in widespread redicule from citizens online.<ref name=":2">{{Web citation|author=Fan Anqi, Cui Fandi|newspaper=Global Times|title=BBC sparks uproar in China for 'underworld filter' on Wuhan video|date=2021-02-17|url=https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202102/1215710.shtml|retrieved=2026-04-12}}</ref>

In another video from the same year, the BBC edited footage from foreign vloggers in China using the same "underworld filter" again. One vlogger, Jason Lightfoot, made a response video presenting his original footage and the edited version from the BBC side-by-side. Lightfoot mocked the BBC's lack of journalistic integrity, noting its involvement in spreading false claims about weapons of mass destruction prior to the [[2003 Invasion of Iraq]].<ref>{{Video citation|url=https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1C54y1n7wR/?spm_id_from=333.1387.upload.video_card.click|channel=Mr有意思 (Jason Lightfoot)|title=英国博主：我再次登上英国主流媒体！这次是毫无底线的BBC新闻|date=2021-07-17}}</ref>

The dissemination of disinformation by the BBC, as well as the British government ban on [[CGTN]], contributed to [[People's Republic of China|China]]'s decision to ban the BBC.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{News citation|author=Maitreya Bhakal|newspaper=[[Mango Press]]|title=Why China Finally Banned the BBC, a Racist British Propaganda Outlet|date=2021-09-03|url=https://www.mango-press.com/why-china-finally-banned-the-bbc-a-racist-british-propaganda-outlet/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604203011/https://www.mango-press.com/why-china-finally-banned-the-bbc-a-racist-british-propaganda-outlet/|archive-date=2022-06-04|retrieved=2022-06-27}}</ref>

=== NATO connections ===
BBC producer Victoria Cook was funded by [[NATO]] from 2007 to 2008. Former BBC correspondents Oana Lungescu and Mark Laity and producer David McGee left the BBC to work for NATO. BBC information security specialist Terence Sach was previously a security analyst for the British military. Technical consultant Bojan Lazic worked as a psychological operations specialist for NATO during the bombing of [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2006)|Yugoslavia]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Right-wing Bias ===
In 2023, BBC refused to broadcast an episode of a nature documentary featuring Sir David Attenborough, fearing a "right-wing backlash" over "its themes of the destruction of nature”.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Helena Horton|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|title=BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of ‘rightwing backlash’|date=2023-03-11|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/10/david-attenborough-bbc-wild-isles-episode-rightwing-backlash-fears|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311120518/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/10/david-attenborough-bbc-wild-isles-episode-rightwing-backlash-fears|archive-date=2023-03-11|retrieved=2023-03-11|quote=The BBC has decided not to broadcast an episode of Sir David Attenborough’s flagship new series on British wildlife because of fears its themes of the destruction of nature would risk a backlash from Tory politicians and the rightwing press, the Guardian has been told.}}</ref>

=== Transphobia ===
In October 2021, the BBC published an article titled "We're being pressured into sex by some trans women", which argues that lesbian women are being "pressured and coerced into accepting trans women as partners" and "shunned and even threatened for speaking out".<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|author=Caroline Lowbridge|newspaper=[[BBC]]|title="The lesbians who feel pressured to have sex and relationships with trans women"|date=2021-10-26|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-57853385|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026084108/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-57853385|archive-date=2021-10-26|retrieved=2023-12-02}}</ref> The article drew heavy criticism for its bad methodology and blatant [[transphobia]]. The BBC also gave a platform to [[Bev Jackson]] (a co-founder of the transphobic hate group the [[LGB Alliance]]) and [[Lily Cade]] (an actress, adult film director, and serial rapist) who, after the article's publication, called for the lynching of several high-profile trans women. Cade's contribution to the article has since been deleted, though the rest of the article is still up at the time of writing.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:State media]]
[[Category:Imperialist propaganda]]
[[Category:Bourgeois media]]

Colour revolution

2026-04-10T11:55:12Z

157.143.11.177: Adding dates for examples cited and tidying up language for more clarity

[[File:Hong Kong Trump poster.png|thumb|353x353px|[[National Endowment for Democracy|NED]]-funded rioters in [[Hong Kong Special Administrative Region|Hong Kong]] calling for [[Donald Trump]] to support them]]
A '''colour revolution''' is a term given to a revolution that appears to be led by the [[proletariat]] in search of [[Liberalism|liberal]] ideals, but is in reality a regime change operation coordinated and funded by [[Imperialism|imperialist]] interests.

The point of a colour revolution is to appeal to liberals, whose ideology is prevalent in [[Imperial core|highly developed capitalist countries]], so as to gain their support. As with all historical development, colour revolutions are part of the [[class struggle]], and most people who participate (both behind the scenes and in the streets) are aligned with [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] interests.

If successful, a colour revolution will put the national bourgeoisie in power and turn them into a [[comprador]] class for the benefit of their imperial masters. As such, colour revolutions are usually waged against [[Socialist state|socialist states]].

== History ==
The term was originally used in [[Bourgeois media|western media]] after the illegal dissolution of the [[Soviet Union]] as countries in the union started transitioning to a capitalist mode of production. Capital was invested in these revolutions to make it seem like the people wanted to leave socialism and preferred capitalism. Most people did not entirely know what they were protesting for, with author [[Michael Parenti]] detailing in his book ''Blackshirts and Reds'' that many Soviet citizens thought they would still get all the benefits of socialism, but only with more consumer goods like they had seen in the [[USA]].

== Mechanism ==
Some negative sentiments in the target region are exploited by imperialist organisations and encouraged to spread, for example through programs such as the [[National Endowment for Democracy]]. These sentiments are then amplified globally by western media outlets (such as the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]-owned [[Radio Free Asia]]), and presented as a legitimate call for liberty by the people. These narratives portray the colour revolutions as enjoying overwhelming popular support, while ignoring opposing voices or discrediting them as "fringe" groups.

Usually, imperialist organisations pick the friendliest and closest ideologically organisation to fund, train and push to lead the revolution. This is how, for example, Demosisto became the de-facto leader of the unrest in the eyes of [[the west]] during the [[Hong Kong Protests of 2019]]; they pushed for independence despite this idea being supported by less than a fourth of Hong Kong citizens.

The objectives of a colour revolution typically involve the imposition of a "[[free market]]" capitalist system and the installation of a regime friendly to [[Western]] geopolitical interests.

== Examples ==

=== 1970-1979 ===

* [[Republic of Chile#Pinochet dictatorship|Coup d'état in Chile]], 1973

=== 1980–1989 ===
* [[1989 Tian'anmen Square riots]] ([[People's Republic of China|China]]; failed)
* [[Counterrevolutions of 1989]] (Eastern Europe)

=== 1990–1999 ===

* [[Annexation of East Germany]] (Germany), 1990
* [[Overthrow of the Soviet Union]] (Soviet Union), 1991

=== 2000–2009 ===

* [[Rose Revolution]] ([[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]), 2003
* [[Orange Revolution]] ([[Ukraine]]), 2004

=== 2010–2019 ===

* [[Arab Spring]], 2011
* [[2014 Ukrainian coup d'etat|Euromaidan]] (Ukraine), 2014
* [[2018 Armenian revolution|Velvet Revolution]] ([[Republic of Armenia|Armenia]]), 2018
*[[Hong Kong Special Administrative Region#2019 Hong Kong riots|Hong Kong riots]] (China; failed), 2019
*[[2019 Bolivian coup d'état]]

=== 2020–2029 ===

* [[Republic of Belarus#2020 color revolution attempt|2020 Belarusian protests]] (Belarus; failed)
* [[2021 Cuban protests]] (Cuba; failed)
* [[2024 Georgian protests]]

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Imperialism]]
[[Category:Pages needing references]]

House Committee on Un-American Activities

2025-10-15T21:28:31Z

157.143.11.177: fixed grammar

{{Message box/Stub}}

The '''House Committee on Un-American Activities''' (HCUA), also known as the '''Committee for Un-American Activities''' and the '''House Un-American Activities Committee''', was a committee of the [[United States House of Representatives]] created in 1938 with the self-proclaimed purpose of investigating suspected communist activities amongst citizens, residents and organizations in the [[United States]]. The HCUA became infamous during the [[Second Red Scare|Red Scare]], a period of anti-communist hysteria in the 1950s that involved widespread political repression by the US Government.

== History ==
The HCUA became a standing (permanent) committee in 1945, and was renamed the House Committee on Internal Security in 1969.
[[File:PaulRobesonBeforeTheHCUA.opus|thumb|Paul Robeson's testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.]]
The political witch hunts initiated by the HCUA led to the [[Hollywood Blacklist]], which blacklisted [[The Hollywood Ten]] from the film industry due to their alleged "communist sympathies". The HCUA was also known for its persecution of civil rights and anti-war activists on false charges of "subversion". Notable cases include [[Paul Robeson]] and [[Charlie Chaplin]].

Although the House officially abolished the committee in 1975, its functions were in reality transferred to the [[House Judiciary Committee]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=National Archives and Records Administration|title=Records of the House Un-American Activities Committee|date=1995-07|url=https://archive.org/details/RecordsOfTheHouseUn-americanActivitiesCommittee-NaraFindingAid|retrieved=2025-10-07}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
In recent times, the US Government has sought to replicate the [[lawfare]] tactics used by the HCUA. Sweeping and arbitrarily enforced legislation allows that state to selectively target political dissidents under the banner of "national security".<ref>{{Web citation|author=[[Rania Khalek]] and [[Amanda Yee]]|newspaper=[[BreakThrough News]]|title=Chinese ‘Foreign Agents’ and the New Era of McCarthyism, with Amanda Yee|date=2023-07-21|url=https://breakthroughnews.org/chinese-foreign-agents-and-the-new-era-of-mccarthyism-with-amanda-yee/|retrieved=2025-10-07}}</ref>

== References ==
[[Category:Stubs]]
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Anti-communism]]

Ruling class

2025-09-25T00:47:59Z

157.143.11.177: Reformatted sections of the article to make it a little easier to read + added historical assessments and see also section for related topics

[[File:Pyramid of Capitalist System.png|thumb|178x178px|Pyramid of the Capitalist System.]]
In sociology, the '''ruling class''', also called the '''oppressive''' or '''exploitative class''' (from the theory of [[exploitation]] of labor), is a [[social class]] who set and decide the political agenda of society, normally through the [[state]] which this class controls.

Under [[capitalism]], the ruling class consists of [[Bourgeoisie|capitalists]], the private owners of industry. They are sometimes referred to as the '''oligarchy''' in public discourse. [[Dialectics|Dialectically]], the existence of a ruling class presupposes that they rule over someone else, which is the oppressed or exploited class (also called the working class). In capitalism, this class is the [[proletariat]].

== History ==
Historically, the ruling class has transitioned according to changes in the [[mode of production]]. Under [[feudalism]], the ruling class was comprised of feudal lords, under [[slavery]], the ruling class was the slaveowners, and so on.

In the modern era of [[imperialism]] and capitalist globalization the ruling class is a network of transnational capitalists which do not have allegiance to any nation; their only allegiance is to their personal accumulation of wealth (and the facilitating of that accumulation).

== Assessments ==
Both [[Karl Marx]] and [[Vladimir Lenin]] have pointed out that [[Western]] [[Bourgeois democracy|parliamentarism]] only serves to provide political legitimacy to the ruling classes of those countries, while the masses they supposedly "represent" remain repressed in reality.<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Vladimir Lenin]]|year=1918|title=The state and revolution|chapter=Experience of the Paris Commune of 1871. Marx's analysis|section=Abolition of parliamentarism|city=Moscow|publisher=Progress Publishers|mia=https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/}}</ref>

[[Mao Zedong]] highlighted the importance of enforcing class rule of [[the people]] over the [[reactionaries]], in order to prevent [[counterrevolution]] by foreign imperialists and domestic [[Comprador|compradors]].<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Mao Zedong]]|year=1949|title=On the People's Democratic Dictatorship|quote=Revolutionary dictatorship and counter-revolutionary dictatorship are by nature opposites, but the former was learned from the latter... If the revolutionary people do not master this method of ruling over the counter-revolutionary classes, they will not be able to maintain their state power, domestic and foreign reaction will overthrow that power and restore its own rule over China, and disaster will befall the revolutionary people.}}</ref>

== See Also ==

* [[Class struggle]]
* [[Dictatorship of the Proletariat|Dictatorship of the proletariat]]
* [[Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]]

[[Category:Social class]]
[[Category:Pages needing references]]