The big lie!

The big lie!

I guess we've all grown accustomed to the lies and distortions that the media pump out on behalf of the anti-independence cause. And The Scotsman has surely established a claim to the title of champion in this scurrilous contest. But this former bastion of journalistic propriety has moved into a league of its own with today's gobbet of bare-faced mendacity.

Credit where it's due. The Scotsman has demonstrated a certain versatility.  Already notorious for it's endless stream of "SNP accused...!" and "Salmond accused...!" headlines, the people Johnson Press employ instead of journalists appear to have decided to break new ground.

This particular offending and offensive headline reads,

SNP backs ‘devo-plus’ for independence vote

But so casual is the dishonesty of the British nationalist propaganda campaign that the article beneath the headline doesn't even attempt a pretence of trying to justify the claim. It is not merely a lie. It is a proud lie.

But wait! It gets worse!

It may not be realistic to expect other British nationalist organs to condemn this shameful dishonesty; or even to criticise it. At best we might hope that they would discreetly ignore it. Not a bit of it! What we actually find is another unionist mouthpiece citing The Scotsman story as if it was an official statement of SNP policy. They simply don't care that there is not one jot of truth in it. Such is the measure of their contempt for the people of Scotland.

To paraphrase a certain recognised expert in the devious art of propaganda,

The essential unionist leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence. Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The British nationalists follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.