THE APNU+AFC enjoys testing the limits of democracy. James Madison, the framer of the American Constitution, warned that good governance relies on virtuous people who are determined to adhere to the established checks on power and follow explicit rules and traditional norms.

With APNU+AFC we have been witnessing a relentless beat-down on one of the traditional norms of democratic societies – respect for the sanctity of the press. APNU+AFC’s attempt to tip the scale of public opinion in their favour may have caused them to inadvertently flip the scale completely by peddling outright lies, myths and disinformation. Canada, the United States and countries in Western Europe have tried to regulate campaigns of disinformation, fake news, libel and the threat of violence and yet it persists.

Last Monday, at the height of media literacy week (Oct. 24-31), American Conservative commentator, Ryan Girdusky, uttered a racist and violent reference to journalist Mehdi Hasan while appearing on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip. Hasan, a British-American citizen who has established a name for himself, even among large segments of our society in Guyana, as a vocal critic of the policies of the state of Israel, stated at one point that it’s no secret he supports Palestinians. To which Girdusky flippantly said, “Well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.”
Girdusky was referring to the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies that killed dozens and injured thousands of people in Lebanon last month. The host of the show and other guests were aghast at Girdusky’s comment. Girdusky apologised and said he thought Hasan had said Hamas. Phillip took a commercial break and when the show returned, Girdusky’s seat was empty.
Phillip informed viewers that he had crossed the line of civility and was asked to leave. CNN later issued a statement saying there is “zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air” and that Girdusky had been permanently banned from CNN.

Despite his repeated apologies, Girdusky later wrote in part on X: “Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke.” It is a long-established principle, on and off air, that no joking, clowning or fooling around will be tolerated when it comes to racism, bigotry, lies, deception, misinformation, character assassination and uttering threats of violence. It’s a principle networks like CNN, the BBC, Al-Jazeera and the CBC in Canada, a company I spent over three decades with, have adopted and it’s the reason why Abby Phillip had no other moral choice but to boot Girdusky off her set.

A few months ago, Kidackie Amsterdam, a well-known WPA activist, feigned ignorance of the law when he engaged a male caller on his show who incited listeners to commit unspeakable violence against President Irfaan Ali and three government ministers including VP Bharrat Jagdeo. Amsterdam played the role of a courteous host as his caller called PPP/C leaders “monsters” and described where and how he’d like to see their severed body parts publicly displayed. His comments were grotesque and utterly reprehensible.

In APNU+AFC media mouthpieces including its social media platforms, Amsterdam was portrayed as being unfairly targeted by the PPP/C. Instead of condemning Amsterdam and distancing themselves from him, the leadership of APNU+AFC held him up as a victim of a party that was determined to stifle freedom of speech.

Before Amsterdam, Tacuma Ogunseye, an Executive Member of the WPA attempted to incite racial hostility and ethnic violence in Guyana during a speech he delivered at Buxton on March 9, 2023. In some countries, hateful speech like that of Ogunseye has often spiralled out of control and turned into a full-throttle sequence of political violence, civil war and perhaps even genocide.
Instead of condemning Ogunseye, the leadership of APNU+AFC used its media outlets to defend and applaud his courage. And just this last week the Opposition continued to stoke the flames of disinformation. Kemraj Ramjattan, a former Minister of National Security, entered the theatre of the absurd and alleged that because VP Jagdeo spoke to Russian nationals in their language something nefarious must have been afoot. The allegation is laughable. It reminds me of when Americans began flooding the FBI snitch line with calls to report on innocent people who dared to speak Arabic in public following the terror attacks of 9/11.

APNU+AFC has challenged the results of the 2020 elections and insists that they won. Some media outlets in this country believe this lie given the amount of ink they’ve dedicated to repeating it. Aubrey Norton himself has repeatedly said that Statements of Poll (SOPs) show that APNU+AFC won the elections, but he had produced absolutely no evidence to back up his claim. A lie repeated often over four years does not automatically turn into a fact.

No one wants to curb the freedom of the press in Guyana, but in the interest of civility and decency, the Opposition must halt its campaign of disinformation, propaganda and outright lies.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.