Friday 17 October 2014

Why I'm sick of UKIP stealing my infographics


I'm no kind of copyright fanatic, so I rarely take exception to people borrowing and reusing my infographics, after all - I made them in order for them to be shared.

What I do mind is people taking my infographics and using them to promote political parties and ideologies that I'm strongly opposed to. A classic example of this was the way the right-wing extremist and compulsive liar Joshua Bonehill took to stealing my infographics and reposting them on his Facebook page, shortly after he had sent me a private message in which he threatened to get my Facebook page shut down. Ironically page was shut down by Facebook shortly afterwards for spreading Islamophobia, race hate and outright lies.

My views on UKIP

Anyone who is remotely familiar with my work should know that I'm not a fan of UKIP. I've done my best to raise awareness of the fact that UKIP is 
a pro-corporate right-wing Trojan Horse party designed to hoover up the votes of the dissatisfied (just like the Tea Party in the USA).

I've explained that they're 90% bankrolled by ex-Tory donors, that they're led by a former Tory party activist from an establishment family, and that the party is riddled with failed, disgraced and defected Tory politicians.

I've also tried to raise awareness of the fact that UKIP don't give a damn about the real threat to UK sovereigny; the TTIP Corporate Power Grab, which is designed to completely over-write our democratic and legal systems, in order to allow multinational corporations to sue our government in secretive transnational tribunals and to import cheap labour from abroad.

Despite the Ukipper tactic of pointing to the anti-TTIP comments from one single UKIP representative (Louise Bours) at the September 2014 UKIP conference to pretend that the UKIP leadership are anti-TTIP, the UKIP voting record on the issue is crystal clear. Last time the issue of TTIP came before the European Parliament, only one UKIP MEP even bothered to vote in the debate, that was their economics spokesperson Roger Helmer who voted in favour of it! If that's not enough of a demonstration that they're in favour of attacks on UK sovereignty (as long as the beneficiaries are multinational corporations), then perhaps this excruciating speech from William Legge might be enough to convince?

Regular readers of my work will also be familiar with the fact that a constant stream of UKIP supporters show up on my page to insult me and call me a "fascist" for daring to use facts and evidence to criticise their party. I've had to deal with so many of these cognitively incontinent ranters that I've even compiled this article outlining many of their most common "debating tactics".

UKIP pinching my work

I've lost count of the number of times I've spotted UKIP pinching my infographics and posting them on Twitter in order to drum up publicity for their "Thatcherism on Steroids" party.

When I spot them doing it I usually send them a message asking if they're aware that in May 2014 a UKIP politician issued legal threats against me because I dared to criticise UKIP. Ironically, the thing I was criticising UKIP for at the time was the decision by another UKIP politician to call the police in to intimidate a guy who fact checked an anti-UKIP poster! It's bad enough that they have such contempt for free speech, but to go on to steal the work of those they have tried to censor; that's just outrageous.

In October 2014 I was informed that a UKIP "shop" in Boscombe, Dorset has used one my infographics in their window display. It's bad enough that they recycle my infographics as social media propaganda for their party, but actually printing my infographics off and using them as window display posters for a Thatcherite political party is clearly completely out of order.
Few Ukippers seem capable of understanding the irony of UKIP using the work of a guy who is considered such a threat to their party that legal threats were issued against him in an effort to silence him. Had they succeeded in shutting my page down, where would they get their posters for their window displays?
Conclusion

Nicking the work of a guy who wrote this article about Margaret Thatcher's toxic socio-economic legacies, to promote a party that openly describe themselves as "keeping the flame of Thatcherism alive" just goes to show what a bunch of lazy political opportunists UKIP are.

Postscript

If you're not a member of an extreme-right hate group, or a Thatcherite Trojan Horse party, please feel free to reuse my pictures (on line or by printing them off). The only time I object is when people pinch them in order to promote political ideologies that I despise.


 Another Angry Voice  is a not-for-profit page which generates absolutely no revenue from advertising and accepts no money from corporate or political interests. The only sources of income for  Another Angry Voice  are small donations from people who see some value in my work. If you appreciate my efforts and you could afford to make a donation, it would be massively appreciated.




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