damian collins: brendan o'hara. over the past: weeks we've heard about the financial impact on mainstream media. due to the sharp rise in social media, and please feel free to comment on that, i will ask for your thoughts and reflections on the effect, the long-term effect on the social and cultural statesing of the united on the loss of influence of the mainstream media and the public sphere. do you have concerns? i think we should have profound concerns. being, this has been disrupted for the past 20 to 22 years. in theriers to entry publishing business have fallen and advertisers can go direct to audience and not needing media as an intermediary. these are larger phenomenon that go beyond this current conversation. it is very hard to unwind that. it has led, and david is in a stronger position to talk about this, the emergence of news deserts. where in tire communities are public institutions and courts that you could count on in the past. it is not clear as much there , the startups, have as yet found a sustaina

collins is now pressing tech giants to carry out further research. i can't explain it it's ridiculous as you said in your piece just a moment ago only forty nine counts less than nine hundred or six hundred retreats this is not even a story it's not even a one line story and it's about pretty time people started telling the truth this narrative that russia is somehow the enemy is so outmoded so outdated and people i speak to within my pod casts of my e-mails and on twitter itself they know this is a joke but somehow the mainstream media play along i don't know i think it's interesting the damien says that his instinct is there's a lot more one of his instinct is that good could he tell me the numbers for this week's national lottery because i'd like to put some money on it's a joke it's a false on our curry apologize to the russian people this nonsense has got to stop nobody interfered breaks it breaks it was the democratic votes of the people of our great country they wanted out and the establishment and their friends in politics and their friends i

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the number should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this goes chasing continuing in the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems no fruitful results so far. there is seemingly a huge appetite for russian meddling stories in the media let's take a look at some of the headlines this one reads twitter has finally conceded that russian accounts tried to influence bragg's it but the article goes on to admit this is based on just a few dozen twitter accounts meanwhile in london times headline says twitter admits russian trolls posted about drugs it first paragraph and then it reveals that there were only forty nine suspicious accounts radio talk show host john gaunt told us that the meddling claims may be just a wild goose chase this is a farce these employees went all the way to washington to question do that honest on how the internet works they could've got them on a skype call a question it's. an issue a waste of my taxpayers' money and it's a very very annoying it's a joke they added

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics of the b.b.c. though says that it hires our studios just like other international media independent journalist martin summers sees double standards in the times article. i think there's a general attack all arty in that you know political attack in the west they don't like your t.v. station because they see it as competition for their own narrative about events of course there is a whole attempt in the west to deal with somalis that are the russian point of view of things one of the strange the times which is owned by rupert murdoch and of course a lot of print anything it likes that takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever is not impartial i mean he's got an agenda there is very definite got definitely got his views and he uses his media to push those views now in a free society that's acceptable t

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the numbers should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this goes. i think continuing on the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems no fruitful results so far but there is seemingly a huge appetite for it in the media but there is little for them to work with let's look at some of the headlines this one reads twitter has finally conceded that russian accounts tried to influence breaks it but there is only a passing mention to explain this story is about just a few dozen accounts the same with the london times headline which admits the existence of so-called trolls the first paragraph then reveals there were only forty nine suspicious accounts one more example you need to dig even deeper to find the actual numbers in this the article radio talk show host john go on top of this the russia investigation may be a wild goose chase after all. this is a farce these employees went all the way to washington to question do they don't understand how the internet works they're going to got them on

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the numbers should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this. goes chasing continuing in the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems no fruitful results so far. much as the media has seemingly been hungry for a scandal which the russia investigation is failing to provide just look at some of the headlines this one says twitter has finally conceded that russian accounts tried to influence brag sits and only a few small words at the bottom explain the story is about a few dozen accounts they're saying with the times headline which admits the existence of so-called russia trolls but the first paragraph then reveals there were only forty nine search suspicious accounts and one more example here you need to look even deeper to dig the actual numbers out of a lengthy article radio host john gaunt told is the russia investigation is searching for a ghost this is a fast these employees want all the way to washington to question to the honest of the internet works they could have got them on a s

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics well in response the b.b.c. says it runs out studios like any other international media organization independent journalist martin summers sees double standards in the times article. i think that there's a general attack all artsy in you know political attack in the west they don't like your t.v. station because they see it as competition for their own narrative about events of course there is a whole attempt in the west to deal with the russian point of view and i think its core of the strange of the times which is owned by rupert murdoch and of course a lot of print anything it likes takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever is not impartial i mean he's got an agenda there is very definite go definitely go to his views and he uses his media to push those views now in a free society that's acceptabl

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the numbers should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this goes. chasing continuing and the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems no fruitful results so far yeah echoing the i'm in the simulator huge appetite for this kind of story in the media but little for them to work with as it turns out look at some of the headlines this one reads for instance twitter's finally conceded that russian accounts tried to influence practice it going on from the others only a passing mention to actually explain the stories just about a few dozen accounts are the same the times headline coming up that admits the existence of so called russia trolls the first paragraph then reveals there are only forty nine suspicious accounts as we're just now one more example you need to dig even deeper though here to find the actual numbers in this very lengthy article radio talk show host john gaunt told us the russian investigation may be a wild goose chase after all. this is a farce these employees went all the

collins who's a leading member of parliament here in the u.k. and that's where that letter comes from again saying that there has been no additional evidence of any russian interference in the braggs that referendum now mr collins traveled to the u.s. to try to grill the officials from a number of leading tech companies and again the message was clear that russia has been interfering in the democratic processes there be looked at all advertisements of any connection to russia and we found no evidence of our services being used to interfere in the referendum a very small number of suspected research agency linked accounts forty nine such accounts were active during the campaign which represents less than not point five percent of the title number of accounts these are very low level things now despite those testimonies that runs against what we've been hearing from leading politicians including the prime minister to resign may who insists that russia is up to no good it is seeking to weaponize information deploying its state run media organizatio

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics the b.b.c. those says that it hires out studios just like any other international media independent journalist martin summers thieve double standard thin the times article think is that there's a general attack all r.t. in political attack in the west they don't like your t.v. station because they see it as competition for their own narrative about events of course there is a whole attempt in the west to the legitimize the russian point of view of things quite a strange the times which is owned by rupert murdoch and of course a lot of print anything it likes takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever is not impartial i mean he's got an agenda there is very definite got definitely got his views and he uses his media to push those views though in a free society that's acceptable to a certain extent it's

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics the b.b.c. though says that it hires out studios just like other international media independent journalist martin summers sees double standards in the times article. there's a general attack all arty in the political attack in the west they don't like your t.v. station because they see it as competition for their own narrative about events of course there is a whole attempt in the west to the legitimize the russian point of view of things one of the strains of the times which is owned by rupert murdoch and of course a lot of print anything it likes takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever is not impartial amelie's course an agenda is very different definitely got his views and he uses his media to push those views now in a free society that's acceptable to a certain extent it's a bit cheeky of him

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics well in response the b.b.c. says it runs out studios like any other international media organization independent journalist martin summers sees double standards in the times article. i think there's a general attack all arty in that you know political attack in the west they don't like your t.v. station because they see it as competition for their own narrative about events of course there is a whole attempt in the west to diligence somalis the russian point of view of things core of the strains of the times which is owned by rupert murdoch and of course a lot of the print anything it likes takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever is not impartial i mean he's got an agenda he's very definite got definitely got his views and he uses his media to push those views now in a free society that's acceptabl

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics well in response the b.b.c. says it runs out studios like any other international media organization independent journalist martin summers sees double standards in the times article. i think that there's a general attack on all see in you know political attack in the west they don't like your t.v. station because they see it as competition for their own narrative about events of course there is a whole attempt in the west to the legitimate place for the russian point of view and i think it's called the strange the times which is owned by rupert murdoch of course a lot of print anything it likes takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever he's not impartial i mean he's course an agenda there is very definite go definitely go to his views and he uses his media to push those views now in a free society th

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the numbers should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this ghost chasing continuing and the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems no fruitful results so far. but it makes great headlines the similarly huge appetite for this in the media with little for them to work with still because some of these headlines for instance this one reads twitter's finally conceded that russian accounts tried to influence breaks it but read on it's only a passing mention to explain the story is about just a few dozen accounts say too that this times headline here at mit's the existence of so-called russian trolls but again read on the first paragraph reveals there were only forty nine suspicious accounts another example of throw away here you need to dig even deeper to find the actual numbers in this lengthy article radio talk show host john galt spoke to a spot at all his view is that the russian investigation may well be a wild goose chase after all. this is a farce these employees went all the way to

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics in response the b.b.c. says it runs out studios like any other international media organization independent journalist martin summers sees a double standard in the times article. think is that there's a general attack all r.t. in the political attack in the west they don't like your t.v. station because they see it as competition for their own narrative about events of course there is a whole attempt in the west to the legitimate the russian point of view i think is one of the strange the times which is owned by rupert murdoch and of course a lot of print anything it likes takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever is not. how many schools and agenda it's very definite go definitely go to his views and he uses his media to push those views though in a free society that's acceptable to a certain extent

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the numbers should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this ghost. i think continuing in the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems now if not for results so far but of course it's a headline grabbing thing the seemingly huge appetite for this in the media but little for them to work with to put some meat on the bones of it let's look at some of the headlines this one reads for instance twitter's finally conceded that russian accounts tried to influence breck's it but if you read on there's only a passing mention to explain the story in just a few dozen accounts then the same for the times headline check this one out which admits the existence of so-called russia trolls big headline the first paragraph then reveals there are only forty nine suspicious accounts another good example you've got to dig even deeper to find the actual numbers in this lengthy article radio talk show host john galt spoke to us but it all he told us the russian investigation could well be a wild goose chase af

collins he travelled to the us to meet with officials from the big tech companies such as you tube and some of the answers he received from them perhaps didn't satisfy him he looked at all advertisements for any connection to russia and we found no evidence of our services being used to interfere in the referendum a very small number of suspected research agency linked accounts forty nine such accounts were active during the campaign which represents less than point five percent of the total number of accounts that these are very low level things and that's the real contrast with the kind of political environment here in the u.k. and in particular from the top down with the prime. minister to resign warning the russians that she knew what they were up to it is seeking to weaponize information deploying state run media organizations to plant fake stories and photo shopped images in an attempt to sow discord in the west and undermine our institutions so i have a very simple message for russia we know what you are doing and you will not succeed clearly this is my mistake and that's as far

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the number should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this goes chasing continuing in the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems no fruitful results so far. much of the media has seemingly been hungry for a scandal with the russian investigation is so far failed to provide has that affected the headlines make up your mind here's one that says twitter has finally conceded that russian accounts tried to influence bragg's it only a few small words at the bottom zero explain the stories actually about a few dozen accounts it's the same with the times headline which admits the existence of so called russia trolls but the first paragraph then reveals there were only forty nine such suspicious accounts and there's one more example for you here you need to look even deeper to dig out the actual numbers of this lengthy article radio host john gaunt told us the russian investigation is searching for a ghost this is a fast these employees went all the way to washington to question do they under

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the number should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this ghost chasing continuing and the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems no fruitful results so far much of the media has seemingly been hungry for a scandal which the russian investigation is failing to provide because some of these headlines this one says twitter has finally conceded that russian accounts try to influence briggs's and only a few small words of the boss makes plain the stories about a few dozen accounts the same with the times headline which admits the existence of so called russia trolls but the first paragraph then reveals there were only forty nine such as suspicious accounts one more example here you need to look even deeper to dig actual numbers out of a lengthy article radio host john korn told is the russia investigation is searching for a ghost. this is a farce these employees went all the way to washington to question to the honest on how the internet works they could've got them on a skype call a qu

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics. there's nothing like two independent journalist and commentator martin some as this is the most thank you for joining us on the program now it is what we're seeing here just in case of business is business and the times is trying to see a scandal that isn't there or is it a matter of serious concern as the newspaper claims. well i think it's one of the strange of the times which is owned by rupert murdoch and of course a lot of print anything it likes takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever it's rather old the b.b.c. is there as it hires out studios to other media just like other international media why do you think the times is suddenly trying to make a big deal out of renting it this studio to us to r c. well i think that there's a general attack on r.t. in that you know political attack in the

collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the numbers should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this goes chasing continuing in the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems no fruitful results so far. but of course it all makes good reading grabs the headlines the similarly huge efforts to our appetite for this kind of thing in the media burg little for them to work with time and again let's look at some of the headlines one reads to it is finally conceded that russian accounts tried to influence bricks it you read on there's only passing mention to explain the stories only about a few dozen accounts so with the times headline which admits the existence of so-called russia trolls the first paragraph then reveals there are only forty nine suspicious accounts one more example fricative dig really deep here to find the actual numbers though in this lengthy article radio talk show host john gaunt told us the russian investigation could well be a wild goose chase after all this is a fast these employees went all the way to washingt

been no russian interference as far as the briggs's referendum is concerned now earlier this month damian collins he travelled to the us to meet with officials from the big tech companies such as you tube and some of the answers he received from them perhaps didn't satisfy him. they looked at all advertisements any connection to russia and we found no evidence of our services being used to interfere in that that's a referendum a very small number of suspects it's not research agency linked accounts forty nine such accounts were active during the campaign which represents less than not point not five percent of the total number of accounts these are very low level things. so very minimal if any russian accounts or accounts simply just based in russia involved there and that's a real contrast with the kind of political environment here in the u.k. and in particular from the top down with the prime minister to resign may warning the russians that he knew what they were up to it is seeking to weaponize information deploying its state run media organizations to plant fake stories and photo sho

of millions of accounts and despite the chair of this committee damian collins saying that his quote instinct tells him that the number should be higher that did not turn out to be the case so despite this ghost chasing continuing and the committee keeping asking the executives to look harder it seems now fruitful results so far. much of the media's seemingly been hungry for a scandal which the russian investigation so far as failed to provide it is not reflected in the headlines see for yourself first of this one says twitter has finally conceded russian accounts tried to influence briggs it virtually just a few small words at the bottom explain the story is about a few dozen accounts of the same with the times headline which admits the existence of so-called russia trolls the first paragraph that reveals there were only forty nine search suspicious accounts and there were more example you need to look even deeper to dig actual numbers out of a lengthy article the radio host told us that the russian investigation is searching for a ghost. this is a farce these employees went all the

s dealings prompted damian collins the conservative chairman of the commons media select committee to question the b.b.c.'s ethics the b.b.c. those says that it is our studios just like other international media doing independent journalists martin summer sees double standards in the times article. i think there's a general attack on all see in you know political attack in the west they don't like your t.v. station because they see it as competition for their own narrative about events of course there is a whole attempt in the west to the legitimate place for the russian point of view and i think it's quite a strange of the times which is owned by rupert murdoch of course a lot of print anything it likes takes a particularly hard line for example on briggs it but they say the b.b.c. can't engage in commercial activities on the side which they've been doing for years without any interference whatsoever so it's not impartial i mean he's got an agenda he's very definite go definitely go to his views and he uses his media to push those views now in a free society that's acceptable to a ce

here is the committee chair, damian collins, grilling twitter. what were talking about is lies, someone who is deciding to spread lies about somebody else. they‘re not harassing them, they‘re not intimidating them, they‘re not inciting violence against them, they‘re just spreading lies. and they‘re using the anonymity of twitter to do that. there‘s basically nothing you will do about it. if i could, the anonymity on our platform is not a shield against breaking our terms of service. telling lies on twitter isn‘t a breach of the community guidelines and wouldn‘t require action to be taken against the account. that‘s what you‘re saying, isn‘t it? if that's the only ground... we do not have rules based on truth. so is fake news such a big deal that it‘s necessary for uk politicians to head to washington for, or is the dcms committee getting a bit overexcited about a term that has had its day? with me in the studio is the right—wing campaigner and best—selling author ann coulter — one of the very few people donald trump

every single tech company was asked by the chair damian collins mp as to what they had found in terms of russian interference in the brexit referendum and they all said they had found nothing or very little. for twitter, they said they had closed down 49 accounts that had tweeted fewer than a thousand tweets ahead of the referendum, but there is evidence to suggest from others independently that there was more influence from russia ahead of the referendum but the question is, what can mps do about it? they are questioning these tech companies and saying there is a problem but at the moment all they have had back is assurances and i can't get anything more concrete from these tech companies as it stands. —— they can't. did you feel you had companies as it stands. —— they can't. did you feelyou had heard anything new? it was interesting, some of the research cited when it came to youtube, that hate videos, it was found that 70% of the viewership to far right videos was generated by youtube's owned up next features, recommended if you watch one video, it will recommend the next h

you have been listening to what damian collins said. my take was that tech companies were saying there wasn't much meddling as far as they could tell, on their platforms. that is what they were saying, that they would co—operate with any other investigations that were going to ta ke investigations that were going to take place. but i asked mps, what was the point of the hearing if that's all you was the point of the hearing if that‘s all you got— was the point of the hearing if that's all you got— these verbal reassurances. what they said was that actually, they couldn't get more than that at the moment but they could express their discontent at what was going on and potentially recommend that in the future there is something enshrined in law to say that tech companies are legally responsible for the content that is produced on their platforms. they don't have to do that now. commercial enterprises at the end of the gates are about the amount of time we spend on twitter or facebook and it wasn't just about russia. time we spend

damian collins asked that ofjuniper downs. would youtube be prepared to conduct the same analysis for the uk looking at potential russian interference at around the brexit referendum? we are happy to cooperate as to whether there was any interference in elections in the uk. we have conducted a thorough investigation around the brexit referendum and found no evidence of interference. we have looked at all advertisements and any connection to russia and we found no evidence of our service is being used to interfere in the brexit referendum and we are happy to cooperate. as i say, i havejust stepped outside the room and i know facebook executives are being asked exactly the same question about russia and the influence of the brexit referendum. after that, twitter officials will be asked the same things. low pay and pressures of work means aduu low pay and pressures of work means adult care cannot fill key posts. lack of government funding has undermined the sector at a time when demand is increasing. here is our social affairs co