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Letters

GB News and Marshall Wallace are the real extremists

Days after the government released a new definition of extremism, XR activists are blockading the offices of GB News and its multi-millionaire owner Paul Marshall branding him and his pet broadcaster as ‘the real extremists’ – and demanding an end to their torrent of climate lies and disinformation.

In a dramatic escalation of Extinction Rebellion’s Rebel For Truth campaign today (Monday), XR protesters have blocked the main doors of the headquarters of GB News with a metal tripod structure and two people locked themselves to its legs.

Other protesters have used fire extinguishers to spray windows with black liquid representing the oil and fossil fuel products setting the planet on fire while fellow activists with flares have swathed the building in Paddington, London, in black smoke.

A masked XR climber wearing a Marshall Wace Hoodie dangled a Pinocchio puppet in a Union Jack waistcoat from on top of the tripod to symbolise the way that the station lies for it’s fossil fuel paymasters, as other activists unfurled banners reading: “GB News Cut The Ties to Fossil Fuel” and “Rebel for Truth”.

A string of protesters are encircling the entrance holding placards depicting the faces of GB News presenters including Nigel Farage, Jacob Rees Mogg, Richard Tice, and Lee Anderson, and station owner Paul Marshall. Beneath each of them is written the word ‘Extremist’. 

Letters from XR were emailed this morning to GB News, MO6, the Metropolitan Police unit specialising in public order planning, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and Lord Walney, the ‘independent’ adviser on political violence and disruption who has created the government’s new extremism definition.

They asked for an immediate investigation of GB News as an extremist organisation peddling an ideology of violence, hate and intolerance with the intent of undermining our liberal democracy, and for the broadcaster to be added to a new list of extremists.

All the letters demanded an inquiry into whether owner Marshall is a fit and proper person to hold a broadcasting licence

Simultaneously, another group of XR activists went into action at the offices of Marshall Wace in Sloane Street, London, a hedge fund with £1.8bn invested in leading fossil fuel crooks such as Chevron, Shell and Equinor and chaired by multi-millionaire GB News owner Paul Marshall.

Two of the XR team have climbed the portico above the main doors and strung out a giant banner reading, “Marshall Wace: Cut the Ties to Fossil Fuels”. Another group of protesters sprayed the front windows with a black ‘oil’ spray.

Jon Fuller, one of the XR team at GB News said: “Our government is currently obsessed with identifying extremists, but they’re looking in the wrong places. The TV Lie Factory inside this building perfectly fits their new definition of extremism by peddling an ideology of violence, hate, and intolerance aimed at wrecking our liberal democracy.

“Fake claims by GB News presenters that the climate crisis is either not real or not serious reach millions of social media users, TV viewers and newspaper readers. By sowing climate doubt and confusion amongst our fellow citizens, GB News helps ensure our politicians feel no pressure at the ballot box to act urgently to stop a future of deadly famine, flood, heatwaves, storms and war becoming a reality. They are putting billions of lives at ever-greater risk by delaying action to tackle the climate crisis. We are calling on the station to cease its extremist behaviour and for the police and government to take it off the air if it fails to do so.”

Todd Smith, one of the XR team at Marshall Wace said: “Paul Marshall is the very definition of an extremist. He has “liked” and retweeted dozens of racist, Islamophobic and homophobic tweets, his pet TV station GB New spouts climate lies and anti-immigrant poison, he’s trying to buy extremist newspaper The Telegraph, and he bankrolled Brexit. 

“One-in-three GB News presenters denied climate science on air, while more than half have attacked government and business actions to tackle the accelerating climate and ecological crisis. It’s clear that he’s trying to use his money and his media influence to stop urgent action on climate change and to divide the British people against each other through hate and intolerance. He must be stopped. We’re calling upon the government and the police to act against him immediately.”

The actions at GB News and Marshall Wace are the latest escalation of XR’s Rebel For Truth campaign that has seen activists under the banner Stop Selling Lies challenge the climate disinformation at the offices of The Daily Mail and The Telegraph every week for four months.

Other XR teams have visited the offices of major comms agencies Havas and McCann in London to highlight and protest their work as greenwashers for fossil fuel crooks such as BP, Shell and Saudi Aramco. 

Notes for editors:

One in three GB News presenters cast doubt on climate science, study reveals: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/26/one-in-three-gb-news-presenters-cast-doubt-climate-science-study

GB News Owner’s Hedge Fund Has $2.2 Billion Fossil Fuel Investments: https://www.desmog.com/2023/10/30/gb-news-owner-hedge-fund-paul-marshall-wace-fossil-fuel-investments/

Revealed: The Shocking Tweets of GB News Co-owner Sir Paul Marshall: https://hopenothate.org.uk/2024/02/22/revealed-the-shocking-tweets-of-gb-news-co-owner-sir-paul-marshall/

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Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency.

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Time has almost entirely run out to address the climate and ecological crisis which is upon us, including the sixth mass species extinction, global pollution, and increasingly rapid climate change. If urgent and radical action isn’t taken, we’re heading towards 4˚C warming, leading to societal collapse and mass loss of life. The younger generation, racially marginalised communities and the Global South are on the front-line. No-one will escape the devastating impacts.