A few more signatures and Manchester might be about to boycott The Sun, just like Liverpool did.
As stated earlier, there has been some touching, poignant and moving tributes paid to the 22 people that tragically lost their lives following the recent attacks in Manchester.
The majority of the reporting around the tragedy has been sensitive and respectful, with Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s front pages carrying powerful images of the loss and heartbreak that this heinous attack caused.
This being said, The Sun has yet again courted controversy this week with two front pages that people deemed to be insensitive.
Regarding Tuesday’s front page, over 20,000 people have already called for the newspaper to be banned in Manchester after they felt “The Sun ran a story that was a naked manipulation of tragic events to serve its own political purposes.”
Here’s the article in question.
https://twitter.com/markinpoland/status/866936125180588032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Fnews%2Ftheres-a-petition-to-ban-the-sun-in-manchester-after-their-appalling-coverage-of-the-attacks-126972
The full petition reads:
The city of Liverpool has boycotted The Sun newspaper since the Hillsborough disaster. The paper collaborated with local police to pin the blame for the 96 deaths on Liverpool fans, and it took 27 years and a public inquiry to set the record straight. In the wake of the Manchester bombing, The Sun has provoked the city of Manchester to push for a boycott too.
On the night of 22 May, an audience made up mostly of teenage girls was attacked with a bomb as they left the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester’s MEN Arena. The youngest victim to have been identified so far is 8-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos.
On a day set aside for mourning, with all political campaigns stood down, The Sun ran a story that was a naked manipulation of tragic events to serve its own political purposes. And just two years after it was ordered to place an apology to the Labour leader on its front page over another anti-Corbyn slur.
But of course, by the time any new apology is forced out of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid, the election will be long over. And the damage would be done.
So instead, the people of Manchester are taking action now.
Friends and families of those affected, Mancunians and others have taken to social media to call for the boycott of The Sun. At a time where media and political regulators seem to be failing to uphold standards, consumers can apply real pressure. Simply by taking their custom elsewhere.
Regarding Wednesday’s front page, they published a huge image of the attack perpetrator on their cover.
In doing so, they have given him the fame and notoriety that he no doubt craved.
Given the fact that they’ve now shared the image of the attacker on their front page, we can only imagine that this petition is going to get even more support.
At the present time of writing, 23,153 have signed the petition that needs 25,000 signatures before it’s sent to the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.
There's a campaign, apparently using text from The Canary, to get The Sun banned in Manchester: https://t.co/toV1WIjq2m
— Louise Ridley (@LouiseRidley) May 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/lizzieroper/status/867364152037310464
Update: The Sun have been in touch with JOE and provided this statement.
“The petition has not been started due to the front page showing the killer, as you are well aware. Indeed images of the killer have been running on BBC and Sky all day and no one has called to boycott them.
The petition, as you then make slightly clearer, is due to a total misunderstanding. The front page you feature (Blood on his hands) was Tuesday’s first edition splash and is clearly about the IRA. It was drawn at 8pm and sent to print at 10pm, 35 minutes before the Manchester bombing occurred. The second edition front page (attached) reflected the fact that since publishing the first edition a bomb had gone off.”
