This is a response to artist Francis O’Neill’s attempted hatchet job on my character in his Substack, Old School Journalist, still working in which he plays the victim while casting aspersions my direction in his ‘only asking questions’ meeky mouse manner.
He even pulled out this nugget from the Irish Examiner from May 28, 2021. No the Russians weren’t paying me to warn the Irish against the toxic shots they called safe and effective vaccines.
A real old school journalist would have to find some receipts to make the connection, some kind of evidence of a payment or maybe video clips of me bigging up Putin, quoting his speeches or praising his regime. Of course they could produce no such evidence so a headline of me denying I was ‘paid to highlight the anti-vaccine message’ worked instead. It made me look guilty. I lived in France after all and there was a Russian-linked PR agency paying influencers to disparage Covid vaccines so it had to be true. Mainstream media tricks. Francis O’Neill employed the same tactics by pulling up the article for his attempted character assassination. He knew the insinuation would affect the reader too, seed doubts, encourage an inner monologue. Bet she was paid by Russia, even though I’ve never heard her say anything nice about Putin. Maybe I missed it, there’s so much information swirling around.
Since he isn’t an old school journalist, Francis O’Neill has offered no right to reply. The concept seems lost on him. His comments section is for paid subscribers only. He’s refused an invitation to discuss his insinuations in an open and frank manner in a live recording or otherwise. So I’ve taken the opportunity to read through his text bit by bit adding my perspective. It’s taking longer than expected so I’ve paused for a moment. Bullet points might work better for Part Two.
I understand many of those who read my pieces are fully on board with the ‘no bomb, no victims’ conclusion on the Manchester Arena bombing so I’m not doing this for likes or validation, merely for balance. I know the misdirection I’ve pointed out regarding the Manchester Arena bombing counter-narrative investigations is enough to confidently assert the ‘no bomb, no victims’ conclusion is a bum steer. Counterintelligence at play. It’s why I keep coming back to it - reveals too much to ignore journalistically.
Sorry if this breakdown of Francis O’Neill’s article is long winded but I’m just laying it down for the record. As a marker. Also as a lesson in how words are used to manipulate emotions and draw the reader in the wrong direction, even if it looks like investigative journalism. We’ve all been there. We’ve all been played.
The right to reply helps. Allowing open conversations helps. But Francis O’Neill is showing he’s even worse than the mainstream media in blocking both avenues. Don’t expect the new guard to be any better than the old guard. Once you’re a commercial entity compromises are made, little excuses here and there to keep the income incoming. Blind spots. Turning a blind eye. That kind of thing.
It’s why old school journalism is more of a vocation. It’s not something you go into to get rich, or at least it shouldn’t be.
I’d also like to reiterate that nobody paid me to point out the bleedin’ obvious about those poisonous injections. Speaking out was the right thing to do. That’s it. Yes there have been financial sacrifices and implications as a direct result of taking that stand but I’ve no regrets. Many of us experienced and continue to experience the fallout from the Covid scam years but we’re stronger for it and wiser too.
Not everyone has a price.
Soul not for sale.
Related articles:
Blind spot or turning a blind eye? Miri AF and the Delingpole problem
When schizos act like psychos where do you go from there?
Investigative journalist Tony Gosling on the embedded saboteurs destroying honest inquiry
