The EU has announced that it is to spend £2 million “monitoring” twitter and other new media outlets in the run up to the 2014 European elections. Of this around 40% will not come from existing budgets in the Evil Empire’s Ministry of Truth but is new cash, part of the EU budget increase. The aim of this is explicitly to counteract Euroscepticism. In other words the EU is pissing away your cash to monitor folks like me who write and tweet stuff pointing out what an inefficient, misguided crook factory this edifice is. The stated aim is in persuading voters not to listen (and I presume vote UKIP or for other sceptical parties in Europe) but to “see the light” and vote for Eurofanatics (i.e. Labour, Lib Dems or Call Me Dave’s Tory party).
I quote from a document produced by the Evil Empire:
“Particular attention needs to be paid to the countries that have experienced a surge in Euroscepticism…Parliament’s institutional communicators must have the ability to monitor public conversation and sentiment on the ground and in real time, to understand ‘trending topics’ and have the capacity to react quickly, in a targeted and relevant manner, to join in and influence the conversation, for example, by providing facts and figures to deconstructing myths.”
But what is a myth? The EU tried to tell us that the bent banana directive was a myth until it was shown to be true. Would it say that my statement “The EU is the world’s largest donor of foreign aid and much of this cash is wasted or stolen” is a myth? Oddly UK Government audits back up my claim. When EU spokesman claim on radio 4 that “EU spending on agriculture subsidies has fallen” – that is in fact a myth as it has fallen only as a percentage of the rapidly bloated overall EU budget but in absolute terms has risen year on year. Who is pedaling a myth?
Whatever the rights and wrongs ( and the EU is wrong on most matters) it is obscene that taxpayers cash is being used with the explicit aim of influencing elections so that parties who have supported more taxpayers cash being used on such waste can win.
My only consolation is that if I am to be monitored I am delighted that it is by a body as useless and incompetent as the EU.
I am aware that I already have a number of EU employees following me on twitter and so if anyone is reading this in Brussels, rather than engaging in the national pastime of molesting kids, please do not forget to follow me on Facebook too (I signed up last week) as I shall be dishing out stacks of Euroscepticism there too.