Britain must fight ‘chilling effect’ of cancel culture, Sunak tells journalists
Sunak urges attendees at the Society of Editors conference to ‘challenge and interrogate people’s standpoints’ – Yui Mok/PA
The UK must tackle the “chilling effect” of cancel culture amid growing threats to democracy, Rishi Sunak has said.
Speaking at the Society of Editors conference in London, the Prime Minister warned against the dangers of “shutting down people’s views and making people fear speaking out”, saying: “That’s not who we are. That’s not what this country stands for.”
He added: “Democracy depends on the ability to air our views, to challenge and interrogate people’s standpoints and to learn from different perspectives and experiences.
“And if we value a liberal, pluralistic society, we cannot allow one group of people to say their experiences are more important than others.”
Mr Sunak warned that the erosion of free speech was particularly concerning as Britain faces a growing threat from Russia, Iran, North Korea and China.
He branded these countries an “axis of authoritarian states” who are “united by their shared antipathy to our values and to our freedoms, and are growing more assertive all the time”.
The Prime Minister said: “It just shows that our values, and the principles that this body was founded on, are more important than ever.”
The comments come after the Government intervened to block the sale of The Telegraph to an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund amid concerns over the impact on press freedom.
RedBird IMI, which is majority backed by Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, on Tuesday said it had formally abandoned its takeover bid as it admitted the deal was “no longer feasible”.
It will now launch an onward sale process for both The Telegraph and The Spectator.
Mr Sunak also addressed the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media industry, which poses a threat to publishers’ intellectual property and the accuracy of news.
The Financial Times this week became the first UK news publisher to strike a licensing deal with OpenAI to allow its articles to be used to train ChatGPT.
Mr Sunak said: “New technology is being used to peddle propaganda and false narratives, disinformation is fomenting division, undermining the truth and journalists themselves are even becoming the victim of deep fakes.”
The Prime Minister insisted that the Government was working to ensure that “the opportunities of technology are not exploited by the enemies of democracy”, pointing to the AI summit held at Bletchley Park last year.
He said: “We are meeting this threat head-on, ensuring we do so in a way that doesn’t hamper freedom of expression but enhances it.”
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