Revelations that the UK government is the biggest advertiser on GB News could mean that we are all unwittingly funding hate, according to an eye-oping Byline Times investigation.
More than £1 million of UK taxpayer money has been spent on almost 10,500 ads since the channel launched in the summer of 2021, shocking figures show.
It means the UK state is contributing £340,000 a year to the company’s coffers, who subsidise a network owned by a Dubai hedge fund and billionaire Conservative Party donor Paul Marshall.
The news channel also pays eye-watering hourly rates to presenters including Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg and former Tory Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson, who both rake in six-figure salaries on top of their MP pay.
Esther McVey and Philip Davies are also pocketing hundreds of pounds per hour as a co-presenter double, which includes dedicating time to “love-in” interviews with serving government ministers.
Commenting on the findings, David Puttnam, a former Labour peer, said: “If you’re judged by who your friends are then I guess that the Government funding hate through GB ‘News’ should come as no surprise!
“As taxpayers, we seem to have reached a point at which there are no limits to political embarrassment when it comes to spending our money!”
Byline Times’ analysis of advertising figures from Barb – an organisation which compiles audience measurement and television ratings – gives a breakdown of the type and number of GB News commercials funded by UK taxpayers, and their associated costs.
Since July 2021, the Government’s biggest outlay has been £152,000 on 1,198 adverts promoting cancer screening, £132,000 on 1,180 ads for ‘Help for Households’, and £127,000 on 802 commercials promoting teacher recruitment.
Around £146,000 has been spent trying to recruit youngsters into careers in the Navy (£48,00 on 824 adverts), the Army (£45,000 / 1,008), the Royal Marines (£36,000 / 491) and the RAF (£17,000 / 440).
In early 2022 the Government spent £5,500 appealing for GB News viewers to “pick pork medallions”.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The Government advertises across a wide range of platforms and channels to communicate to the widest audience possible. All advertising space is independently purchased by an agency, OmniGOV, to achieve this reach, while also prioritising value for money for taxpayers.”
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