As we've pointed out in previous editions of Right-Wing Media Watch, sometimes what the press doesn't cover is just as revealing as what it does.
As we’ve pointed out in previous editions of Right-Wing Media Watch, sometimes what the press doesn’t cover is just as revealing as what it does.
This week, we saw that in full effect.
News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, finally admitted to unlawful actions against Prince Harry.
They offered both Harry and his only remaining co-claimant Tom Watson, a “full and unequivocal apology” for activities carried out by the newspapers.
In a joint statement, Harry and Watson, hailed the settlement as a “monumental victory,” exposing years of lies and cover-ups.
“Today proves that no one stands above the law,” they said.
The case, which was set to go to trial this week, accused NGN journalists of unlawful information gathering, including the use of private investigators. But just before the trial was due to begin, NGN settled and apologised for violating Harry’s privacy and that of his late mother. The group also admitted targeting Watson during his time as a junior minister under prime minister Gordon Brown.
The publisher will also pay “substantial damages” to both men as part of the settlement.
You would assume that such a historic settlement, featuring a prince and a former Labour government minister, would dominate the news, especially considering the media’s usual obsession with anything related to Prince Harry. Yet, the story was conspicuously absent from the headlines the following day.
However, there was one right-wing figure who couldn’t resist making a noise – Dan Wootton.
The former Sun columnist and GB News presenter immediately took to social media to mock Harry, despite the settlement being widely regarded as a legal victory, primarily for the publisher’s admission of guilt, rather than the financial compensation.
Wootton, who had offered to testify against Harry in court, called him “self-obsessed” and claimed the settlement meant the prince had “bottled it.”
But Wootton’s gleeful posts, including one asking, “Has Prince Harry become the p***y prince?” were met with mockery online, with many pointing out the absurdity of Wootton’s self-importance.
One comment sarcastically noted: ““Oh I’m sure he’d have been shaking in his shoes facing you in court… You sound absolutely terrifying. Pathetic.”
Another said: “I think you are totally deluded if you think he is worried about facing you. The fact that they are all being ‘paid off’ shows how guilty the media is.”
“Terrified of YOU?! You really are pathetically delusional!!” was another comment.
Wootton, a long-time critic of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has made headlines for breaking royal “scoops,” including a 2018 story in the Sun claiming there was a confrontation between Harry and Queen Elizabeth II over a tiara Meghan Markle was supposed to wear on their wedding day. While Harry confirmed in his memoir there were tensions over the tiara, his account of events differed from Wootton’s version.
Sigh, while Harry’s legal victory exposes the depths of the Murdoch media empire’s wrongdoings, it also shows the ridiculousness of figures like Wootton, who seem more interested in petty mockery than in the serious issues of privacy invasion and media accountability. Meanwhile, the media’s glaring absence in covering the story only serves to reinforce the very problem Harry has been fighting against.
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