To explain my point on this, as the Cummings story has blown up... https://twitter.com/reallornaleeson/status/1264091266008129536

Creating a social media firestorm is media manipulation 101.

This is explained far better in ‘Trust Me, I’m Lying’ ( https://ryanholiday.net/trust-me-im-lying-confessions-of-a-media-manipulator/ thanks for the rec @dds180)

Seeding news stories to create outrage is a fairly typical move if you want to generate coverage.

You may want to generate coverage for a variety of reasons. If you are a brand, it’s to keep your name out there.

If you’re a government ballsing up the biggest health & economic crisis in a generation you probably want to detract from the actual facts, figures and strategy.

Especially if a new opposition leader has begun shining a light on your deficiencies in these areas.

So, what to do?

You can go ahead with the policy of exempting NHS workers from surcharging, otherwise known as the obvious, but not especially newsworthy thing to do.

Or you can tell everyone they still have to pay (helps to have a certifiably stupid Home Secretary to deliver this message)... followed by outrage, noise, lots of coverage... then reverse the decision and get more noise & coverage.

Same policy. Different levels of news noise.

Or... have a controversial character in government outed as doing something that will create outrage... fan the flames by getting the cabinet to all come out obviously & ludicrously in his defence: double outrage.

This government doesn’t care about positive PR

What they care about is managing the narrative. Keeping people angry. Creating outrage.

Because then we aren’t focusing on the fact that there is no clear strategy to handle this pandemic, no test & trace strategy, no safe plan for schools & a death rate second only to the US.

If this sounds a bit tin-hatty I understand. But these are the same tactics as deployed by Vote Leave and they worked.

Now those ‘gurus’ are running the comms for COVID https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/downing-street-calls-election-gurus-overhaul-coronavirus-comms/1678511

Essentially it’s a Billy Flynn from Chicago move. Give ‘em the old Razzle Dazzle.

Is Cummings a total twat? Yes. Should foreign born NHS workers have to pay? No.

But the bigger story is how badly we are being failed on all fronts by this shower of con-artists.

We haven’t had actual facts, figures or strategy from this bunch of utter arses for weeks. The PM is part time. Scrutiny is almost non existent.

That’s the news. That’s what they don’t want you to focus on.

The rest is the sequins in your eyes.