Boycott the Sun

DO NOT BUY THE SUN

After Hillsborough, the first reaction of the majority of the British press was to blame the Liverpool fans. The Sun was particularly disgraceful in its attitude, as illustrated by its offensive and misinformed headline on the Wednesday after the Disaster:

The Truth; Some fans picked pockets of victims; Some fans urinated on the brave cops; Some fans beat up PC giving kiss of life

The outrage over this headline lead to thousands of copies of the Sun being, quite rightly, stolen and burnt on Merseyside. The paper has been successfully boycotted in Liverpool ever since with some shopkeepers still refusing to sell it.

Unfortunately, young readers are filtering through and starting to pick copies up, perhaps unaware of the significance of buying this awful paper. This younger generation (and the general public in the country) needs to be educated as to why nobody should ever read Murdoch's gutter rag. They need to be reminded of the headlines and that their 20p is going to feed the most sickening organ in the country.

DO NOT BUY THE SUN

How did the press get away with it?

How could the Sun perpertrate these crass lies that are offensive to the families of the victims, the people involved and the people of Liverpool in general?

In the 1980's the media had already labelled Liverpudlians as rebellious and anarchistic. This was due to the political establishment, both the incumbent Tory government and the Labour opposition, waging war on the Militant council in Liverpool. The real victims of this war were the Liverpool people suffering the consequences of harsh measures imposed as well as an undeserved negative image worldwide. It is in this context that the media could get away with such disgraceful and offensive coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster.

DO NOT BUY THE SUN

Andrew Turner, April 2003