Daily Mail

{{silver}}{{title-italics}}[[File:Daily_mail_1938.jpg|thumb|165px|The ''Daily Mail'' in 1938. Today it has the same message against asylum seekers.]]
{{media}}
{{cquote|The ''Daily Mail'' leads with the headline "Everything Is Fine: Fear It, Fear It."|||''{{wpl|That Mitchell And Webb Look}}''}}

The '''''Daily Mail''''' (a.k.a. ''Hate Mail'', ''Daily Fail'', ''Daily Heil'', ''Daily Moan'', ''Crazy Mail'', and so on) is a reactionary [[right-wing]] [[tabloid]] rag masquerading as a "[[traditional values]]" middle-class newspaper that is, in many ways, the second-worst of the [[United Kingdom|British]] gutter press (only [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s ''[[The Sun]]'' is worse). The ''Mail'' has been so consistently bad that [[George Orwell|Orwell]] called them out in ''Homage to Catalonia'' for supporting [[Francisco Franco|Franco]].<ref>''[http://www.telelib.com/authors/O/OrwellGeorge/prose/HomageToCatalonia/index.html Homage to Catalonia]'' by George Orwell (2016 [1938]) Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0544382048. "The ''Daily Mail'', amid the cheers of the Catholic clergy, was able to represent Franco as a patriot delivering his country from hordes of fiendish 'Reds'".</ref>{{rp|199,207}} The ''Mail'' has also infamously supported [[Oswald Mosley]] and [[fascism]].

The ''Daily Mail'' is to the UK what the ''[[New York Post]]'' is to the [[United States]], and what the [[Drudge Report]] is to the [[Internet]]: to wit, gossipy tabloid "[[journalism]]" for those who cannot digest serious [[news]], with a flippantly [[wingnut]] editorial stance. Like the ''[[Daily Express]]'', it tries to appear more upmarket and respectable than the red-top British tabloids, though it does sometimes go in for the full front-page picture or headline characteristic of the [[Populism|populist]] rags. It is also notorious for its frequent {{wpl|harassment}} of individuals, campaigns of hate directed at various minorities (often people who are [[Muslim]] or [[transgender]]), and willfully [[deceit|deceiving]] and lying to its readers.

Much of its content is [[Appeal to emotion|designed to trigger readers' limbic systems]], so articles generate strong emotions of [[Appeal to hate|hate]], [[Appeal to fear|fear]], anger, [[Appeal to pity|sadness]], [[Appeal to disgust|disgust]], and occasionally happiness (usually because a white middle-class person has done something nice, or kittens). Like trout in a fish farm pond, readers wait for the ''Daily Mail'' to fling the next story to them about ne'er-do-wells smirking, scruffy women in tracksuits smoking outside court (where they face charges of drunken assault or benefit fraud), brown people and assorted foreigners doing the things that they do, lefties campaigning about something, or working class people enjoying themselves in a non-approved way. Then the readership erupts into a foaming fury that quickly subsides as they wait for the next story. But the fury doesn't completely subside; it leaves a residual anger that simmers in the background and requires another trigger story to allow it to boil over once more.

==History==
[[File:BlackshirtsDailyMail1934.jpg|thumb|240px||Well, that's rather blatant...]]
The ''Daily Mail'' was founded in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe (then plain Alfred Harmsworth), who amassed a newspaper empire which also included ''The Daily Mirror'', ''The Times'', the ''Sunday Times'', ''[[The Observer]]'', ''Sunday Dispatch'', and ''The Evening News''; his brother Harold Harmsworth (later Lord Rothermere) gained a controlling interest in 1922 after his death. The paper's fact-checking ability was first made apparent on 16 April 1912, when it ran the headline "[[Titanic]] Sunk. No Lives Lost. Collision with an Iceberg. Largest Ship in the World. 2,358 Lives in Peril. Rush of Liners to the Rescue. All Passengers Taken Off."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190916235158/http://www.paperlessarchives.com/titanic_newspaper_archive.html ''Titanic Newspaper Archive''] (archived from September 16, 2019).</ref> Compare this to the New York Herald April 15, 1912 headline, "The Titanic Sinks with 1,800 on Board; Only 675, Mostly Woman and Children, Saved"

It was under the proprietorship of Lord Rothermere that, in 1924, it achieved some notoriety by publishing the [[Zinoviev letter]], a [[Hoax|forged document]] which indicated that British [[Communist]]s were planning violent [[revolution]]. This had a significant influence on the outcome of the general election four days later which resulted in defeat for the [[Labour Party]]. This is why some people refer to the rag as the ''Forgers' Gazette''.<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/03/ralph-miliband-british-values-daily-mail ''The Ralph Miliband I knew embodied the British values the Daily Mail rejects''.] by Ian Aitken (3 October 2013) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

During the 1930s, the ''Daily Mail'' was sympathetic to [[German]] and [[Italian]] [[fascism]], as Rothermere was [[Godwin's Law|friendly with]] both [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Benito Mussolini]]. An article by Rothermere printed in the paper also praised the British Union of Fascists (known as the ''Blackshirts'') leader [[Oswald Mosley]] for "sound, [[Common sense|commonsense]], Conservative doctrine."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030210204507/http://www.voiceoftheturtle.org/dictionary/dict_h1.php Dictionary of the Turtle: "Hurrah for the Blackshirts"] ''The Voice of the Turtle'' (archived from February 10, 2003).</ref><ref>''Unreliable Sources: How the Twentieth Century Was Reported'' by John Simpson (2010) Macmillan. ISBN 1405050055.</ref> After Hitler annexed [[Czechoslovakia]] around 1939, Rothermere congratulated him and urged him to invade [[Romania]] next. [[Joseph Goebbels]] himself was impressed, writing in a personal diary: "Rothermere pays me great compliments … Strongly [[Antisemitism|anti-Jewish]]. … He is a strong supporter of the Führer." Elsewhere, Rothermere praised Hitler as "great and superhuman".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCYXDAAAQBAJ |title=We Chose to Speak of War and Strife: The World of the Foreign Correspondent |date=2016-10-06 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4088-7225-3 |pages= |language=en |chapter=Chapter 8: Facing the Dictators |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCYXDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT132}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Verkaik |first=Robert |date=March 1, 2005 |title=Rothermere urged Hitler to invade Romania |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1484647/When-Rothermere-urged-Hitler-to-invade-Romania.html |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Philpot |first=Robert |date=August 5, 2018 |title=How Britain's Nazi-loving press baron made the case for Hitler |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-britains-nazi-loving-press-baron-made-the-case-for-hitler/ |work=The Times of Israel}}</ref> As well as devoting a lot of time to [[diplomacy]] with fascists, Lord Rothermere was occupied with a failed scheme to become King of [[Hungary]], so his son, Esmond Harmsworth, took an increasing role at the papers in the 1930s.<ref>{{wpa|Esmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere}}</ref>

In turn, the 3rd Viscount, Vere Harmsworth,<ref>{{wpa|Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere}}</ref> took over in 1970. Despite the paper's moralising about other people's private lives, [[Hypocrisy|Vere was a keen womanizer and socialite, and enjoyed an open marriage to actress Beverly Brooks]], known as "Bubbles" Rothermere, until her death in 1992.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-viscount-rothermere-1195616.html Obituary: Viscount Rothermere] by Michael Leapman (3 September 1998 00:02) ''Independent''.</ref> In 1998, when his new Korean wife proved too much for him, the late Vere was replaced by his son Jonathan, the present owner and 4th Viscount Rothermere.<ref>{{wpa|Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere}}</ref> Despite professed [[patriotism]], the 3rd Viscount had become a [[tax]] [[Hypocrisy|exile]] in [[France]], and his son continues to claim "non-dom" tax status as an honorary Frenchperson.<ref>[http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/ian-hislop-lets-rip-daily-2339529 Ian Hislop lets rip at Daily Mail and Rothermere family over 'embarrassing' Ed Miliband row on HIGNFY: Father of current Lord Rothermere "loved Great Britain so much he went to live in France as a tax exile" adds Private Eye editor] by Mark Jefferies (22:16, 4 Oct 2013; Updated 22:40, 4 Oct 2013) ''Daily Mirror''.</ref>

In 1971, the ''Daily Mail'' absorbed its stablemate, the ''Daily Sketch'', a populist right-wing tabloid from which the previous broadsheet ''Daily Mail'' took its more sensationalist modern elements.

In 2014, [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s News Corporation, which also owns trashy tabloids, accused the Australian online edition of the ''Daily Mail'' of [[plagiarism]].<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jun/09/news-corp-accuses-daily-mail-australia-of-plagiarism News Corp accuses Daily Mail Australia of plagiarism: Australia's largest newspaper group labels rival journalists 'copy snatchers and parasites' amid accusations of stealing stories] by Amanda Meade (9 Jun 2014 02.23 EDT; Last modified on Wed 26 Oct 2016 20.00 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

In November 2018, {{wpl|ABC Australia (Southeast Asian TV channel)|ABC Australia's}} Media Watch programme devoted an entire broadcast to the ''Daily Mail Online'''s mass plagiarism of other journalists' work and its effect on revenue and the ongoing viability of other newspapers.<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/daily-mail/10465244 Fury at the Mail: Can anything stop the Daily Mail and its brazen theft of other people’s yarns? Journalists share their anger at how the popular website rips off their work and ideas.] (Broadcast: 5 Nov 2018, 9:15pm; Published: 5 Nov 2018, 8:35pm) ''ABC Australia''.</ref>

==Viewpoints==
{{cquote|[[Racist]] in public, so you don't have to be.|||Russell Howard, ''Mock the Week''}}
[[File:Daily Mail 2009 08 28.jpg|thumb|A real ''Daily Mail'' front page. Did you know that blacks have 18 more kids than middle-class [[white people]] and also Kate Moss has even more shoes?]]

The ''Mail'' is usually considered the furthest-[[Right-wing|right]] of all British newspapers and tabloids, competing for this spot with the ''[[Daily Express]]''. Although some of the red-top tabloids might throw about more extreme [[rhetoric]], their laddish attitude often means they're not taken too seriously. Below documents their most well-known stances, but their targets include [[Roma|Romani people]], the workshy, Young People Today, the public sector, the [[BBC]]<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?searchPhrase=BBC search for "BBC"] ''Mail Online'.</ref> (which, in full [[Fox News]] style, it says has a strong [[liberal bias]]),<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?offset=0&size=50&sel=site&searchPhrase=%22liberal+bias%22&sort=recent&type=article&type=permabox&days=all search for "liberal bias"] ''Mail Online''. Articles are almost exclusively about the BBC.</ref> and anyone to the left of [[Norman Tebbit]].

Irrespective of the level of moderation, reader comments are an endless source of amusement as a place where misanthropes, [[misogynists]], racists,<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/fb-6079413/GREAT-BRITISH-BAKE-2018-CONTESTANTS-WIDE.html Great British Bake Off 2018: Who Are The Contestants?] (Published: 11:37 EDT, 20 August 2018 | Updated: 04:10 EDT, 21 August 2018) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> and [[conspiracy theorists]] gather to spout their nonsense, presumably because every single person in their lives is utterly fed up with hearing their angry and sour views.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200209132634/https://twitter.com/DMReporter/status/848103847943954432 NORMALISED: Not convinced the Mail is a Nazi rag? Here are dozens of readers praising Hitler and getting upvoted.] by DMReporter (2:24 AM — 1 Apr 2017) ''Twitter'' (archived from February 9, 2020).</ref><ref>[https://www.indy100.com/article/what-happens-when-you-comment-on-daily-mail-articles-with-actual-nazi-propaganda--Zy4ccsnBEx What happens when you comment on Daily Mail articles with actual Nazi propaganda] by Matthew Champion (10 August 2015 17:10) ''indy100/The Independent''.</ref> Starting a statement with "No doubt…" means that something that hasn't happened (and will never happen in the [[real world]]) will definitely happen in their seething imagination: "No doubt there will be minarets on Westminster Abbey within 5 years". "[[War on Christmas|No doubt it will soon be illegal to wish someone Happy Christmas.]]" "No doubt anyone who defends themselves against burglars will be jailed for life before long". And so on.<ref>[https://twitter.com/DMReporter DMReporter] ''Twitter''.</ref> Following the successful setup of the online version of the ''Daily Mail'', a Facebook page was created, apparently for readers frustrated that comment moderators sometimes removed the most mouthfoamingly racist comments. Please do not read ''Daily Mail'' Facebook comments if you wish to preserve any faith in human nature.

===Anti-immigration===
{{main|Illegal immigration}}
The ''Mail'''s editorial stances are indistinguishable from the [[British National Party]] (BNP)'s policies. The ''Mail'' blamed the [[European Union]] and European immigration to Britain for the [[banking crisis|economic crisis]] and wonders why people vote for the BNP. It likes to incite its readers against minorities with sensationalist headlines about the benefits immigrants receive and the threat they pose to British culture and [[homeland security|security]] (almost always entirely founded on lies).<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3899540/Go-away-shouldn-t-Don-t-come-corner-Yorkshire-no-white-residents.html Go away, you shouldn't be here. Don't come back': The corner of Yorkshire that has almost no white residents] by Sue Reid (Published: 19:20 EDT, 2 November 2016 | Updated: 12:34 EDT, 10 November 2016) ''Daily Fail''.</ref><ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270619/Sharia-saw-Iran-releases-pictures-brutal-amputation-machine-chopping-mans-fingers-bid-clamp-election-dissent.html The Sharia saw: The terrifying device Iran uses to chop off criminals' fingers] (Published: 07:20 EDT, 30 January 2013 | Updated: 02:26 EDT, 31 January 2013) ''Daily Mail''.</ref><ref>[https://www.the-round.co.uk/someone-torn-apart-daily-mail-article/ Someone Has Just Torn Apart A Daily Mail Anti-Immigration Article: A Daily Mail article has got the treatment it deserves.] (August 5, 2018) ''The Round'' (archived from March 5, 2020).</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/aug/06/daily-mail-removes-powder-keg-paris-report-after-complaints Daily Mail removes 'Powder Keg Paris' report after complaints: Article claimed 300,000 ‘illegal migrants’ were living in crime-ridden suburb of Saint-Denis] by Jim Waterson (6 Aug 2018 15.16 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

It is exceptionally rare for the main headline to be unlinked to asylum seekers or [[xenophobia|"dangerous" foreigners]] in some way or another, regardless of the ''context'' of the story. Such is the case with Mahira Rustam Al-Azawi, who would otherwise just be another case of long-term fraud if it wasn't for the ''Mail'' slanting it toward her being an [[Iraq]]i asylum seeker.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1289654/Iraqi-asylum-cheat-got-700-000-benefits-houses-private-school-son.html Iraqi asylum cheat who got £700,000 in benefits, three houses and private school for her son!] by Nick McDermott (UPDATED: 12:29 EDT, 26 June 2010) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>

Despite believing itself to be the last bastion of English values, the Daily Mail often displays a very poor grasp of both the language and geography of England. Maps hurriedly created to illustrate a story often have cities comically marked in the wrong place, often out by hundreds of miles. In 2016, a story about the causeway to Holy Island in the North Sea described it as crossing "the River Tyne", a mere 60 miles out and the wrong type of water.<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3888230/The-cabbie-thought-water-taxi-Drone-captures-Uber-driver-completely-swamped-getting-caught-rising-tide-Holy-Island.html The cabbie who thought he was in a water taxi: Drone captures Uber driver being completely swamped after getting caught by the rising tide at Holy Island] (Published: 21:03 EDT, 30 October 2016 | Updated: 04:28 EDT, 31 October 2016) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> The almost daily articles about road rage or fatal traffic accidents very often feature sentences such as "he applied his breaks", "despite jamming on his breaks", and "he was seen to be breaking hard"; and in one case used "broke" as the past tense of brake.<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6701791/Dashcam-footage-shows-horror-crash-Warburton-Highway-Launching-Place-east-Melbourne.html Quick-thinking truck driver is praised for slamming on the brakes to avoid a nasty collision — before rushing to help a shaken toddler from the wreckage] by Max Margan (Published: 18:07 EDT, 13 February 2019; Updataed: 18:29 EDT, 13 February 2019) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>

The ''Mail'' also occasionally expresses [[Ameriphobia|anti-American]] views. The aforementioned favourite European statesman once called the [[United States|US]] a "mongrel nation", and the ''Mail'' has rarely disagreed with this sentiment. One notable example occurred on 5 September 1956, in a commentary on the film ''The Blackboard Jungle'', the first with a rock-and-roll soundtrack. And what did the ''Mail'''s editorial writer think of the movie and of rock-and-roll?<ref>''Pop Music and the Press'' by Steve Jones (2002) Temple University Press. ISBN 1566399653.</ref>{{rp|114}} No doubt they would have preferred [[Pat Boone]] if he wasn't one of those nasty colonials, too.

===Religion===
While scientific surveys have shown that 73%<ref>[http://www.gallup.com/poll/142727/Religiosity-Highest-World-Poorest-Nations.aspx#1 Religiosity Highest in World's Poorest Nations: United States is among the rich countries that buck the trend] by Steve Crabtree (August 31, 2010) ''Gallup''.</ref> of the British population don't really give a fuck about [[religion]], the ''Mail'' touts itself as the last bastion defence of 1400 years of UK [[Christian]] values. They stand defiant in the face of both the [[Muslim]] and the [[atheist]] threat, such as when the evil Beeb decided to remove the good and proper AD and BC in favour of [[CE]] and [[BCE]]… except nothing of the kind actually happened.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2011/sep/26/1 Reality check: has the BBC dropped the terms BC/AD? The BBC is replacing the use of BC and AD with more politically correct alternatives. Or so the ''Mail on Sunday'' has claimed. Is it true?] by Polly Curtis (26 Sep 2011 07.46 EDT) ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref> The [[BBC]] uses both, but the editor of the religion section of the website decided that BCE and CE were more appropriate religiously neutral terms, in line with the BBC's impartiality rather than its supposed atheistic bias. The ''Mail'' even went so far as to needlessly imply that it was a Muslim man advancing his own agenda.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2011/sep/25/1 How the BBC's dark forces of political correctness threaten the Christian era: The BBC haven't banned AD/BC, but outraged Christians seem perplexed and annoyed by the idea of personal choice] by Martin Robbins (25 Sep 2011 08.50 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref> Essentially, like all religious [[fundamentalist]]s and political [[fringe]] groups, the ''Mail'' is simply interpreting actual [[NPOV|neutrality]] as a [[Hostile media effect|bias against ''itself'']], rather than seeing its own biases and preferences for what they are.

Recently, though, the ''Mail'' has been quite supportive of atheist claims such as the claim that [[Jesus]] didn't exist, even publishing a nobody's claim on this matter.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2776194/Jesus-never-existed-Writer-finds-no-mention-Christ-126-historical-texts-says-mythical-character.html 'Jesus NEVER existed': Writer finds no mention of Christ in 126 historical texts and says he was a 'mythical character'] by Jonathan O'Callaghan (Published: 05:59 EDT, 1 October 2014; Updated: 06:48 EDT, 2 October 2014) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>

===Anti-welfare===
For the last few years, the ''Mail'' has been the leading voice in [[Benefit scrounger|demonising anyone]] who claims social benefits for any reason whatsoever (while completely oblivious that the State Pension received by about 15m people is a social benefit), which has been shown to fuel stigma of the majority of genuine claimants and discourage people who may need help from seeking it.<ref>[http://archive.is/CWdt3 ‘Scrounger’ Stigma Discouraging Would-be Benefit Claimants] (November 28, 2012) ''Fresh Ties'' (archived from 7 Jul 2013 13:07:03 UTC).</ref> "Single mothers", for decades one of the ''Daily Mail'''s many targets for reader hate, are always irresponsible, lazy, and "loose", unless they are middle-class, in which case widowhood or being abandoned by a husband for his secretary at the bank where he works are allowable as an excuse (complete with sad face photos and many sympathetic column inches).

===Pro-Brexit===
Although these days the ''Daily Mail'' is rabidly [[eurosceptic]], this was not always its editorial stance. In fact, during the 1930s, the paper was a big fan of a [[Third Reich|united European superstate]]. However, due to a [[World War II|deterioration in Britain's relationship]] with the ''Mail'''s favourite European statesman, the paper was obliged to reverse its stance on the issue rather suddenly in late 1939.

===Violence in media===
Despite having loudly campaigned for many years against fictional violence in movies and video games, on any given day its website Mail Online will feature several videos of violent death: industrial explosions, suicide bombers, police shootings, horrific crashes, falls from high places, workers crushed by equipment, murder by knife or gun, or anything else that interns have found while trawling the internet for gory content.<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6518039/Man-runs-one-year-old-niece-three-ton-truck-flees-scene.html Family's horror as man, 33, runs over his one-year-old niece with a truck and then FLEES the scene before another relative hunts him down] by Jessa Schroeder (Published: 18:56 EDT, 20 December 2018; Updated: 17:50 EDT, 21 December 2018) ''Daily Mail''.</ref><ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6520641/Los-Angeles-police-release-video-California-homeless-man-58-repeatedly-stabbed-death.html?mrn_rm=als1 Los Angeles police release shocking video of the moment California homeless man, 58, is repeatedly stabbed to death as a $50,000 reward is offered for information leading to attacker's arrest] by Megan Sheets (Published: 12:01 EDT, 21 December 2018; Updated: 12:16 EDT, 21 December 2018) ''Daily Mail''.</ref><ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6520245/Video-captures-terrifying-moment-father-four-struck-stray-bullet-dying-hospital.html Terrifying moment father-of-two, 40, is fatally hit by a stray bullet at a holiday party in Miami] by Adriano Torres (Published: 12:00 EDT, 21 December 2018; Updated: 11:44 EDT, 22 December 2018) ''Daily Mail''.</ref><ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6512691/Russian-man-beats-shopper-death-talking-cashier-keeping-waiting.html Shocking moment Russian man beats another shopper to death for talking to the cashier and keeping him waiting... then tells police he was 'in a rush to celebrate Christmas'] by Ross Ibbetson (Published: 12:17 EDT, 19 December 2018; Updated: 12:21 EDT, 19 December 2018) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>

As late as the 1980s, the Daily Mail used overseas stories of unusual death or injury as amusing filler, until even readers began to complain. A Chinese motorcyclist being killed after crashing into a large hole in the road was reported in a comedic way, because, as readers suggested, he wasn't British (a.k.a. he didn't look white). Similarly, images of the dead and dying would be printed without question if the victims looked foreign, and particularly if they were not white European, when a greater sensitivity would be shown if the victims looked white. After a terror attack in Nairobi in 2019, there was criticism of the Mail Online and others for showing the bodies of victims because they were black and not white;<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46889822 Kenya attack: 'Our deaths are displayed for consumption'] by Flora Drury (16 January 2019) ''BBC''.</ref> however, by 2019, the Mail Online made no such distinction and would show almost any images of dead bodies that they could obtain.

===Health===
====Cancer====
The ''Mail'' is known for obsessing over dangers from health scares (such as the [[Andrew Wakefield]] controversy) to [[Paedophilia|paedophiles]]. With cancer, the ''Mail'' has found possibly its greatest asset in attempting to scare its readers into doing a lot of crazy shit. Among the items claimed by the paper to ''cause'' cancer (based on "[[pseudoscience|scientific]]" research) are mouthwash, [[oral sex]], Pringles, [[Facebook]], and [[coffee]].<ref>[http://www.thedailydust.co.uk/2009/02/19/20-strange-things-the-daily-mail-say-will-cause-cancer/ 20 Strange Things The Daily Mail Say Will Cause Cancer] (Feb 19, 2009) ''The Daily Dust''.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3chJN9DCGg Daily Mail cancer song] by Russel Howard (Jun 5, 2015) ''YouTube''.</ref> On the other hand, ''cures'' for cancer include [[Soy|tofu]], the yellow fever vaccine, ketchup, and coffee. Care is needed when interpreting the articles, as much of the evidence is mixed with nonsense. Some things such as mouthwash containing alcohol do indeed increase the risk of cancer &mdash; if you're an alcoholic extracting the alcohol from mouthwash for a buzz.

For the terminally confused, as the ''Mail'' is sometimes inconsistent on the subject, a near-enough full record of everything that cures and causes cancer is available at the 'Kill or Cure' website<ref>[https://kill-or-cure.herokuapp.com/ Help to make sense of the ''Daily Mail'''s ongoing effort to classify every inanimate object into those that cause cancer and those that prevent it.] ''Kill or Ccure?''</ref> and on the ''Daily Mail'' Oncological Project.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080706061838/http://thedailymailoncologicalontologyproject.wordpress.com/ The Daily Mail Oncological Project] (archived from July 6, 2008).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073534/http://dailymailoncology.tumblr.com/ The (New) Daily Mail Oncological Ontology Project] (archived from March 4, 2016).</ref>

====HPV====
{{main|HPV vaccine}}
In April 2009, science blogger Martin Robbins, under the handle "The Lay Scientist", noted an interesting discrepancy in the policy of the ''Daily Mail''. On the British edition, known for its scare stories on health, there was a demand to stop the compulsory administration of the HPV cervical cancer vaccine. This is fair enough and expected from the ''Daily Mail'', as these people will go against ''any'' medical treatment given away for free. One underlying theme was the suspicion that young girls given the vaccine would immediately become promiscuous, having been freed from fear of contracting HPV, part of the longstanding puritanical worldview that underlies much of Daily Mail's content.

However, on the [[Irish]] edition, there was a campaign to "roll out the vaccine now!" demanding that the government issue it immediately, as in Ireland, it wasn't going to be issued as freely as in Britain. As the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Irish Daily Mail'' are owned by the same people and have the same (alleged) editorial stance, this wasn't a case of ''[[The Guardian]]'' saying one thing and ''The Express'' saying another. This has led to people declaring that the ''Mail'''s true position is "whatever the government is for, we're against."<ref>[http://whythatsdelightful.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/if-you-have-jaws-you-may-want-to-place-them-on-the-floor/ Jaw-dropping behaviour from The Daily Mail] by Graham Linehan (April 14, 2009) ''Why, That's Delightful!'' The Daily Mail: Campaigning both For and Against the HPV Vaccine in Different Countries Simultaneously</ref>

====Cannabis and schizophrenia====
{{main|1=Marijuana woo|3=Schizophrenia}}

In October 2011, the ''Daily Mail'' printed an article that claimed "Just ONE [[cannabis]] joint can bring on [[schizophrenia]] as well as damaging [[memory]]."<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2053486/cannabis-joint-cause-psychiatric-episodes-similar-schizophrenia-damaging-memory.html Just ONE cannabis joint 'can cause psychiatric episodes similar to schizophrenia' as well as damaging memory] by Tamara Cohen (17:21 EDT, 25 October 2011) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> This led to Dorothy Bishop, professor of [[neuroscience]] at Oxford University, awarding the ''Daily Mail'' the "[[Orwellian]] Prize for Journalistic Misrepresentation," for what she called "the worst misrepresentation of a scientific article in a national newspaper."<ref>[http://neurobonkers.com/2012/01/29/daily-mail-editor-paul-dacre-wins-the-orwellian-prize-for-journalistic-misrepresentation-just-one-cannabis-schizophrenia/ Daily Mail Editor Paul Dacre Wins Orwellian Prize for Journalistic Misrepresentation over "Just One Cannabis Joint Can Bring On Scizophrenia{{sic}}"] (January 29, 2012) ''Neurobonkers''.</ref>

The Press Complaints Commission refused to investigate it, though the article's author, Paul Dacre, was chairman of the PCC Editors' Code of Practice Committee at the time.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111222124728/http://www.pcc.org.uk/about/whoswho/committee.html Editors' Code Of Practice Committee] ''Press Complaints Commission'' (archived from December 22, 2011).</ref> Shortly after winning Prof. Bishop's "award," the ''Daily Fail'' did nothing to correct the misrepresentation, though they changed "causes schizophrenia" to "causes episodes similar to schizophrenia."

====Asbestos====
{{main|Asbestos}}
[[Christopher Booker]], one of the ''Daily Mail'''s star columnists, regularly takes up brave positions that run counter to science, [[fact]], and [[reality]]. These include "[[pseudoscepticism|scepticism]]" about climate change, a preference for [[intelligent design]] over [[evolution]], and the [[belief]] that passive [[smoking]] is not bad for your health. He pushes even further with his own branch of reality by making repeated claims that white asbestos is "chemically identical to [[talc|talcum powder]]" and the threat from it is so "vanishingly small" that a study by the UK's Health and Safety Executive had concluded that the danger was "insignificant" and with "arguably zero" risk of lung cancer.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/27/asbestos-press-watchdog-pcc Asbestos saga proves our feeble press watchdog has no bark and no bite: It took a seven-month battle to get the Daily Mail to correct Christopher Booker's dangerous claims about asbestos.] by Martin Robbins (28 Sep 2010 09.44 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

As usual with the ''Mail'', the UK's Health and Safety Executive does not agree with Booker and has described his claims regarding asbestos as "substantially misleading."<ref>[http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/record/2008/tel250508.htm Telegraph article: "Farmers face £6 bn bill for asbestos clean up link to external website": Geoffrey Podger, HSE's Chief Executive, responds] by Geoffrey Podger (25 May 2008) ''Health and Safety Executive'' (archived from March 11, 2011).</ref> It's probably [[Coincidence|coincidental]] that Booker's claims are strikingly similar to those of the British Asbestos Industry.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101007080723/http://britishasbestosnewsletter.org/ban48.htm 1. Connecting the Dots] (Autumn 2002) ''The British Asbestos Newspletter'' Issue 48 (archived from October 7, 2010).</ref>

===Other views===
*Anti-[[LGBT]]<ref> Jamie Tabberer (April 6, 2022). [https://www.attitude.co.uk/uncategorised/the-daily-fail-is-british-mainstream-media-systemically-anti-lgbtq-403339/ "The Daily Fail: Is British mainstream media systemically anti-LGBTQ?"]. ''Attitude''.</ref><ref>Antony Tiernan (August 31, 2019). [https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/gay-genes-science-lgbt-history-twitter-a9086796.html "When my tweet about 'gay genes' went viral, I realised we're looking at LGBT+ history all wrong"]. ''The Independent''.</ref>
*Anti-[[human rights]] because "human rights" ''only'' protect the obviously guilty and/or [[paedophiles]] or ''darkies''.
*Anti-[[tax]]es (mainly for those who can afford to pay them)
*[[Anti-intellectualism]] ('what do they know?') including academics,<ref>[http://theconversation.com/then-they-came-for-the-experts-how-the-daily-mail-is-threatening-how-you-think-86553 Then they came for the experts: how the Daily Mail is threatening how you think] by Emily Costello (October 31, 2017 7.41am EDT) ''The Conversation''.</ref> experts (including doctors); indeed anyone with an "-ology". A. N. Wilson famously stated that "The trouble with a 'scientific' argument, of course, is that it is not made in the real world, but in a laboratory by an unimaginative academic relying solely on [[empirical]] [[fact]]s".<ref name=hellonearth>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091104021807/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1224858/Yes-scientists-good-But-country-run-arrogant-gods-certainty-truly-hell-earth.html Yes, scientists do much good. But a country run by these arrogant gods of certainty would truly be hell on earth] (Updated: 02:50 EDT, 4 November 2009) ''Daily Mail'' (archived from November 4, 2009).</ref>
*Anti-[[liberal]] (not realising that the opposite of [[liberalism]] — (with a small 'l') is not Conservatism but [[totalitarianism]])
*Claiming that political changes were because of their campaigns
*Loves the British army<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4601958/Armed-SAS-troops-disguised-tramps.html Armed SAS troops take to streets disguised as tramps and street sweepers to stop another terror attack] (Published: 21:04 EDT, 13 June 2017 | Updated: 07:29 EDT, 7 September 2017) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>

==Femail==
<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;">[[File:Femail.jpg|50px|center]]
<div class="thumbcaption">What's this thin sliver of a line? Yes, it's the Femail website with a bit of news on the side. The word count of the Femail side bar is in the region of 4,400 &mdash; the article only 260. Literally, only 4% of this page is actual article. Really.</div></div></div>

{{rquote|left|''…it's not really a conventional news site at all, more a big online bin full of pictures of reality stars, with the occasional Stephen Glover column lobbed in to lighten the mood.''|[[Charlie Brooker]]<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/05/daily-mail-calls-rightwingers-stupid When the Daily Mail calls right-wingers stupid, the result is dumbogeddon: On and on the comments went – a chimps' tea party of the damned] by Charlie Brooker (5 Feb 2012 16.00 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref>}}

"Femail" (besides being a terrible pun) is The ''Daily Mail's'' specific "[[women]]'s section," dedicated to celebrities, their designer shoes (because of course, what overpriced clothes a woman is wearing is interesting), and other miscellaneous gossip. Femail dominates the right hand margin of the ''Mail'''s website &mdash; usually extending several times the length of all other content &mdash; meaning that even if you only care about the [[political]] or [[medical]] stances of the paper while reading online, you certainly won't be able to escape the latest mega-important headlines about Kim Kardashian's latest photo-shoot or Victoria Beckham's latest publicity stunt. Its ubiquity on the site is either due to the paper's [[bullshit|dedication to the feminist cause]], treating women's issues with equal importance or because their [[machismo]]-full male readers like to have [[masturbation|one off the wrist]] to a drunk Lindsay Lohan in their lunch breaks. The Femail section is also the place to see the most [[porn|sexually explicit]] images that ''Mail'' can find, from the racy outfits of pop starlets to [[nudity|nude]] photoshoots or wardrobe malfunctions of celebrities. The ''Mail'' has often received some criticism for this section and accusations of outright [[hypocrisy]], as the paper frequently complains of sexualised images broadcast on British television before the watershed time, but seems to have no problem in broadcasting these images and more to the world on a website that has ''no'' watershed time at all.

Notable is the tendency of Femail's female writers to adopt a critical and negative view of female matters (along the lines of "Yes, I'm female, but aren't feminists AWFUL?" or "As a woman I believe that men SHOULD be paid more"), thus supporting the overall misogynist tone of the paper. A perfect example would be the headline from 2018: "To bra or not to bra: It's the question at the heart of a new feminist battleground... so which of these two looks would YOU judge harshly?" Because you have to judge women harshly, whatever they do.<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6161059/Which-two-looks-judge-harshly.html To bra or not to bra: It's the question at the heart of a new feminist battleground… so which of these two looks would YOU judge harshly?] by Claire Coleman (Published: 20:26 EDT, 12 September 2018 | Updated: 05:48 EDT, 13 September 2018) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>

==="Sidebar of shame"===
Exclusive to the ''Mail Online'', this "sidebar of shame", featuring on women's naughty bits, has been described as "the raucous and shameless energy of the tabloid press". However, despite this obvious pandering, this has turned out to be unprofitable for the company.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/24/mail-online-sidebar-of-shame The shocking thing about the Mail Online's sidebar of shame: The Mail's website appropriates the holier-than-thou prurience of the defunct News of the World, but to what financial end?] by Andrew Brown (24 March 2012 13.00 GMT) ''The Guardian''.</ref> Observers delight in comparing DM stories about "perverts" convicted of upskirting with stories in the SoS featuring "wardrobe malfunctions" where female celebrities accidentally expose their underwear, as photographed by a paid pap lying on the ground to obtain the images. Whether or not the Daily Mail that features the Sidebar of Shame is related in any way to the Daily Mail that in the 1980s campaigned against sex in movies, on TV, in music, in art, or indeed anywhere else, is unclear.

==And now the weather==
The ''Mail'' gets many of its weather stories from two companies: the [[irony|ironically]]-named Exacta Weather and the [[management speak]]-tastic Positive Weather Solutions. Their forecasters appear to have wide-ranging skills, from [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] brides to stock photo models and sporters of emo hair. Thus far, they appear not have attained visibility in the field of meteorology. Thus the ''Mail'' appears to take its weather news from sources which are, shall we say, far from the action.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2012/jan/26/weather-forecasters-daily-mail Do the weather forecasters used by the Daily Mail actually exist? Just who are the mysterious women who produced Positive Weather Solutions' forecasts and appeared in Mail articles?] by George Monbiot (26 Jan 2012 06.32 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

==Link bait==
[[File:Link to the daily mail that's a paddlin'.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Not even once.]]

Some theories have emerged that the ''Daily Mail'' merely writes the trash it does in order to [[Association fallacy#Baiting|provoke]] massive swarms of links and [[Clickbait|clicks]] to its [[webshite|website]], thus milking its sponsors and [[advertisement|advertisers]] for masses of [[Money|cash]]. In response to this, the website IstyOsty was formed<ref>[http://newscrud.com/now-with-added-istyosty News Crud — ItsyOtsy] (October 7, 2010) ''News Crud'' (archived from October 18, 2010).</ref> with the intention of storing ''Daily Mail'' articles on a proxy server so that people could read them without contributing to the ''Mail'''s view count. Not massively impressed with such an [[evil]] Scheme, the ''Mail'' threatened the site with around £150,000 worth of legal action and a cease and desist in August 2011.<ref>[http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-daily-mail-proxy-site-istyosty-goes-down-after-cease-and-desist-order/ Daily Mail Proxy Site IstyOsty Goes Down After Cease And Desist Order] by Ingrid Lunden (Aug 16, 2011 — 7:07 PM CDT) ''GigaOm''.</ref>

==''The Mail''{{'}}s Editor==
The paper's former editor Paul Dacre ''emerged'' very rarely even during his time at the paper, which ran from 1992 to 2018. He almost never appears on television (or any other medium), and when he (rarely) writes overtly in the ''Mail'', he is barely literate. For example, he manages to convert a (perhaps) valid point about press freedom into a personal, risible, incoherent diatribe against his enemies (''The Guardian''). How this secretive man claims to be an effective journalist is beyond any comprehension. Private Eye magazine refers to Dacre as "double cunting Dacre" due to his alleged habit of screaming such obscenities at staff who displease him. Dacre stepped down as Editor in 2018, still without the long-hoped-for Knighthood.  Dacre's replacement was former ''Mail On Sunday'' editor Geordie Greig, who was in turn replaced in 2021 by Ted Verity.  A truly outstanding example of reverse nominative determinism, that.

==Writing staff==
{{cquote|"And I'm shakin' in me shoes<br/>As I'm sending out the news,"<br/>Said the man from the ''Daily Mail''.|4=Peadar Mac Ghiolla Chearra<ref>[http://www.kinglaoghaire.com/site/lyrics/song_266.html The Man From The Daily Mail] by Peadar Mac Ghiolla Chearra & Percy French. ''King Laoghaire — Irish Ballads & Tunes''.</ref>}}

The ''Daily Mail'''s writers are often known for being stubbornly vitriolic, all of whom can turn a fly taking a shit on a scrapheap into a national outrage that threatens the very fabric of [[society]] itself. Whenever a mass health scare happens, you can almost guarantee that these people write more words on the subject than any informed and qualified [[science]] correspondent.

Notable ideologues include:
*'''[[Boris Johnson]]'''<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jun/16/boris-johnson-fresh-questions-as-daily-mail-signs-ex-pm-as-columnist Boris Johnson has breached rules in taking Daily Mail job, says watchdog], ''The Guardian''</ref> — Joined the ''Mail'' after his political career came to an inglorious end. Has not yet had much of his content published, but his weekly column is said to be "uncensored" and is widely believed to be a platform for Johnson to attack [[Rishi Sunak]] despite Johnson's claims that it will not be political.<ref>[https://www.irishnews.com/news/uknews/2023/06/16/news/boris_johnson_joins_daily_mail_as_columnist_but_did_not_inform_watchdog_-3357435/ Boris Johnson joins Daily Mail as columnist but ‘did not inform watchdog'], ''Irish News''</ref>
*'''[[Peter Hitchens]]'''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200116230729/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/columnist-224/Peter-Hitchens-The-Mail-Sunday.html Peter Hitchens] ''Daily Mail'' (archived from January 16, 2020).</ref> — Hitchens was certainly at the forefront of bringing [[Tony Blair]]'s son Leo into the arguments about the safety of the [[MMR vaccine]]; indeed, he went on about the kid and harassed Downing Street about it on an almost daily basis during the [[hoax]]. In more recent years, he's made an increasing number of anti-[[secularism]] rants.
*'''[[Melanie Phillips]]'''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170228094808/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Melanie+PhillipsMelanie Phillips] ''Daily Mail'' (archived from February 28, 2017).</ref> — A blogger once coined the phrase "I wouldn't wish it on anyone… except Melanie Phillips." She made [[George Monbiot]]'s list of "top 10 [[global warming denial|climate change deniers]]."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/mar/06/climate-change-deniers-top-10 Monbiot's Top 10]</ref> A regular panel guest on the BBC's long-running political debate show ''Question Time'', where she gleefully [[troll]]s the audience with her [[witch]]-like views.
*'''Samantha Brick''' &mdash; Is constantly<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190809033935/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Samantha+Brick Samantha Brick] ''Daily Mail'' (archived from August 9, 2019). She was doing it long before the "women hate me because I'm beautiful" clusterfuck.]</ref> banging on about ''just how fucking beautiful she is''. Gained notoriety for this in 2012 when one of her articles, about how hard it was to be such a [http://www.pointsincase.com/files/u2/samantha-brick-sexy-blonde.jpg stunning specimen of visual human perfection] because other women hated her for it, swept through the blogosphere like a turd attached to a tumbleweed made of LOLcats.
*'''Amanda Platell'''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120101130859/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/columnist-463/Amanda-Platell.html Amanda Platell] ''Daily Mail'' (archived from January 1, 2012).</ref> — A professional preacher and generally rather horrible person.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2056916/Hugh-Grant-baby-Hypocrisy-new-fathers-tawdry-self-love.html Hypocrisy and the tawdry self-love of Mr Grant] by Amanda Platell (Updated: 05:29 EDT, 3 November 2011) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>
*'''[[Richard Littlejohn]]'''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140101052121/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/columnist-322/Richard-Littlejohn.html Richard Littlejohn] ''Daily Mail'' (archived from January 1, 2014).</ref> — Returned to the ''Mail'' in 2005 after a £800,000 per year deal to write for ''The Sun''. Has the honour of being titled "The Stupid Person's [[Top Gear|Jeremy Clarkson]]" and author of a book once described as a "recruiting pamphlet for the BNP."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1390395.stm "Self v Littlejohn"] BBC Radio Five Live, via the BBC News website.</ref> Amusingly parodied in ''Viz'' comic as 'Richard Littlecock', and curiously obsessed with the mechanics of male gay sex. Easily annoyed, when he launches into ill-informed rants based solely on his prejudices,<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2482111/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-Ah-Pesto-Meet-poverty-poster-girls.html Ah, Pesto! These poverty poster girls of Welfare Britain want the gravy too… without having to pay for it] by Richard Littlejohn (Published: 18:40 EDT, 31 October 2013; Updated: 10:43 EDT, 8 November 2013) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> and easily rebutted.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/01/richard-littlejohn-wrong-about-jack-monroe-daily-mail Dear Richard Littlejohn – here are all the things you got wrong about me: I'm not single, and I didn't quit my job for a life on benefits, but why let facts get in the way of your Daily Mail column?] by Jack Monroe (1 Nov 2013 07.55 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref> Has long referred to that unnecessary burden on business, Health and Safety, as "elf 'n' safety", and the lefty scam, [[human rights]], as "yuman rites", mocking their imagined pronunciation by manual workers and other lesser humans. His readers parrot these spellings without knowing why they do it. Littlejohn often falls back on parodying current events in the style of Only Fools and Horses, Dad's Army, The Sweeney or Minder in rotation according to suitability, which tend to be painfully unfunny. Having lived in the gated community of Vero Beach, [[Florida]] for some years (a fact apparently unknown to his fans), his articles about what's happening in his beloved city of London would seem to be based less on what he's hearing while downing pints in the Dog and Duck and more on what he reads in the ''Daily Mail''. It might also explain why his UK cultural references seem to date no later than the 1980s.
*'''Quentin Letts'''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140101052103/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/columnist-228/Quentin-Letts.html Quentin Letts] ''Daily Mail'' (archived from January 1, 2014).</ref> — His crowning achievements so far are, firstly, the claim, repeated in his book ''[[110 People Who Are Screwing Up America|50 People Who Buggered Up Britain]]'', that [[Iraq]]i-born advertising executive and [[art]] connoisseur Charles Saatchi has done more damage to Britain than his countryman, the [[genocide|genocidal]] [[dictator]] [[Saddam Hussein]]. His second is trying to have an entire theatre shut down because he didn't much like a play they put on. [[Arsehole]].<ref>[http://archive.is/wip/4XXOq The Limits of Criticism] by Dan Rebellato, March 12, 2013 (archived from 29 Mar 2020 22:01:21 UTC).</ref><ref>[http://archive.is/wip/OSPL2 Quentin Letts Aftershocks] by Dan Rebellato, March 19, 2013 (archived from 29 Mar 2020 21:56:30 UTC).</ref>
*'''David Rose''' &mdash; [[Elitist]] with [[eugenicist]] beliefs. Originally known for hyping Iraqi [[WMD]] stories, he later issued a partial "oops" for penning the stories.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/may/30/Iraqandthemedia.iraq Iraq leaders tricked us with WMD lies, but we must not get fooled again: Media coverage of Iraq is now the subject of fierce debate and last week the New York Times issued an extraordinary apology for some of its journalism. The Observer's David Rose, whose own stories have provoked controversy, argues that hidden agendas on all sides can still distort reporting] by David Rose (29 May 2004 20.35 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1247424/I-feel-shame-regret-having-supported-Iraq-war---Blair.html I feel shame and regret for having supported the Iraq War… so why can't Tony Blair?] by David Rose (Updated: 03:29 EDT, 1 February 2010) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> He then turned his skills to promoting global warming denial and got caught [[quote mining]] scientists and pushing [[denialist]] [[PRATT|talking points]] numerous times.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2010/dec/08/david-rose-climate-science David Rose's climate science writing shows he has not learned from previous mistakes: Articles in the Mail on Sunday show the same uncritical reliance on dodgy sources that caused David Rose's catastrophic mistakes about Iraq] by George Monbiot (8 Dec 2010 04.07 EST
First published on Wed 8 Dec 2010 04.07 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref>[http://deepclimate.org/2010/01/11/mojib-latif-slams-daily-mail/ Mojib Latif slams Daily Mail] (January 11, 2010) ''Deep Climate''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120705204156/http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/category/global_warming/rosegate_1/ Rosegate: Rose hides the incline] by Tim Lambert (November 1, 2011) ''Science Blogs'' (archived from July 5, 2012).</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH5D9P6KYfY Latest myth from the Mail on Sunday: Arctic ice has returned] by Potholer54 (Sep 13, 2013) ''YouTube''.</ref>

==Criminal activity==
Press news website ''Byline Investigates'' has reported allegations of illegal information gathering at the ''Daily Mail'' in the 1990s and 2000s, such as phone hacking and the use of unscrupulous private detective firms. ''Mail'' journalist Richard Simpson reportedly boasted about using unlawful means including hacking voicemails to get stories on celebrities such as Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss, and golfer Colin Montgomery.<ref>[https://bylineinvestigates.com/2020/08/12/mailbomb-19-daily-mails-royal-reporter-spoke-about-phone-hacking-whistleblower-claims/ Daily Mail’s Royal Reporter Spoke About Phone Hacking, Whistleblower Claims], Byline Investigates, 12 August 2020</ref><ref>[https://bylineinvestigates.com/2020/08/31/mailbomb-22-kylie-minogue-and-kate-moss-were-illegally-targeted-by-daily-mail-journalist-richard-simpson/ Kylie Minogue and Kate Moss Were Illegally Targeted by Daily Mail Journalist Richard Simpson], Byline Investigates, 31 August 2020</ref> ''Byline Investigates'' also claimed that journalist Victoria Newton wrote stories based on phone hacking while working at the ''Daily Mail'', noting a pattern of suspicious reporting by Newton including knowledge of private phone calls.<ref>[https://bylineinvestigates.com/2020/10/26/the-suns-editor-victoria-newton-allegedly-wrote-hacked-stories-in-her-previous-job-at-the-daily-mail/ The Sun’s Editor Victoria Newton Allegedly Wrote ‘Hacked’ Stories – In Her Previous Job at the Daily Mail], Byline Investigates, 26 October 2020</ref>

The ''Mail on Sunday'' belatedly admitted that in the 1990s it stole documents from the home of businessman Michael Ward and paid witnesses at a criminal trial, leading to Ward being jailed.<ref>[https://bylineinvestigates.com/2021/06/21/%e2%80%a8lord-rothermeres-mail-on-sunday-suffers-another-humiliating-defeat-in-the-libel-courts-just-months-after-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-won-their-pay-outs/ Lord Rothermere’s Mail on Sunday suffers ANOTHER humiliating defeat in the libel courts – just months after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won their pay-outs], Byline Investigates, 21 June 2021</ref><ref>[https://bylineinvestigates.com/2021/06/22/david-goliath-businessmans-libel-victory-over-mail-on-sunday-after-25-year-bid-to-clear-his-name/ David & Goliath – Businessman’s libel victory over Mail on Sunday after 25-year bid to clear his name], Byline Investigates, 22 June 2021</ref>

==Reliability as a news source==
[[File:DailyMailHealth.jpg|right|300px|thumb|...]]
The ''Daily Mail'' was initially given a "red" status by Newsguard, [[Microsoft]]'s new default browser add-on that will warn users about the reliability of various news sources. However after 'constructive' discussions with a ''Daily Mail'' executive, Newsguard was forced to walk-back their rating and instead apply a "green" rating to ''Daily Mail'', indicating it upholds basic standards and integrity in journalism. The US-based outlet acknowledged, "We were wrong", and had been going by a popularly-held view of the ''Daily Mail'' rather than actually doing research into it.<ref>[https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/we-were-wrong-us-news-rating-tool-boosts-mail-online-trust-ranking-after-talks-with-unnamed-daily-mail-exec/ "We were wrong " — US news rating tool boosts mail online trust ranking after talks with unnamed Daily Mail exec] by James Walker (January 31, 2019) ''Press Gazette''.</ref><ref>Christine Schmidt (January 31, 2019). [https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/01/newsguard-changed-its-mind-about-the-daily-mails-quality-its-green-now-not-red/ "NewsGuard changed its mind about The Daily Mail’s quality: It’s green now, not red"]. Nieman Journalism Lab.</ref>

Still, you've "got to be really bad to get a red" rating by Newsguard, according to their co-founder. As of 2021, the Mail received a "77 out of 100" score, placing them just between ''The Sun'' and ITV News.<ref>Ian Burrell (June 27, 2021). [https://inews.co.uk/news/business/beware-infodemic-poor-news-diet-can-be-bad-health-too-1073619 "Beware of the 'infodemic': How a poor news diet can be bad for your health too"]. ''iNews''.</ref>

[[Media Bias/Fact Check]] ranks Daily Mail's factual reporting as "low".<ref>[https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/daily-mail/ Daily Mail] ''Media Bias/Fact Check''.</ref> For comparison, even [[Conservapedia]] and [[Breitbart]] are ranked as a "mixed" sources when it comes to factual reporting.<ref>[https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/conservapedia/ Conservapedia] ''Media Bias/Fact Check''.</ref><ref>[https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/breitbart/ Breitbart] ''Media Bias/Fact Check''.</ref> Likewise, AllSides indicated that "the Daily Mail has a sensationalist, tabloid bent, often choosing to highlight individual stories that elicit shock or heightened emotions."<ref>[https://www.allsides.com/news-source/daily-mail "Daily Mail"]. ''AllSides''.</ref>

===On Wikipedia===
On 8 February 2017, a month-long discussion on English [[Wikipedia]] ended in a {{wpl|WP:CON|consensus}} that the ''Heil!'' was 
fit for use as toilet paper
 {{wpl|WP:RS|not a reliable source|.}} In fact, it was "deprecated" - a new status meaning that it should not be used under almost any circumstances. The closing admin said, "The general themes of the support !votes centred on the Daily Mail's reputation for poor fact checking, [[sensationalism]], and flat-out fabrication. […] There are multiple thousands of existing citations to the Daily Mail. Volunteers are encouraged to review them, and remove/replace them as appropriate".<ref>{{wpa|Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard/Archive 220#Daily Mail RfC|Reliable sources/Noticeboard/Archive 220#Daily Mail RfC}}</ref>

This event was widely reported in the media (usually with an attitude of 
barely suppressed outrage
 
or alternatively, unrestrained hilarity
 neutral journalistic objectivity),<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/08/wikipedia-bans-daily-mail-as-unreliable-source-for-website Wikipedia bans Daily Mail as 'unreliable' source: Online encyclopaedia editors rule out publisher as a reference citing 'reputation for poor fact checking and sensationalism'] by Jasper Jackson (Wed 8 Feb 2017 15.31 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/wikipedia-editors-ban-daily-mail-source-citation-unreliable-mail-online-a7570856.html Wikipedia bans the Daily Mail as a source for being 'unreliable': 'Sensationalism and flat-out fabrication' are given as reasons for the move] by Jon Sharman (9 February 2017 11:37) ''The Independent''.</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/daily-mail-banned-from-wikipedia_uk_589c3e13e4b07685621810f8 Daily Mail Banned As ‘Reliable Source’ On Wikipedia In Unprecedented Move: The decision was made by the site's community.] by George Bowden (09/02/2017 11:37 GMT | Updated 09/02/2017 15:01 GMT) ''Huffington Post''.</ref> with one difficult-to-explain exception. The editor who initiated the discussion was rapidly awarded three different {{wpl|Wikipedia:Barnstars|Barnstars}} and announced starting a {{wpl|Wikipedia:Wikibreak|Wikibreak|.}} (The praise didn't prevent the user {{wpl|Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Hillbillyholiday/Archive|from getting banned}} for abusing [[sock puppet]]s a few years later nonetheless.)

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales concurred with the community's consensus, and said of the Daily Mail: "they've mastered the art of click bait, they've mastered the art of hyped up headlines, they've also mastered the art of, I'm sad to say, of running stories that simply aren't true". The Mail responded with a denial, and an accusation that Wikipedia is instead unreliable itself.<ref>Arjun Kharpal (May 19, 2017). [https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/19/daily-mail-jimmy-wales-fake-news-wikipedia-wikitribune.html "The Daily Mail has 'mastered the art of running stories that aren't true', Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales says"]. CNBC.</ref> As it happens, research indicates that Wikipedia (despite any given flaws) is about as accurate as Encyclopaedia Britannica and other traditionally published sources.<ref>Jim Giles (2005). [https://www.nature.com/articles/438900a "Internet encyclopaedias go head to head"]. ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''. 438, pp. 900–901.</ref><ref>Reavley ''et al'' (2011). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/abs/quality-of-information-sources-about-mental-disorders-a-comparison-of-wikipedia-with-centrally-controlled-web-and-printed-sources/595CEE672BB7C503101FAF5A9E303673 "Quality of information sources about mental disorders: a comparison of Wikipedia with centrally controlled web and printed sources"]. ''Psychological Medicine''. Volume 42, Issue 8.</ref><ref>Kräenbring ''et al'' (2014). [https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0106930 "Accuracy and Completeness of Drug Information in Wikipedia: A Comparison with Standard Textbooks of Pharmacology"]. ''PLOS One''. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106930.</ref> The Mail, for its part, ''edited its own historical front pages''.<ref>Rob Beschizza (May 1, 2020). [https://boingboing.net/2020/05/01/daily-mail-fakes-own-historica.html "Daily Mail fakes own historical front pages"]. ''Boing Boing''.</ref><ref>Stephen Harrison (July 1, 2021). [https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/wikipedia-daily-mail-generally-unreliable.html "Wikipedia's War on the Daily Mail"]. ''Slate''.</ref> Comparatively, who comes out on top here?

In the years following, usages of the DM dropped from 30,000 in January 2017 to about 20 in 2021. Since 2017, {{wpl|Wikipedia:Deprecated sources|many other sources}} have been labeled as unreliable on Wikipedia. Although a considerable part of these sources are overall considered far-right, some left-wing sources have also been banned (e.g. [[The Grayzone]]), as well as many anti-western state-owned media companies from China, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran. However, many right-wing sources like [[Fox News]] and [[New York Post]] are not banned. The criterion is: does this site post fabricated nonsense and conspiracy theories, and is it nevertheless used on a pile of Wikipedia articles? If so, it's probably out.

==Best of the ''Daily Fail''==
[[File:Daily mail goat.jpg|thumb|right|A spoof ''Daily Mail'' front page.]]
Here is a selection of some of the best — for the wrong reasons — articles put out by the ''Daily Mail'':
*"Civil War Plot by Socialists' Masters: Moscow Orders to our Reds"<ref>"Civil War Plot by Socialists' Masters: Moscow Orders to our Reds" (25 October 1924) ''Daily Mail''. Page 9.</ref> (known as the [[Zinoviev letter]])<ref>[http://contentdm.warwick.ac.uk/cdm/ref/collection/russian/id/2595 Civil War Plot by Socialists' Masters: Moscow Orders to our Reds (press cutting)] ''Warwick Digital Collections''.</ref> – the paper alleges that [[Red-baiting|the damn commies were infiltrating]] the [[Labour Party]] in 1924. Labour lost this election to the [[Tories]].
*"Hurrah for the Blackshirts!" was the ''Mail's'' front page headline on 8 July 1934.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20110615092718/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article416895.ece ''Hurrah for the Blackshirts! Fascists and Fascism in Britain between the Wars'' by Martin Pugh] Book review by John Carey (March 6, 2005) ''The Sunday Times''.</ref><ref>''Hurrah for the Blackshirts! Fascists and Fascism in Britain between the Wars'' by Martin Pugh (2005) Random House UK. ISBN 0224064398.</ref> The article sets up a [[straw man]], arguing that British people opposed fascism simply because "it comes from Italy"; it reminds the reader that football ([[soccer]]) came from Italy. Further, it argues to socialists that Marxism [[Dogwhistle|came from "the German Jew Karl Marx"]]. Rothermere does cite Fascist Italy as a success story in reviving "national strength" through a "process of modernisation", along with [[Nazi Germany]]. However, despite the ''Mail'''s efforts, the British Union of Fascists never did achieve widespread popularity.
*In 1956, it described [[Rock music|rock 'n' roll]] as "deplorable" and "tribal", adding that "it surely originated in the jungle. We sometimes wonder whether this is the [[Racism|Negro]]'s revenge".<ref name="Schwartz2013">''How Britain Got the Blues: The Transmission and Reception of American Blues Style in the United Kingdom'' by Roberta Freund Schwartz (2013) Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0754655806.</ref>{{rp|61}}
*"Yes, scientists do much good. But a country run by these arrogant gods of certainty would truly be hell on earth"<ref name=hellonearth/> — "The trouble with a 'scientific' argument, of course, is that [[scientism#Usage by cranks|it relies solely on empirical facts]]," which says enough.
*On 16 July 1993, the ''Mail'' ran with the headline, "Abortion Hope after 'Gay Genes' Finding."<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-gay-gene-is-back-on-the-scene-1536770.htm The 'gay gene' is back on the scene: Does new research finally prove that homosexuality can be inherited?] by Steve Connor (1 November 1995 01:02) ''The Independent''.</ref> Whilst even this limited support for a woman's [[Pro-choice|right to choose]] was daringly [[liberal]] for the ''Mail'', its views on the [[homophobia|circumstances of when abortion would be an appropriate choice were perhaps less enlightened]].
*"Amanda Knox found guilty" — so the ''Mail'' decided to release the ''wrong'' pre-written story regarding the appeal of accused murderer Amanda Knox.<ref>[http://archive.is/50fZQ Daily Mail Epic Fail] by Uponnothing (October 3, 2011 at 10:12 pm) ''Angry Mob'' (archived 7 Jul 2013 13:07:58 UTC).</ref> Highlights include reactions from prosecutors who said they were delighted, a description of how she collapsed in a chair sobbing and would be placed on [[suicide]] watch. (Knox was actually declared "not-guilty" at the actual appeal, in case you missed the punchline.)<ref>{{wpa|Amanda Knox}}</ref> The ''Mail'' wasn't the only paper to do this. ''The Sun'' also briefly had both versions of events on its website and both ''[[The Guardian]]'' and Sky News also jumped the gun with the wrong verdict, but didn't start making stuff up to fill the word count. The thing is, the fact that a false story contained so much detail immediately calls into question the veracity of the details contained in the correct version, as both were blatantly written ''before'' the fact with [[Forer effect|plausible and widely applicable details]] in place.
*"A strange, lonely and troubling death…" — the controversial article by Jan Moir on the death of Stephen Gately, known for being quite shockingly [[homophobic]] and leaping to conclusions as if Moir had suddenly become an expert coroner.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220756/A-strange-lonely-troubling-death--.html A strange, lonely and troubling death…] by Jan Moir (Updated: 13:19 EDT, 16 November 2009) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> The article was originally titled "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/16/stephen-gately-jan-moir Why there was nothing 'human' about Jan Moir's column on the death of Stephen Gately: Jan Moir's rant about the Boyzone star Stephen Gately is a gratuitous piece of gay-bashing] by Charlie Brooker (16 Oct 2009 11.54 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref>
*"Spare us the 'People's Prostitute' routine" — Richard Littlejohn uses his consistently distasteful column to remind his readers that five women murdered by a serial killer were [[prostitute]]s, and thus practically deserved it.<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-423549/Littlejohn-Spare-Peoples-Prostitute-routine-.html Littlejohn: Spare us the 'People's Prostitute' routine"] (Last updated at 22:00 18 December 2006) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>
*Curiously absent from the ''Daily Mail'''s archives, in 1997, columnist Lynda Lee-Potter described Mo Mowlam, Labour MP and Secretary of State for [[Northern Ireland]], as an "only slightly effeminate Geordie trucker",<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/cuddly-mo-mowlam-becomes-truckers-pinup-1069224.html Cuddly Mo Mowlam becomes truckers' pin-up: Photographs of the Northern Ireland Secretary adorn the cab of many a Geordie's lorry] by Marie Woolf (7 February 1999 01:02) ''The Independent''.</ref> due to her hair that looked like a wig and her recent weight gain. The paper was forced to apologise after it emerged that Mowlam had lost her hair due to cancer and that her weight gain was due to medication.
*"[I]f you're gay, then you are not a Tory"<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-131579/Im-sorry-Mr-Duncan-youre-gay-Tory.html I'm sorry Mr Duncan, if you're gay you are not a Tory] by Peter Hitchens (August 4, 2002) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> — A columnist for the ''Mail'' responded to government minister {{wpl|Alan Duncan}}'s coming out as gay by describing homosexuality as "morally wrong" and a "choice", writing that acceptance of homosexuality as normal is "a principal cause of loneliness, misery, poverty, social breakdown, crime and violence".
*"Sex & The Country"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150413055830/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-107645898.html Sex & the Country; What happened when four singletons, fed up with shallow urban lives, upped sticks in a quest for rural romance?] by Sophie Tweedale (September 11, 2003) ''HighBeam'' (archived from April 13, 2015).</ref> (since deleted from the ''Mail'''s website) tracks the sexual antics of four women who moved from the city to the countryside. However, one of the participants recently wrote an extensive blog post refuting the piece, claiming outright lies, misquotation and sensationalism.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110201151918/http://nosleeptilbrooklands.blogspot.com/2011/01/true-story-of-daily-mail-lies-guest.html A True Story Of Daily Mail Lies (guest post)] (31 January 2011) ''No Sleep 'Til Brooklands'' (archived from February 1, 2011).</ref>
*"Teachers leave boy, 5, stranded in tree because of health and safety (then report passer-by who helped him down to police)"<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1260253/Teachers-leave-boy-5-tree-health-safety.html Teachers leave boy, 5, stranded in tree because of health and safety (then report passer-by who helped him down to police)] (Updated: 06:06 EDT, 25 March 2010) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> — an interesting story involving teachers who, due to "[[health and safety]]" regulations, didn't rescue a kid from a tree. Shame it's total bullshit.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20100331151454/http://www.learningtolovelearning.co.uk/files/Letter%20to%20parents%20re-%20newspaper%20articles.pdf Dear Parents…] by Beverley Martin (24<sup>th</sup> March 2010) ''The Manor School'' (archived from March 31, 2010).</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20100331150406/http://www.learningtolovelearning.co.uk/files/Letter%20to%20parents%20re%20newspaper%20articles%202.pdf Dear Parents…] by Beverley Martin (25<sup>th</sup> March 2010) ''The Manor School'' (archived from April 22, 2017).</ref>
*"''EastEnders'' sparks uproar with gay bedroom scene before the watershed"<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2003197/EastEnders-sparks-uproar-gay-bedroom-scene-watershed.html ''EastEnders'' sparks uproar with gay bedroom scene before the watershed] by Paul Revoir (Updated: 19:02 EDT, 13 June 2011) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> — oh noes, you'll catch teh gay by watching the evul librul BBC!!!11 Of course, the "uproar" mentioned in the headline came exclusively from the ''Daily Mail'' itself.
*In September 2013 (and smeared out over more articles and opinion columns than are worth listing<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-24343074 Ed Miliband accuses Daily Mail over 'lie' about father] (1 October 2013) ''BBC''.</ref>), the ''Mail'' attacked Labour Party leader [[Ed Miliband]] for having a father — the [[Marx]]ist academic Ralph Miliband — who "hated Britain". This was ironic in numerous ways:
#A key piece of "evidence" for this was the 17 year-old Ralph's diary that called the English "perhaps the most [[nationalist]] people in the world," which of course is something you could ''easily conclude'' after looking at the ''Mail'';
#Miliband was a staunch anti-[[Stalinist]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160521144159/https://twitter.com/thetimes/status/385479322141605889 Ralph Miliband in The Times protesting against precisely the sort of Soviet oppression Daily Mail says he supported:] by the Times of London'' (12:00 PM — 2 Oct 2013) ''Twitter'' (archived from May 21, 2016).</ref> so his political views look more like [[Orwell]]'s than 'the Great Satan' that the ''Mail'' presented; and
#Most staggeringly is a fact that the ''Mail'' would push such a smear campaign in the face of their ''own history'' in cosying up to [[Adolf Hitler|Adolf "the Great" Hitler]] and the [[National Front]]. Ralph Miliband, on the other hand, fled to the UK in 1940 to avoid [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] persecution, enlisted in the Royal Navy, and served in the [[World War II|D-Day landings]]. This prompted a particularly public savaging by Mehdi Hasan on the BBC's ''Question Time'' programme,<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/10/watch-mehdi-hasan-smacks-down-daily-mail-question-time Watch: Mehdi Hasan smacks down the Daily Mail on Question Time] (4 October 2013) ''New Statesman America''.</ref> a [[pwn]]age which in turn prompted the ''Daily Mail'' to respond with a smear campaign against Hasan<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2444637/Mehdi-Hasan-journalist-attacked-Daily-Mail-Question-Time-asked-write-paper.html What a difference three years makes: How political journalist who attacked the Daily Mail on Question Time once asked if he could write for the paper] (Published: 17:38 EDT, 4 October 2013; Updated: 18:07 EDT, 4 October 2013) ''Daily Mail''.</ref> that did everything but outright say "[[ad hominem|that muzzie towelhead should go back where he came from]]." The ''Daily Mail'' doubled down after the election to claim that "a source within the Labour Party" had revealed that had Ed Miliband won he intended to have a 100 foot high bust of himself carved into the White Cliffs of Dover. This was later amended to the cliffs of Cheddar Gorge, but interestingly not one other media outlet ran this incredible story of Stalinistic hubris. Readers were not put off by the unlikelihood of this egregious lie, one commenting that it didn't surprise him and that "You couldn't make it up".<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3084624/Forget-Edstone-Labour-wanted-chisel-pledges-Cheddar-Gorge-create-Mount-Edmore.html Forget the Edstone — Labour wanted to chisel pledges on Cheddar Gorge to create their own 'Mount Edmore] by Brendan Carlin and Michael Powell (Published: 18:29 EDT, 16 May 2015; Updated: 07:17 EDT, 17 May 2015) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>
*In 2014, the ''Mail'' referred to the perpetrators of [[Northern Ireland]]'s Bloody Sunday massacre as "our brave Paras" and demanded they not be prosecuted for the crime.<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2568874/If-terror-suspects-immunity-not-Britains-brave-Paras-Furious-MPs-demand-immunity-soldiers.html If terror suspects, bombers and killers have get out of jail free cards, why not Britain's brave Paras? Furious MPs demand immunity for soldiers] by Tim Shipman and Rebecca Camber (Published: 19:41 EDT, 26 February 2014 | Updated: 20:12 EDT, 26 February 2014) ''Daily Mail''.</ref>
*One of their most egregious uses of faked imagery was to support an almost entirely false story about a "white Christian" girl in London "forced to live with a Muslim foster family". To stir up the outrage further the Mail printed a photo intended for their readers to believe was the girl and her Muslim foster carers. Instead it was a stock photo of a happy Muslim family walking in a [[Dubai]] park, carefully cropped to remove obviously non-London buildings, and with a [[Burqa|full veil]] crudely added for enhanced "sinister" effect.<ref>[https://splinternews.com/daily-mail-uses-an-altered-photo-to-make-a-story-even-m-1798539718 Daily Mail Uses an Altered Photo to Make a Story Even More Islamophobic Than It Already Was] by Anne Branigin (8/29/17 1:21PM) ''Splinter''.</ref><ref>[http://archive.is/tiLI2 UPDATED: Spot the difference.] by Thd DM Reporter (29 Aug 2017) ''Twitter'' (archived from 30 Mar 2020 04:35:35 UTC).</ref>

==Broken clock moment==
{{main|Stopped clock}}
Despite its share of stupid news, ''Daily Mail'' also has its moments of shining journalism. The newspaper published an exposé on how British billionaire financier Nat Rothschild treated British Labour minister and EU commissioner Lord Mandelson with a private jet and luxury dining to meet his [[Russian]] pal Oleg Deripaska. Not coincidentally, Oleg Deripaska owned an [[aluminum]] plant that exported the metal to Europe. Nat Rothschild, being the skinny billionaire he is, sued the paper for libel, but a High Court judge sided with the paper and threw out the lawsuit.<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/feb/10/nat-rothschild-loses-libel-daily-mail Nat Rothschild loses libel case against Daily Mail over Mandelson trip: Judge rules that conduct of multimillionare financier on Siberian trip exposed Peter Mandelson to conflict of interest claims] by Peter Walker (10 Feb 2012 10.39 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

Following the infamous acquittal of the five white youths responsible for the [[hate crime]] murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, the ''Mail'' released (and continuously reprinted) a front page denouncing the suspects as murderers and daring them to sue the paper. The headline is believed to have increased media attention to the case, resulting in an inquiry that exposed institutional racism in the police force and two of the previously acquitted suspects being retried and convicted.<ref>[https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/daily-mail-wins-praise-for-stephen-lawrence-campaign/s2/a547332/ Daily Mail wins praise for Stephen Lawrence campaign] by Joel Gunter (4 January 2012) ''Journalism.co.uk''.</ref>

Barney Calman, the health editor for the ''Daily Mail,'' has written some rational articles. In 2019, he criticized the statin denialism of [[Malcolm Kendrick]], [[Zoë Harcombe]] and [[Aseem Malhotra]] as dangerous misinformation.<ref>[http://archive.vn/vLNzA The deadly propaganda of the statin deniers: The drugs DO protect you from heart attacks but as this devastating investigation reveals thousands are refusing them]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Fake news]]
*[[Family values]]
*[[Penultimate paragraph syndrome]]
*[[WND]]

==External links==
*[http://www.teaandkittens.co.uk/ Tea and kittens] — An add-on for most browsers. If anyone sends you in the direction of the ''Mail'', this will redirect you to far more calming material.
*[https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2012/01/27/the-daily-mail-tube-map-updated/ The Daily Mail moral underground map]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20120725005258/http://hearmewail.tumblr.com/ Hear Me Wail] — a Tumblr photo blog. A description in their own words: "Pictures of people on the ''Daily Mail'' website looking sad while holding, or standing close to, the thing that has made them feel sad." It would seem that the ''Daily Mail's'' readership is a rather sad lot, indeed.
*[http://listverse.com/2015/06/23/10-egregiously-false-stories-in-the-daily-mail/ 10 Egregiously False Stories in the Daily Mail]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20221101162953/http://kill-or-cure.herokuapp.com/ Kill or cure?] — the aforementioned compilation of all the things <i>The Daily Mail</i> claims cause or prevent cancer, sometimes both.
*[https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/e9ad02865646cc998a81a92ed18b5a34e4334061/35_93_1219_886/master/1219.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=081567cb969a2751871edf45fd4cd070 The pedophilia is coming from inside the house!!]
*[https://www.tomscott.com/usvsth3m/are-you-hated-by-the-daily-mail/ Are You HATED by the Daily Mail?]

==Videos==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9dqNTTdYKY Why the Daily Mail is Evil]{{dead}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPlEIryW8zA Daily Mail Island!]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI Dan and Dan present — The Daily Mail Song]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McuHVXgR8dA Another song about the Mail]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiAffX0x04k And another from Amanda Palmer responding to their dismal coverage of her concert]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVExq6zHOXA Piers Morgan's co-host screaming internally]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Anti-intellectualism]]
[[Category:British media]]
[[Category:British right wing]]
[[Category:Fake news]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]
[[Category:Islamophobia]]
[[Category:Newspapers]]
[[Category:Propaganda]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Transphobia]]
[[Category:Xenophobia]]

Categories: Anti-intellectualism, British media, British right wing, Fake news, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Newspapers, Propaganda, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia