A comprehensive report from the Centre for Media Monitoring (CMM) has accused Britain's oldest political magazine, the Spectator, of a sustained and systemic pattern of biased coverage against Muslims and Islam. The report reviewed 3,733 articles published between 2015 and 2023, finding that more than half were rated as biased. The findings paint a grim picture of how the magazine portrays Muslims as a problem population, delegitimizes Islamophobia, and presents them as threatening or exceptional.
Key Findings of the Report
The CMM report highlights that the Spectator regularly depicts Muslims as sectarian and separate, yet dangerously colonizing British society. Articles cited refer to Muslim concerns about racist abuse as dainty sensibilities and handwringing. One column panicked that organized Islam is strong and vociferous, while another referred to Muslims as semi-literate, virgin-obsessed potential murderers. The very existence of Muslims in the UK is presented as a poisonous foreign presence, with one historian claiming Islam is uniquely indigestible to the modern secularized state.
Historical Context and Far-Right Ties
In the foreword, former Spectator political editor Peter Oborne traces the magazine's shift from condemning Enoch Powell to rebuilding his reputation. A 2023 piece praised Powell as one of the country's greatest conservative influences. The magazine has also platformed far-right figures, describing Tommy Robinson as intelligent and articulate. Despite this, the Spectator remains a respected fixture in Westminster, with its summer party attended by Labour and Tory politicians, journalists, and Nigel Farage. The magazine boasted that the jamboree remains the most sought-after social ticket of the Westminster summer season.
Impact on Society
The report's author, Nesrine Malik, argues that Islamophobia has become normalized in British media, with the Spectator at the forefront. This climate is hostile not just to Muslims but to all perceived as annexing the country. Malik criticizes the magazine for abandoning a vision of conservatism beyond purification, instead focusing on anger and scaremongering. The result is a low-brow media dressing up racist audience-baiting as high-end journalism, met with cheers from establishment politics rather than alarm.
