Abelian

Abelian

@abelian.bsky.social

Trying to commute less these days. DMs turned off because of the UK censors.

126 followers417 following949 posts

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Can we stop pretending the rot is only in BBC News yet?

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *
Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Never change, Oxford

Oxford Clarion@oxfordclarion.bsky.social

Holy smoke: Worshippers at the shrine of St Frideswide, Oxford’s patron saint, have been evacuated after the amount of incense used at her annual patronal festival set off fire alarms at Christ Church Cathedral. Tonight’s service was transferred from her saint’s day yesterday (also Oxfordshire Day).

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Labour Education Secretary, looking at the devastation wrought by Johnson, Farage and Starmer: "You know, the problem is that we don't have enough bullshit. We need to counter the AI bullshit flood with a generation of state educated bullshitters, turning out proper hand-crafted artisanal tosh."

The Guardian@theguardian.com

My critics think speaking fluently is vital for fee-paying pupils, but not for anyone else. Here’s why I reject that | Lucy Powell

theguardian.comMy critics think speaking fluently is vital for fee-paying pupils, but not for anyone else. Here’s why I reject that | Lucy PowellWe are accused of dumbing down, but that’s nonsense: this is levelling up. All the evidence shows helping children articulate improves their life chances, says Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell
Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

It was Simon Jenkins the other day: "Don't learn maths, just get a calculator. Also, the ability to produce endless plausible-sounding verbiage is rare and valuable in the 21st century."

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Remembering an email filter that I used to run for my employer. It was meant to filter out racial slurs, but came with a built-in list of *extremely* culturally specific US insults, unintelligible to your average Brit. We had a very awkward team meeting to create a replacement list.

Alex Says Stuff@alexsaysstuff.bsky.social

Just in case you thought it was just LGBT stuff, Ofcom has also deemed calling someone a Nazi approximately as offensive as calling them a "Chinaman", "Gippo" or "Honky".

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Several things can be true: 1. British terrorism law is an ass. 2. Despite the name, Palestine Action does remarkably little to help Palestinians in Palestine, instead sabotaging factories and military equipment in the UK. 3. If you do that stuff, it is suicidal to accept foreign funding.

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

One of these corridors has a track record of starting an industrial revolution. The other, despite having had two leading universities for over 800 years, hasn't.

Oxford Clarion@oxfordclarion.bsky.social

Andy Burnham has announced that the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor and the Northern Growth Corridor will be twinned to “connect leading universities, innovative businesses, and local leaders across different parts of the country”. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

I love Oxford, I studied there for seven years and lived there for many years after that. It's a great place. But the extent to which the government is relying on it to produce economic growth is way out of line with its track record.

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

1970s Welsh doctor: "He's dead. Probably. To be honest I was off sick the day we did this bit in medical school, but I'm about 70% sure. Maybe 75%. Look, don't quote me, OK?"

Obsidian Urbex Photography@obsidianurbex.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy

Calcott Hall, also known as Red Dress Manor, in Wales. A long-abandoned house, abandoned since the 1970s when the last resident is thought to have passed away. #Photography #Abandoned #Story #Wales #LostPlaces #Explore

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

A word to HR people: if you are advertising a job located in the Canton of Zurich, double-check that the web site hasn't automatically relocated it to Canton.

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Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Another bus stop destroyed. We don't know what the vehicle was, so technically it could have been a bicycle ridden by some farmer.

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Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Another bus stop destroyed. We don't know what the vehicle was, so technically it could have been a bicycle ridden by some farmer.

Abelian reposted

Jay Hulme
@jayhulmepoet.bsky.social

I'm going to tell you a story and then, at the end, I'm going to ask you if anyone happens to have the niche knowledge I need to help... The story begins, as so many of my stories do, in an ancient church in the middle of a city. But it's not now. And it's not hundreds of years ago. It's the 1960's

Abelian reposted

Katja Diehl
@katjadiehl.bsky.social

Why I don´t talk about helmets? I lost too many wearing them. On Car-Free Day, 22 September, Nicolò, a seven-year-old child, was killed by a motorist in Turin. He was riding in the bike lane, wearing his helmet, riding to school with his father. A car driver killed him anyway. Photo Fabio Ferrari

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

If you're heading to the coast this weekend, allow me to recommend RNLI jelly babies. A bit fruitier and less sugary than the usual. I usually buy a few bags when I'm passing.

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Poor headline from @theguardian.com on an otherwise decent article. The Mercator projection exaggerates areas near the poles (like Siberia) at the expense of equatorial regions (e.g. Central America). That is not "western bias". www.theguardian.com/science/ng-i...

theguardian.com‘A map is never neutral’: meet the cartographers who took on centuries of western biasEqual Earth projection, adopted by the UN last week, provides an alternative to 16th-century Mercator display
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Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Here's a less Eurocentric choice of meridian, that moves the distortion away from the Pacific. I don't think the West Africans are going to like this one, though:

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Poor headline from @theguardian.com on an otherwise decent article. The Mercator projection exaggerates areas near the poles (like Siberia) at the expense of equatorial regions (e.g. Central America). That is not "western bias". www.theguardian.com/science/ng-i...

theguardian.com‘A map is never neutral’: meet the cartographers who took on centuries of western biasEqual Earth projection, adopted by the UN last week, provides an alternative to 16th-century Mercator display
Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

The UN-approved Equal Earth map centred on the Greenwich meridian. The geography of the Pacific Rim has been wildly distorted to (checks Guardian) eliminate Western bias.

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

Summary: there's parking on one side of a busy road, and the town centre on the other side. People want to cross the road, but that isn't safe. Is the solution: a) Guard rails b) Guard dogs c) Guard towers d) A pedestrian crossing in the place where pedestrians want to cross?

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

(Boggle)

Will Hayward - Wales Journo@willhaycardiff.bsky.social

A Reform Member of the Welsh Parliament has spoken in defence of colonialism. Joe Martin is the MS for Caerdydd Penarth. It was just a day after Reform's leader in Wales Dan Thomas resigned after being arrested and bailed on suspicion of assault and coercive or controlling behaviour.

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

"AI Pioneers" are just like the original Pioneers, but with extra fingers, right?

Richard Carr@richardcarr.bsky.social

Today I announce my own iron clad personal guarantee that in no way would I pay lip service to the role of “AI trailblazer” www.timeshighereducation.com/news/all-und...

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

As Phillips says: "We are on a journey where this becomes completely standardised."

Sophie E. Hill@sophieehill.bsky.social

"Nobody involved in building it appears to have asked the most basic questions about whether it actually safe, not even ... @peterkyle or @jessphillips - who claimed it was "proven technology" whilst testing the vulnerable device."

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

The NWJCC should make it clear how far they are going with this. To pick just one example, demand for diabetes care is higher in Wales than in England - is that now grounds for cancelling all diabetes treatment in Wales?

Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

But helmets...

road.cc@roadcc.bsky.social

The 40-year-old motorist was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and discharging a firearm from a vehicle

road.ccSUV driver arrested after swerving into cyclists and firing gun in shocking US road rage attackA Florida motorist has been arrested following a shocking road rage incident, caught on camera, which saw him deliberately swerve into a group of cyclists before allegedly firing a gunshot in their di...
Abelian
@abelian.bsky.social

If i had my druthers, cyclists would stop at red lights. However, doing so is often absurdly dangerous. That doesn't mean that cyclists should break the law, but every time a cyclist is killed after stopping at a red light, the Cabinet should be imprisoned for causing death by dangerous legislation.

Real Gaz on a proper bike: gazza_d@toot.bike@gazza-d.eurosky.social

You can guarantee that if there is a bad take then Simon Jenkins will go for it. Traffic laws and esp red lights are to be followed. You certainly don't write about being a scofflaw in a national paper. Absolute moron. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.comI’ll admit it: I’ve cycled through red lights. But Britain’s traffic laws are to blame, not me | Simon JenkinsThe essence of cycling is to keep moving, but London’s chaotic roads often make this difficult. My solution: fewer, not more rules, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins