We often say here on Wings that our job is to teach people to instantly recognise the sneaky tricks used by the media to try to create false impressions without saying things that are technically untrue. (Because despite the tiny size they’re allowed to print corrections at, they’re still rather embarrassing.)
A key technique is to look at a headline or story and immediately ask what you’re NOT being told. So here’s an easy example from today’s Scottish Daily Mail.
Just a brief update on some legal shenanigans. Having received no response to TWO lawyers’ letters, I’ve filed a court claim against Express Newspapers over false and defamatory claims made in an article by Siobhan McFadyen (sourced by JK Rowling) on the Sunday Express website of 30 October, as detailed in this Wings article.
The court fee was partly funded by popular politics pundit John McTernan.
Alert readers will remember that last month we debunked a front-page story from the Scottish Daily Mail about SNP MPs’ expenses, which made the spectacularly untrue claim that they were more expensive than their Unionist predecessors, when in fact they cost significantly less and did far more work.
A couple of days ago the Mail finally ran a “clarification”. And we thought you might like to know exactly how much more the Mail values lies than truth.
The highlighted areas on the picture above occupy 440,107 pixels.
We’ll be honest, there are some bits of this that make us wince, and unfortunately most of them come in the first two minutes where they’ll do the most damage in terms of getting a persuadeable voter to watch the rest of it. But it’s an important piece of work, containing stuff even we didn’t know about, and it should be seen.
Particularly alert readers may recall a phenomenon we haven’t covered much recently, whereby aspects of politics magically transform as they cross the border between Scotland and the rest of the UK. But this week we’ve had a sighting in a new area.
Reiner Luyken is a 65-year-old German journalist who’s spent more than half of his life in the Highlands, and seems to have a knack for upsetting the neighbours.
We’re sure it was just an unfortunate one-off misunderstanding.
Alert readers may have noticed with barely-concealed disinterest that Scottish Labour have announced their intention to have another really hard think about devolution.
With Labour not looking like being in power at either Holyrood or Westminster for at least a decade, and their opinions therefore being about as relevant as our ideas as to who should play in the back four for Real Madrid next weekend, most papers treated the news with the gravitas it deserved, such as this report in the Sunday Post:
But we thought it might be a snappy idea to keep track of all the times the Unionist parties have promised that they’ve come up with the ultimate form of devo-X.
Unionists got very excited last week about a YouGov poll for the Times which showed that not only had the post-Brexit bump in support for independence been undone, but that it was now (fractionally) below the level recorded in the indyref for the first time since the September 2014 vote.
(It was a slightly curious poll, with a massively disproportionate number – over 27% – of its respondents born outside Scotland, mostly from the rest of the UK, but it was weighted so that shouldn’t have been much of a factor. It also found majority support for a second EU referendum, despite a 30-point margin for Remain, but opposition to a second indyref despite the margin for the Union being just 12 points.)
Nevertheless, given that nothing’s happened since the end of June that ought to have damaged the case for Yes (the oil price is currently at a 12-month high, for example, almost twice what it was in January), the 10% drop in support is a troubling one for the independence movement.
But it shouldn’t be. Because what the poll shows is that there is currently a majority of people in Scotland prepared to vote for independence.
The Prime Minister of the UK, whose party has one MP in Scotland, officially tells the Commons that she doesn’t believe people on benefits should be able to survive.
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “Unfortunately a lot of the stations in Scotland are unbarriered. I also sense that unlike “James” who is likely to…” Nov 7, 16:57
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “@Alf In that case, why don’t you actually “seek the remedy” (in any meaningful, pragmatic, instructive and substantive sense) instead…” Nov 7, 11:00
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “Take heart, Aidan. There’s no way Confused would make it past the station barriers. I realise public transportation isn’t what…” Nov 7, 10:32
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: “Only once ‘a people’ truly understand their oppression will they urgently seek the only remedy: https://salvo.scot/scotlands-colonial-status/” Nov 7, 09:50
James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “The Treaty of union between Scotland and England parliaments never concluded to its end date, the progression being halted by…” Nov 7, 09:43
James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “The parliament of England did not cease to exist, it was transferred in its last session into the new brand,…” Nov 7, 09:32
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Again, Northy, you’re missing a key piece of the jigsaw. For £150 billion PA, Brussels will take all these petty…” Nov 7, 09:31
Northcode on Vibecoding A Better World: ““What’s your plan for governing Scotland after independence, Alf?” “£150 billion per year.” “Right… but what about trade, international relations,…” Nov 7, 09:10
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “@Northy I don’t think that’s a complete summary. You must also channel your inner Theresa May: Decolonisation means Decolonisation. And…” Nov 7, 08:58
Northcode on Vibecoding A Better World: ““What’s your plan for achieving independence, Alf?” “Liberation.” “Right… and how do you deliver liberation?” “Decolonisation.” “Okay, and what does…” Nov 7, 08:29
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Before you self-identify, MH, impress upon her that nay means nay. Maybe try ketamine a few times too. I hear…” Nov 7, 08:27
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Thanks for the link, Fearghas. At least we can now listen to it for ourselves. Up to now, all we’ve…” Nov 7, 08:11
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “An unfortunate side effect of pre-booked, pre-allocated seating. In the old days, regular travellers developed a “sixth sense” that helped…” Nov 7, 07:59
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Busy week, Confused? The evidence of this post suggests you’ve defo had something on your mind the entire time. If…” Nov 7, 07:50
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Well then, that’s something, Connie. There’s few on here ever graduated from the primary school playground. Take the comment above…” Nov 7, 07:36
Minceheid on Vibecoding A Better World: “Hatey McHateface says: 6 November, 2026 at 12:49 pm I’d be a bit more specific than “horse” if I were…” Nov 7, 07:33
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “The really worrying thing is that the person who wrote all of this could be sitting next to you on…” Nov 7, 07:28
Confused on Vibecoding A Better World: “it always baffles me that the maddest of the mad yoons are batshit zio nutters as well https://archive.ph/v1Zno – lest…” Nov 6, 22:00
Confused on Vibecoding A Better World: “laffing at you www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7CkA0H75oo www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVICfWS-d5M – not with you fast track this lad for the GDP growth and theconomy https://x.com/RMXnews/status/2118617949325906250…” Nov 6, 21:59
Confused on Vibecoding A Better World: “this is fucking mental – skip to 1 minute 20 seconds www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJgkEHzkLck – but I prefer the brahan seer myself…” Nov 6, 21:59
Confused on Vibecoding A Better World: “evenin’ all (busy week), some random morsels for all the good people and fuck these yoon arseholes who keep stodging…” Nov 6, 21:58
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “I wished Rev would get rid of this annoying idiot and barr him. People come on here to have a…” Nov 6, 21:10
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “Independence is the only hope to remove the colonial constraints. Scotland is house bond by house Westminster. With Independence and…” Nov 6, 21:02
Connie Davidson on Vibecoding A Better World: “Aye you, Hatey. There’s quite a few insults I could launch at you ‘n’ a’, but nae need. You show…” Nov 6, 20:20
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Vibecoding A Better World: “‘The Debate: What’s the best route to Scottish independence?’ (5 Nov 2026) « Robin McAlpine of Common Weal and Professor…” Nov 6, 20:03
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “How odd, Spartan! Your posts get longer and longer as you care less and less.” Nov 6, 18:37
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““think outside the box constructed for us” As I recall, constructed by no less a personage than the late, great…” Nov 6, 18:31
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Michty! Friday comes aroond quick. James hame all alane again. Hope yer maw’s left ye a puckle o’ denners in…” Nov 6, 18:04
Connie Davidson on Vibecoding A Better World: “I watched the debate on the National You Tube channel between Alf Baird and Robin MacAlpine and I was enraged…” Nov 6, 17:33
