Is BVI News part of the public relations campaign for the CoI?
Besides labelling BVI News Online as one-sided, most often engaging in yellow journalism, bias and anti-Virgin Islands Party Government articles, they are now asking if BVI News Online is part of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) public relations campaign to damage the reputation of the territory.
The online site is owned by a Caucasian female and all the Commission of Inquiry lawyers and the commissioner himself are Caucasian.
BVI News the CoI's PR vehicle?
One caller to Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) last week, who said his name was Adrian’, stated “it seems that everything negative is coming out of the CoI they post”.
Another person in a Whatsapp message with the name ‘French man’ said; “just read their blogs, always hateful things against the people and the government and positive things seem to be never posted… tell me if that is not a plan?”
Many other residents sending messages to VINO on the topic noted that there is a drumbeat of negative headlines and bias stories written in a way to fit the CoI’s narrative that the VI is corrupt, when in fact so far it has found nothing, except some minor gaps in adhering to clear policies.
HoA Members also suspicious
In the House of Assembly (HoA), many Honourable Members on both sides of the aisle, have mentioned a biased online news site taking comments and things out of context, but have not called the news site’s name.
The CoI has been running a political public relations campaign over the past six months, with many residents concluding they have a script already written. It continues to mislead the public and many witnesses and as recently as yesterday September 30, 2021, Attorney General Dawn J. Smith blasted the CoI for lies, misleading the public and its methods of questioning, which bring its own integrity into question.
Lack of respect
The CoI has also been accused of showing a lack of respect for the territory, in continuing the CoI in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic and lack of respect for Elected Members of the HoA, including summoning members on days when there are HoA sittings.
The UK-sponsored CoI is also caught up in a controversy where three of its attorneys working in the VI as part of the Inquiry, Bilal M. Rawat, Andrew King and Rhea Harrikissoon, have still not be called to the BVI Bar, which is a criminal offence under the Legal Professions Act, 2015.
Editor in Chief of VINO Reuben Stoby said he could “not independently verify the claims of a conspiracy between the CoI and BVI News; however, it’s our job as a credible news site to give voice to those with concerns.”
BVI News did not respond to our request for a comment on the allegations.
History of challenges & failure
BVI News has experienced frequent staff turnovers in the past three years, along with legal challenges, and has settled a few cases brought against it.
Over the years many have failed, including BVI News Online, in attempts to link stories on VINO as written by the esteemed Speaker Hon Julian Willock.
It has long been established that Hon Willock does not write for the news site, which he owns with some investors; however, he deals with revenue, including advertisements for VINO’s parent company, Advance Marketing and Professional Services.
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28 Responses to “Is BVI News part of the public relations campaign for the CoI?”
In any case, is it appropriate to assume that just because of a media outlet's owner is white, or black, or purple, that they must by default be politically aligned in one way or another? I am sure VINO is utterly independent editorially from its owner, the Speaker of the House, and would repudiate anyone who suggests otherwise. After all a free media is one of the four pillars of democracy (along with the legislature, the executive and the judiciary).
It’s a specific case against the new site we are not talking about based on patterns. Patterns that continue to be perpetuated in part by the likes of your biased manipulative comment.
You can take your likes somewhere else or continue confirming our suspicions.
the owner of the publication is white
"if you can divide you may conquer"
They only want people to tear down the VI at ease & friendly atmosphere and reputation.
News outlets are free to write as they wish as the people can read what they wish
I am not sure why anyone has a problem with independent thought and open debate.
Unless they think they have to try and control the news??
After all VINO creates cartoons that are often unpleasant but no one says you can’t do that.
So having freedom of speech and others exercising their freedom of speech is collusion and racism because the people who own the site are white? How did you make that connection?
Do you know what is racism? this is racism "The online site is owned by a Caucasian female and all the Commission of Inquiry lawyers and the commissioner himself are Caucasian."
This is saying that because a man is black, he is a thief, he is a murderer and he is a crackhead.
This is called profiling, judging a person based on a generality that a person has no control over.