Have the BBC been asked to comment, invited to say who is responsible for decisions of this nature and whether they respond to representations from interested parties before making decisions?
Yes! And a Dislike for when someone's having a hard time for whatever reason - it always feels wrong to hit "Like" for someone getting sicker or having horrid doctor or not getting Benefits etc.
There actually is conspiracy. Conglomerates with lots of power and money regularly pull strings like this, and then call those who notice it and/or object "conspiracy theorists". N.B. The term was coined by the CIA for the express purpose of discrediting people who were paying attention to state shenanigans.
Debunked conspiracy theory I'm afraid!: https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-t...heory-in-1967-in-use-for-70-years-prior.t960/
What Allele should have said more precisely was the term 'conspiracy theory' was made mainstream and weaponized by the CIA. CIA document 1035-960 classified as a Psychological Operation. Of course it cannot have been a Psychological Operation, as that would have been illegal, and would have had to involve a conspiracy to break the law. The document also contains other fascinating titbits of CIA bull and 'suggestions' for book reviewers.
I don't know if that's right either. They use the term in that document, but it reads as if they're just using it, rather than that this document is promoting its use or suggesting it be weaponized. http://www.jfklancer.com/CIA.html Having said that, there's no doubt that some people do try to use the term 'conspiracy theory' as a way of dismissing or undermining reasonable concerns about people in positions of power and authority having behaved badly. History is full of conspiracy, and there's no reason to think that all of a sudden people with power have started behaving wonderfully. Back to the thread's topic: Mo Stewart also has a book out on all of this, although I've not read it: Some of her work is available in papers here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mo_Stewart