I don’t think there’s been anyone more universally hated over the past few years in the UK than Shamima Begum – not sure Prince Harry/Meghan Markle/Matt Hancock have quite reached that level – and so it’s hardly rocket science that people are going to be furious with the BBC for commissioning a new 10 part podcast series with her where she tries to get her story across.

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I haven’t actually listened to the podcast myself but apparently there’s an extraordinary passage where she says that she stocked up on Aeros before heading over to join the jihad in Syria as she wasn’t sure she would be able to find any over there. She also called it a tragedy that there wasn’t any mint chocolate over there. You can just see everyone jumping on that for being tone deaf without even listening to the context of her comments can’t you? Probably because it is a little to be fair.

Anyway, here’s a few of the outraged tweets about the BBC giving Begum a platform, mostly from people with no profile picture and a load of numbers after their name:

The BBC giving Shamima Begum a podcast is disgusting. I’m glad I don’t pay anything towards the BBC. The only place I want to see this terrorist is in an execution chamber.

— Ross (@Ross58831783) January 11, 2023

DISGUSTING use of licence payers’ money.
“We went to ISIS, that was it. It was over, it was over and done with.”
Over & done with?
Tell that to the relatives of the dead. You evil monster.

Shamima Begum shares story of how she joined ISIS in BBC podcast https://t.co/ztCXv3iQC7

— Frantique- an English antique aged to perfection (@Frantique4) January 11, 2023

It’s publicity we don’t want to hear,as said in this article why haven’t you given groomed kids a platform to be heard instead of the traitor nobody wants to listen too ?

BBC criticised for giving ‘terrorist’ Shamima Begum a platform https://t.co/Vg5xerbmCr @MailOnline

— Ste0007 (@Ste00071) January 11, 2023

Hello Joshua, could you please explain why you and the @BBCPodcasts are happy to give voice to Shamima Begum who came to Syria to join a terror group and enjoyed having slaves?

— SMM Syria (@smmsyria) January 11, 2023

#BBC are now actively funding an ISIS Terrorist. What the fuck are they doing? #ShamimaBegum https://t.co/fh7baFsJmn

— Tobias (@Hellqvisttri) January 11, 2023

The BBC need to be defunded, Thier constant political bias, and support of terrorists like Shamima Begum needs to be called out.

— Mark Perry (@MarkPer66734590) January 11, 2023

@BBCNews you are way off the mark spending public money on the Shamima Begum podcast. It’s not of great public interest!!!

— JT (@John4789) January 11, 2023

Fuck you #bbc #shamimabegum

— I Am Trumpacus (@BaCarli) January 11, 2023

Yeah, tell us how you really feel hey? To be honest I can kinda see why these people are angry about this because Begum did willingly hop off out of the country to go and join a terrorist organisation, but at the same time there’s a legitimate argument that she was groomed/trafficked into doing this as she was only 15 at the time.

Again, I haven’t listened to the podcast but I think host Josh Baker’s description of what they’re trying to do with it makes a good case for why it’s been funded:

There are different ways to tell the Shamima Begum story. There’s the one about a 15-year-old schoolgirl who was groomed and lured to a war zone by ISIS and now needs saving from a Syrian detention camp.

And there’s the one about a traitor, who fled Britain to join ISIS and became known the world over as a terrorist and must be stopped from coming back to Britain.

As Shamima challenges the removal of her British citizenship by the UK government, I’ve examined her accounts to give listeners a definitive narrative on this complex, nuanced and shocking story.

That sounds interesting right? And as if it’ll actually examine what Shamima did from both viewpoints to try and get to the truth. I’m still not gonna listen to it but that does make it sound like an at least somewhat worthwhile investigation. All these flag bashers need to give it a rest.

For more of the same, check out what Danny Dyer thinks about the Shamima Begum situation. Maybe not what you would expect.