Activists from global environmental movement Extinction Rebellion held a protest at a printing works near Motherwell last night to disrupt the distribution of The Scottish Sun newspaper.
Protesters held up banners saying ‘Free the Press’ and ‘No to Racist Rhetoric’, and fake newspapers called ‘The Sin’ and messages at Newsprinters, located at Eurocentral in Holytown off the M8.
It came amid simultaneous actions at printing works in Liverpool and and Hertfordshire, and follows a protest back in March which saw them block the entrance to Glasgow City Chambers in protest at the Strathclyde Pension Fund's investment in fossil fuels.
Extinction Rebellion accuse the Rupert Murdoch-owned press of downplaying the catastrophic Australian bushfires in January and promoting the fossil fuel industry in the US.
Those attending wore face masks and kept a two-metre distance during the protest.
Susanna Hotham, 27, Extinction Rebellion Glasgow activist said: “We are taking action tonight to make a statement about the lack of democracy in a press majority owned by billionaires.
"The Sun perpetuates a xenophobic, racist and divisive narrative to advance their own agenda, profiting off of climate denialism and failing to acknowledge the climate emergency.
"The misinformation they spread has catastrophic effects for the communities affected by the rising temperatures, and cements the fate of the generations to come to live on an uninhabitable planet."
Stuart Bretherton, 22, Extinction Rebellion Scotland activist said: “We’re here to shine a light and expose the truth. Five billionaire oligarchs have control of our press, they promote racism, classism and climate denialism while obscuring the real issues and threats. We need to stand together to take back our democracy and free the truth.”
Last night's protest near Glasgow follows several other recent actions taken around Scotland coordinated with non-violent civil disobedience throughout the UK.
