David Smith
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avaragado.org
David Smith
@avaragado.org
Creative techie gay in Cambridge UK. Solution Architect/Technical Product Designer/Writer/Leader (looking for work). avaragado everywhere. Writes fiction as @anthonycamber.com 🏳️‍🌈
Former BBC employee Jack Murley has posted on Instagram about the repeated homophobic abuse he received while working for the corporation - often from BBC staff. He says the BBC has now formally apologised.

www.instagram.com/p/DSaZBd4DO8F/
Jack Murley on Instagram: "Today, I met in-person with senior BBC management to receive a formal, full and unconditional apology for repeated incidents of homophobic and discriminatory abuse that I wa...
740 likes, 59 comments - jack_murley on December 18, 2025: "Today, I met in-person with senior BBC management to receive a formal, full and unconditional apology for repeated incidents of homophobic a...
www.instagram.com
December 20, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by David Smith
Cycling UK have recently stated that their annual 100 Women in Cycling award won’t include any trans women or non-binary

Over 50 current nominees and previous winners have rejected or returned their awards. I know many of them personally

I’m proud of my cycling sisters. All of them
December 17, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by David Smith
There are more gags in this than all the adverts made in the past thirty years put together
The Two Ronnies liked the British Leyland Double Bonus in 1981
December 17, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Reposted by David Smith
"There's just no money in the industry at the moment"
December 16, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by David Smith
The fact is no presenter has ever had to leave the BBC for expressing conservative views, or even explicitly endorsing a right-wing party.

Was never a problem for Jeremy Clarkson. Was never a problem for Andrew Neil. Was never a problem for Alan Sugar
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people
December 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Epstein, Gates, Trump, but Andrew.

I don’t think I’ve seen a single BBC piece that calls him “Mountbatten-Windsor” just as the surname. It’s got to be a high-level editorial choice, surely. Why?
December 13, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Reposted by David Smith
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by David Smith
So we've gone from "he never said anything Nazi" to "well he might have said something Nazi but not in a hurtful way" to "well okay he probably did say something Nazi in a hurtful way, but didn't we all?"
December 9, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Reposted by David Smith
Nigel Farage's explicit homophobia as he jokes at his brother's wedding: "The good news for us who are smokers is that we are far better off here than if we had been at Michael Barrymore’s house. Because there they removed all the ashtrays on the basis that now they chuck all the fags in the pool."
December 9, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by David Smith
Fuck this shit.
December 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Polling idea (rough wording):

1. Agree/disagree: Trans people deserve all the rights of non-trans people

2. Agree/disagree: I liked the character of Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street

Ask half the participants the questions in this order, and half in reverse order.
December 7, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by David Smith
“And what is the charge? Eating a seal? A succulent Chinese seal? GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY PENIS!”
December 6, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by David Smith
Interesting thing to take away here.

BBC asked 5000 doctors to take part in a survey about overdiagnosis of mental health conditions. Only 15% of them responded.

And what do you think the belief will be of that 15% who specifically wanted to respond to a study into overdiagnosis? 🤔
December 6, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Enjoying the awkwardness and maximum cringe of the World Cup draw. One of the people opening the balls can't pronounce several of the country names.
December 5, 2025 at 7:01 PM
In the future, everyone will own Warner Bros/Discovery for fifteen minutes
December 5, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Gambling discovered in casino
Police accused of 'homophobic assumptions' over victims of blackmail on Grindr
A BBC investigation learns of five cases of suspected blackmail involving victims targeted on Grindr in one area.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by David Smith
A prime example of how the far right can never be appeased. Give them whatever they demand and they’ll bank it, then use it as a new base camp to strike out for more and worse.
December 3, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by David Smith
GB News now broadcasting calls to remove the ethnic minority MPs from parliament
December 3, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by David Smith
Obviously this is impossible because Alan Moore looks like he's genetically a wizard, it's simply impossible to imagine what he would look like as a schoolboy oh there he is.
Spot Alan Moore in his 6th form Northampton Grammar School photo, taken two days before he was expelled
December 2, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Reposted by David Smith
In the span of a hour, they stealth edited the article from trans woman to "biological male who identifies as a woman." The BBC isn't fit for purpose.
It looks like that BBC page has been updated in the last few minutes, so that's no longer the last sentence. I think part of it has been moved to this paragraph in the middle of the article, and the age is no longer mentioned:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 25, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by David Smith
The hidden chemical attack that forced the Northern line’s extraordinary repair

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the...
The hidden chemical attack that forced the Northern line’s extraordinary repair
Thirty years ago, an entire section of the Northern line had to be replaced because it was under attack from acid, and hardly anyone noticed that it was happening.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Reposted by David Smith
As usual, property is placed in a pedestal over people.
Some man-bear-pig like Lineham harassing a then 17 year old trans minor is perfectly fine and acceptable, but god forbid you do any property damage!
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been cleared of harassing a transgender activist, but was found guilty of criminal damage to her mobile phone.
Father Ted’s Graham Linehan cleared of transphobic harassment
www.independent.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Reposted by David Smith
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by David Smith
This report does not quote any trans children, or parents of trans children, or any trans people at all.

It does quote Keira Bell saying it’s “disgusting”, though.

New puberty blockers trial to begin after UK ban www.bbc.com/news/article...
New puberty blockers clinical trial to begin after UK ban
Those taking part in the study will be children under 16 who are going through puberty.
www.bbc.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:13 AM