The Daily Mail did an RNLI hatchet job and the backlash was spectacular
The Daily Mail has trained its sights on the good work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution after it revealed that a small portion of its income is spent on saving drowning kids abroad.
That’s quite enough of that. Daily Mail readers were absolutely outraged, just as you would expect.
A handful of the top-rated comments on its site – we’ve read them so you don’t have to – include ‘Well I won’t be giving to that charity anymore absolutely shocking money should stay in this country not sent to Africa’ and ‘That’s it, that’s the very last penny the RNLI will get from me. I am sick and tired of charities in this country seeming to see themselves as responsible for the whole world!’
The response in the outside world was rather different however. Suggestions that the Mail story would lead to a reduction in donations are likely to be wide of the mark. Quite the opposite, in fact, if these people’s reactions are anything to go by.
1.
What a miserable, cold life you must lead to want to cancel your donation to a life-saving organisation for trying to help fellow humans. Imagine living with such anger and sourness. Poor, shrunken souls.
— Chris Addison (@mrchrisaddison) September 16, 2019
2.
Laughing at people replying to that RNLI tweet saying they are going to boycott it.
"*gasps for air* NO. GO AWAY. LEAVE ME TO DROWN. I'M BOYCOTTING YOU FOR HELPING TRAIN PEOPLE TO HELP KIDS IN BANGLADESH LEARN TO SWIM, YOU PC MONSTERS *last words as drowns* I'VE OWNED THE LIBS"
— Martin Belam (@MartinBelam) September 15, 2019
3.
If you are genuinely angry that the RNLI may have been spending money preventing children from drowning because those children were not in the UK, there is a howling void where your soul should be.
— Seán Jones QC (@seanjonesqc) September 15, 2019
4.
I mean, what do they want to happen? The details are already in @RNLI published accounts. Do they want the people rattling tins to explain to everyone who puts a quid in that tuppence might be spent on preventing death by drowning somewhere overseas & ask if they want it back?
— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) September 16, 2019
5.
Surely the RNLI could yell a Britishness test at the drowning person through a megaphone to see if the Mail would approve of their rescue. “What was Julie’s Pantry?” “Who starred in Kavanagh QC?”
— Simon Blackwell (@simonblackwell) September 16, 2019
6.
In a few years we have gone from the jolly cheerfulness of Boaty McBoatface to press and social media attacks on RNLI just because they teach people how to swim not in UK
How mean a national mood can turn
— David Allen Green (@davidallengreen) September 16, 2019
7.
so, still on my 'how much have I saved since binning the fags' wonderment and yeah, well done, Daily Mail, Times & every right wing flapping leathery racist cunt on here bc RNLI copped the lot. THEY ARE THE BEST OF US. Thank you. #savinglivesatsea
— Sarah Phelps (@PhelpsieSarah) September 15, 2019
8.
I'm also loving the idea of "boycotting" the RNLI. "No, piss off, I'll drown on my OWN terms thanks!"
— Ian Martin (@IanMartin) September 16, 2019
9.
Looks like there are two types of people: those who think a lifeboat should save kids from drowning, and I guess those who think lifeboat crew should check the nationality of drowning kids first and let them drown if they’re not British. What a world.
— James Moran (@jamesmoran) September 16, 2019
10.
If the story today is that Mail readers are cancelling their RNLI donations because the RNLI spend 2% of their income preventing drowning abroad, then let's make today's story that thousands more donated and supported them. The RNLI, man! THEY RIDE OUT INTO STORMS TO SAVE PEOPLE. https://t.co/iHbYdyNOup
— Caitlin Moran (@caitlinmoran) September 16, 2019
11.
My timeline is now full of people donating to the RNLI, in response to the mad hatchet-piece about them in Britain's most dolourous newspaper. Nice to see the narrative reversed overnight by lovely people.
— Caitlin Moran (@caitlinmoran) September 16, 2019
12.
*immediately Googles ‘how to donate to @RNLI’*
— sara cox (@sarajcox) September 16, 2019
13.
Had a very jolly time muting people who claim to have stopped donations to the @RNLI because the humans they save from drowning aren’t always British. Bit of a deal-breaker.
Have also sent the @RNLI some money https://t.co/dF32FJVXXW
— Samuel West (@exitthelemming) September 15, 2019
Here’s what the RNLI had to say.
In response to the @MailOnline & @thetimes:we are proud of our international work. Its saves (mostly kids') lives. And we haven't kept it secret – it's in our annual report, on our website and in the media. We spend just 2% of our expenditure on this work: https://t.co/STztOxG1OP
— RNLI (@RNLI) September 15, 2019
And here’s an insight into the sort of outrageous activities they get up to outside of the UK.
It's swimming schemes like this one in Bangladesh the @RNLI has helped devise. A country where around 40 children drown every single day. They work with local groups and use their expertise to teach others essential skills. They should be admired not criticised pic.twitter.com/YIVuoFngPQ
— Becky Horsbrugh (@BeckyRLH) September 15, 2019
The whole backlash quite gladdens the heart. Well, most people’s hearts.
BREAKING: RNLI must check drowning kids have full UK blue passport before rescuing them, say Brexiteers.
— The Poke (@ThePoke) September 16, 2019
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Daily Mail readers boycott the RNLI over its overseas work – only 5 replies you need
