The Sun

:For other uses, see Sun (disambiguation).

Notoriety

Critics of the paper accuse it of being jingoistic, sensationalistic and subservient to Murdoch's point of view. It infamously printed the headline "Gotcha" when, during the Falklands War, Argentinian ship the General Belgrano was sunk, and often refers to foreign leaders in unflattering terms — such as dubbing president Jacques Chirac of France "le Worm". Support of British troops — referred to as "Our Boys" — in action is invariably unequivocal and, like all Murdoch-owned media, the paper has fully supported the ongoing war in Iraq. The tabloid is also famous for its anti-German headlines and stories, for example in connection with Football, Pope Benedict XVI and the European Union.

Related Topics:
Falklands War - Argentinian - General Belgrano - Jacques Chirac - France - Iraq - Football - Pope Benedict XVI - European Union

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More generally, The Sun frequently makes remarks disparaging of foreign countries, especially neighbours of the United Kingdom, with the usage of slurs. The Sun however is very overtly Atlanticist, and supportive of the United States.

Related Topics:
Atlanticist - United States

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Also controversial has been the paper's alleged homophobia. This started in the 1980s as the new Greater London Council led by Ken Livingstone gave (modest) financial support to various gay rights and support groups. When Peter Mandelson was "outed" by Matthew Parris (a gay former columnist on The Sun) on Newsnight in October 1999, the paper called for it to be stated whether Britain was governed by a "gay mafia", as there were then several openly gay members of the British Cabinet, only for the paper's attitudes to be completely reversed the next day, because of the uproar which had ensued. In reality, Chris Smith, Nick Brown and Mandelson were by no means allies.

Related Topics:
Homophobia - 1980 - Greater London Council - Ken Livingstone - Peter Mandelson - Matthew Parris - Newsnight - 1999 - Chris Smith - Nick Brown

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The Sun was condemned for its coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster in Sheffield, where it printed allegations against Liverpool football fans that were later found to be untrue. This caused a boycott of the Sun in Liverpool. It made a full page 'apology' on July 7, 2004, 15 years after the disaster, which has been criticised by some as self-serving http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1255987,00.html. For more on this controversy, see 'The Sun newspaper' section in 'Hillsborough disaster'.

Related Topics:
1989 - Hillsborough football stadium disaster - Sheffield - 'The Sun newspaper' section in 'Hillsborough disaster'

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