The Conservative Party has come under fire after their official X account posted a screenshot of BBC presenter Maryam Moshiri flashing the middle finger and captioned it with, “Labour when you ask for their plans to tackle illegal migration.”
The post, which has since amassed a total of 16.5 million views, has drawn criticism from numerous X users, likening their behavior to that of a teenager and stating that it’s ‘hugely embarrassing”, “ludicrous, “pathetic”, “childish,” and “immature.”
Labour when you ask for their plans to tackle illegal migration. pic.twitter.com/8ig9KkfFxX
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) December 7, 2023
Conservatives under fire
Although it’s not yet clear who perpetuated the post that has gained nothing but hatred, it’s evident that some Tory MPs were against the idea, such as Tobias Ellwood and Alicia Kearns, who have both urged their own party to get rid of the post.
On the other hand, another Tory MP, Jonathan Gullis, reposted the meme and said outrightly that he ‘approved the message.’
Amused and, at the same time, furious by the apparent division within the Conservatives, the people have taken a swipe yet again at the party and asked how they were ever going to work on the same manifesto.
The Tory Party civil war in two tweets pic.twitter.com/WyGDoe9lmz
— Kevin Schofield (@KevinASchofield) December 7, 2023
Meanwhile, others took the opportunity to delve deeper into the issue within the message, pointing out that net migration has ballooned from 250,000 in 2019 to 745,000 in 2022, an alarming statistic that has since caught the attention of the public.
The BBC Meme
The BBC meme in question was born out of a joke that was only meant for the crew. Maryam Moshiri, the BBC presenter, said that the director was counting down from 10-0 and she was following along with her fingers. She joked with the team by turning her finger around as they approached one, not realizing that she had gone live at that moment.
Moshiri went on to say that she had never planned for it to air and that neither the audience nor “even a person” was the target of the middle finger.
Hey everyone , yesterday just before the top of the hour I was joking around a bit with the team in the gallery.
I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0.. including the fingers to show the number. So from 10 fingers held up to one.
When…
— Maryam Moshiri (@BBCMaryam) December 7, 2023
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