Appendix 1

The newspaper article discusses the controversy surrounding the burqa, with Stanley Johnson supporting a ban on it. The article mentions Boris Johnson's comments comparing burqas to bank robbers and post boxes. It highlights that the Daily Mail, a right-wing newspaper, is reinforcing the negative perception of the burqa. The Quran instructs Muslims to dress modestly, but interpretations vary. The article doesn't take a clear stance on Boris Johnson's comments, but the Daily Mail's political bias is evident. The Guardian, a left-wing newspaper, wrote an article stating that some Conservative MPs believe Islam threatens British culture. Older voters are more likely to support the Conservative Party, and the Daily Mail targets this demographic. The newspaper's negative portrayal of the burqa serves its political agenda of supporting right-wing parties. The newspaper article attempts to weaponise the burqa, a religious garment for Muslim women. Within this article they discuss Stanley Johnson's views to ban it. The article initially states Boris Johnson's comment of burqas looking like bank robbers and post boxes. Further, the headliner of the article states, Boris was spot on. Stanley Johnson defends some burqa comments and says ex-Foreign Secretary should have gone further and called for a ban. By the Daily Mail showing Stanley clearly being Islamophobic, they are helping reinforce the weaponisation of the burqa. However, within Islam, Muslim women who wear the burqa often do so for religious or cultural reasons. The Quran, the central divine text of Islam, instructs all Muslims to dress modestly and carry themselves modestly in the world. This instruction has been varied in their representations when it comes to the ideal way for a Muslim to dress, both for men and women, and non-2016, highlighting how the burqa is simply a way to practice their religion and not something to be weaponised. The article itself does not provide a clear stance on whether they disagree with Boris Johnson's initial comments. However, YouGov's initial investigation into the political stance of the UK newspapers found that the Daily Mail were politically right-wing. By Boris Johnson being a member of the Conservative Party and therefore a part of the right-wing of the government, it is clear that the Daily Mail attempt to remain neutral due to their own political beliefs. This introduces the idea of a political agenda within the UK media coverage. By the Daily Mail having a political stance of right-wing and promoting many positive articles on MP members of the right-wing party, they therefore help to reinforce rights that bring ideas to the public. Further, The Guardian, a left-wing newspaper as discovered by YouGov, wrote an article. The article writes that half of Conservative MPs believe that Islam threatens the British way of life. Referring to the political agenda as it was uncovered in the 2019 election, that a decisive difference of preference for the Conservative Party was amongst older voters of Britain. According to the polling organisation YouGov, with every decade older that a voter becomes, their chance of voting Conservative increases by around 9 percentage points. Therefore, those who are of the older generation are more likely to share the viewpoints of the Conservative Party and therefore vote for them. Further, the Daily Mail circulates to on average just under 800,000 copies per day. The Daily Mail's audience resides between those of the ages, according to the Daily Mail, of average route 56, and is popular amongst those of the upper middle class, according to Pennsford 2023. These demographics are more likely to have the same viewpoints of the Conservative Party, determining the reason why the Daily Mail attempts to show the party in a positive light as it would encourage those reading to vote for the party in upcoming elections. Overall, the Daily Mail has chosen to represent Birkhead in a negative light to encourage those reading, who are more likely to share the same viewpoint, to vote for right-wing parties, and therefore encouraging a political agenda behind their articles.