Patriotism is a term that is widely invoked in political discourse, but what does it truly mean to be a patriot? In an era where media narratives shape public perception, Victor Fraga’s The Bad Patriots confronts the weaponisation of patriotism and exposes the systematic silencing of progressive voices. As the second instalment in Fraga’s Dirty Media trilogy, following The Coup d’État Factory (2021), this documentary investigates the role of the press in manipulating public opinion and discrediting political dissent.

This time, Fraga shifts his focus to the UK, where former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and filmmaker Ken Loach have been relentlessly vilified by the British media. Branded as extremists, antisemites, and enemies of the nation, their true “crime” is advocating for the working class and challenging entrenched power structures. The Bad Patriots draws compelling parallels between Britain, Brazil, and the United States, revealing a global strategy of media-driven political suppression.

In this exclusive interview with Meer, Fraga discusses the inspiration behind the film, the role of social media in shaping narratives, and the growing threat of media censorship. With The Bad Patriots, he not only aims to reclaim Corbyn’s and Loach’s reputations but also to spark a wider conversation about who controls the media—and, ultimately, who controls the truth.

What inspired you to make The Bad Patriots? Was there a particular moment that made you realize this documentary needed to be made?

The Bad Patriots is the second in my dirty media trilogy. The first one came out in 2021, and it’s called The Coup d’Etat Factory. And it reveals the media manipulation tactics that led to the successive coup d’etats in Brazil, the country where I was born and grew up. I became close to Jeremy Corbyn as I showcased my film around the UK, and he recognised that many of the smear tactics were used on him. Jeremy and I approached Ken Loach together, and the film was born!

The title The Bad Patriots is provocative. How did you come up with it, and what message do you hope it conveys?

Jeremy Corbyn and Ken Loach are consistently accused of being left-wing extremists, terrorist sympathisers, communists, antisemites, and of lacking patriotism. What they lack is the jingoistic notion of patriotism that the far right, the right, and even the current Labour government promote. Jeremy and Ken are the best patriots because they care about the ordinary citizen, instead of engaging in the all-too-familiar flag-shagging rituals.

How do you define “patriotism” in the context of this film? Do you believe the media weaponizes the idea of patriotism to suppress dissent?

Jeremy describes patriotism in the film as caring about your fellow citizens. I’m sympathetic towards that definition, although I have serious reservations about any patriotism. Patriotism is a modern construct, exclusionary by nature. I’m not patriotic at all - towards Brazil, the UK, or any nation.

The media routinely paints bad patriots to smear, silence, and erasing voices that dare to question the status quo.

The film draws parallels between the UK and other countries, such as Brazil and the United States. What similarities did you find in the way left-wing figures are discredited globally?

The global media likes to paint socialists as extremists. Most media groups are owned by billionaires, and they are terrified that a left-leaning government will make them pay their taxes. It’s the same in Brazil, the UK, the US, and pretty much anywhere in the West. Generally speaking, the mainstream media serves the interests of the employers, not of the employees.

With people like Bolsonaro and Donald Trump in power, things have changed a little. They are so unhinged and hostile towards press freedoms that the mainstream media do not align with their agenda as they would with a more traditional right-wing government. Leaders with an authoritarian verve represent an existential threat to the mainstream media, so they tend to prefer more moderate figures.

Do you think the media bias against Corbyn was solely about his policies, or was there also a personal element to it?

Corbyn is an overtly socialist, republican (anti-monarchy), pro-Palestine voice in an extremely conservative country. The ruling classes were terrified that he could come to power. He explained in the film that unidentified army commanders had said that they would not take orders from Corbyn should he ever become PM.

What role do social media and alternative news outlets play in countering mainstream media narratives? Are they effective in shifting public perception?

Social media are double-edged, particularly since Elon Musk acquired, corrupted, and renamed Twitter. The algorithms, too, have a lot of power, as we learned from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In the UK, alternative news outlets have very little clout. In Brazil, guerrilla outlets such as Midia Ninja, 247, and Jornalistas Livres have played a significant role in shifting public perception (towards the left).

In your research for the film, did you find examples of journalists who wanted to tell a different story but were constrained by editorial pressures?

A lot, but for obvious reasons, I cannot share their stories. It is also important to highlight that The Bad Patriots itself has been subjected to two shocking gestures of censorship. I cannot give you any details about those.

What impact do you hope The Bad Patriots will have on the public’s understanding of media manipulation?

I hope that my film will help Jeremy and Ken reclaim their reputation. They have both been consistently accused of extremism and antisemitism, and they were both expelled from Labour. I hope viewers will realise that these two individuals are integral human beings, victims of unrelenting smear (particularly Jeremy).

If Corbyn had won the 2019 election, do you think the media landscape in Britain would have shifted, or would the attacks have intensified?

That’s a very difficult one to say. I think that he would have attempted to implement media balance regulations. However, those must be handled with care, as they could easily be misused by an autocratic government.

What’s next for you? Do you plan to continue exploring similar themes in your future projects?

I’m working on my fifth film and my first fiction short, while seeking funds for my first feature fiction. And I’m finalising the third and final film the the dirty media trilogy. It’s provisionally entitled The Bad Jews, and it has an interview with Noam Chomsky as its main pillar, discussing media bias internationally. I was the penultimate person to interview Chomsky, a week before he had the stroke that left him unable to communicate. The day after I interviewed him, he sent me an e-mail: “What a lift it was talking to someone sensible.” That made me realise that I have an important mission in my hands and that I have to do a decent film honoring his legacy.

About the director

Victor Fraga is a British-Brazilian journalist and filmmaker. He is the founder and director of DMovies, leading independent film publications in the UK and Europe and also a production company.

He has previously directed a feature documentary (The Coup d'Etat Factory, 2021) and a short documentary (The Flour Test, 2002), both screened in festivals across the globe, broadcast on television, and now available for streaming.

Both documentaries are provocative activist films. The Coup d'Etat Factory also deals with the topic of media manipulation and slander.

In 2023, Victor produced and co-wrote The Visitor, directed by Bruce LaBruce, which premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlinale. The Visitor is a sexually explicit and hyperpolitical remake of Pasolini's Theorem, set in London.

After selling out in just three hours, the UK premiere of The Bad Patriots at BFI Southbank on April 29th has been upgraded to the venue's largest cinema room to accommodate overwhelming demand.