Inside City AM Magazine

Over some 20 years working in journalism, I have found myself in some pretty hairy situations. In my days working for the tabloids, I was once taken hostage at knife-point by a man who was not satisfied when I told him that the cheque for the story he had just sold us about his ex-wife – a convicted murderer – would be ‘in the post’.

Another time I had to get a police escort to and from work after the subject of a story, unhappy with the way in which he had been portrayed, tried to kick his way through the security barrier at my office. And then there was the time the landlord of a flat I had thankfully already moved out of called my former flatmate to calmly relay a message from a friend of his, a gangster I had written a series of stories about: “Tell Stevie I’m going to kill him.”

These days I spend more time writing about restaurants than I do swimming in the murky waters of investigative journalism. But old habits die hard…

This issue sees the second instalment of my investigation into ‘pink slime’ networks, websites that specialise in bespoke smear campaigns distributed across networks made to resemble local news outlets.

And I’m a little worried. It’s relatively easy to avoid low-level Glaswegian criminals (I moved to Bermuda, although that was mostly unrelated). But picking a fight with the dark lords of disinformation opens you up to the kind of online attack against which, as the victims in my story will attest, it can be difficult to defend yourself.

But I think this is one of the most important stories I have ever covered, a terrifying phenomenon that is growing exponentially – a far greater threat than most people realise. Check out the investigation below – as well as some other amazing features and interviews.

Steve

We dive into a terrifying world where hostile factions run smear campaigns for cash and victims have nowhere to hide. To catch up on the first part, follow this link.

Goodfellas and Taxi Driver legend Robert De Niro talks exclusively to City AM The Magazine about his hospitality empire, which quietly occupies the 83-year-old New York-born actor in-between his film-making.

We sent a writer on a bender to see whether reports of Soho’s death have been exaggerated. Can you still party until dawn in London's most debauched quarter?

Once a symbol of Bacchanalian excess, the all-you-can-eat buffet seemed destined for the culinary dustbin. But Anna Moloney discovers a breed of chefs refusing to let go.

We investigate the mystery of Nigel Farage’s wristwatch. Could the so-called man of the people really wear a £40,000 Patek Philippe Calatrava? Andy Blackmore starts digging and finds a surprising answer…

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