When Zane DeSilva and Premier Ewart Brown called out The Royal Gazette for their bias, the paper responded with an attack piece directed at the PLP leaders and a glowingly pro-UBP editorial. Classic Bill Zuill.

Let's break down the hit.

The headline and the lede were glowingly pro-UBP. Then, the vast majority of the article was devoted to reprinting Kim Swan's comments with no rebuttal. On the contrary, every single PLP remark that was printed was accompanied by a healthy dose of scepticism courtesy of The Royal Gazette. It's the height of irony that Bill Zuill publishes articles like that and then seems bewildered when we argue that his paper is an opposition rag.

Let's set the record straight.

The article includes multiple quotes from Kim Swan saying how we all need to come together. We couldn't agree more, Kim. But, unfortunately yours is not the party to bring Bermuda together. UBP leader after UBP leader have complained about pervasive racism in your party. Ask your former UBP MP Jamahl Simmons about it. If you don't believe him, ask former UBP Party Chair Gwyneth Rawlins. If you don't believe her, ask former UBP MP Maxwell Burgess. Even former UBP Leader Wayne Furbert is incredibly frustrated with these elements within your party. Kim, if you really want to end racism and bring Bermuda together, we suggest that you out the racist elements within your own ranks and ask them to leave your party. Until then, we, the PLP, serve as an alternative and welcome Bermudians of all races to join our ranks and, together, we will all move Bermuda forward.

It's not just former UBP leaders that have experienced racism from UBP supporters. Ask Zane DeSilva and Jane Correia about the venom they experienced during the last General Election campaign. They've been marginalised and attacked for supporting the PLP from racist elements within the United Bermuda Party. On the contrary, the PLP is welcoming of all Bermudians - and we're promoting initiatives like the BRRI and the Big Conversation to encourage breaking down the old barriers and promoting racial harmony.

Let's turn our attention to what Premier Brown actually said during in the House of Assembly this week. Premier Brown sets the record straight:

This week The Royal Gazette and the Opposition have again combined their efforts against the PLP through a clear distortion of words I spoke in this House last week.

When I say to you: 'If I had wings I would fly,' I have not truly said I would or I could fly.

The key point in that sentence is 'if'. The same way that if they (white Bermudians) vote in the election along the same lines as they do in Bermuda.

The Premier made a factual statement earlier this week. The essence of his remarks was an observation on community voting patterns in Bermuda. That factual statement isn't news and contained little newsworthy commentary.

That's not how The Royal Gazette spun it. Their misleading headline in response to the Premier's factual comment was, "White Bermudians wouldn't have voted for Obama, claims Premier." They followed that up in today's paper with the following bit of snark, "Mr. DeSilva did not explain why he thought the headline was not a fair reflection of the remark," even after they reprinted the Premier's explanation quoted above.

But, just so we're crystal clear, here's why it's misleading, Mr. Zuill.

The Royal Gazette headline infers that the Premier believes white Bermudians did not support Barack Obama's candidacy for the American Presidency. That couldn't be further from the case and it's not what the Premier said. He simply made a true observation about historical voting patterns in Bermuda. As they've done countless times in the past, The Royal Gazette took the Premier out of context in an effort to attack and marginalise him. Their characterisation was patently unfair and wrong and sadly typical of Bermuda's biased daily.