In the Media

The Olive Net sites and particularly the Army Rumour Service and Navy Net are regular sources of comment and research for the national media, both printed and broadcast. Among many others we have been on the front page of the Independent, on BBC's Politics Show and interviewed on Radio 4. The following are some of the more recent media appearances of our sites:

Independent, 9 Apr 10, Thousands of Afghanistan troops face missing election vote Discussing service voting: "A straw poll on the unofficial military website, ARRSE (Army Rumour Service), showed that 57 per cent of the troops said they would vote Conservative, with 7 per cent saying they would opt for Labour."

The Guardian Online, 29 Mar 2010, Mark Urban's " My Media" Mark Urban, the diplomatic and defence editor for Newsnight, speaks of using the Army Rumour Service as one of his website-browsing 'grazing' sites.

The Conservative Blue Blog, 24 Mar 2010 Taking Questions from the Defence Community The Shadow Defence Minister, Dr. Liam Fox, took questions from the Arrse users because "its users don’t always say what we want to hear – but therein lies its value."

The Times Online, 21 Mar 2010 Voting for British Forces abroad ARRSE users' poll was used as a reference point for an article regarding electronic voting in elections; which is not to be implemented until after the 2010 General Election. The discussion talks of current soldiers turning towards the Conservative Party as "the row about defence cuts and the Iraq inquiry has made many soldiers want a change"

BBC1, 8 Nov 09. The Politics Show. Army Rumour Service used and quoted as a source of questions for interview with General Dutton about the situation in Afghanistan.

The Independent, 27 Oct 09. Jimmy Carr and the pomposity of those professing outrage "The place to look is the Army Rumour Service, known as Arse, the website most used by squaddies to converse with each other online.... "

The Times, 26 Oct 09. Military matters: When it's 2am and you're fearing the worst. "Members of the Army Rumour Service (arrse.co.uk) have rallied round to give financial help to families who have fallen on hard times, and recently set up “Holidays 4 Heroes,” a group that organises free holidays for the families of severely wounded servicemen."

BBC Online, 10 Sep 09 MoD withdraws £114m comms system. "it was not universally well received, with a number of posts on the unofficial armed forces website, Army Rumour Service, saying it has been cursed with some of the worst procurement decisions, shoddy workmanship [and] non-existent quality control".

Channel 4, 7 Sep 09. Olive Net invited to attend and comment on pre-screening of the Dispatches programme Battle Scarred.

The Times Online, 20 Aug 09. Minister 'discussed smears' against General Sir Richard Dannatt. The renewed allegations of a smear campaign provoked a mass of support for the Chief of the General Staff from soldiers and officers writing on the Army Rumour Service website. One officer wrote: Entertaining is not expenses at all. It is entertainment of official guests on government business."

The Spectator, 19 Aug 09. The plot against Sir Richard Dannatt. "A quick glance at the Army Rumour Service’s website should be enough to convince ministers that they should stop playing Iago to Dannatt’s Othello"