In a journey the sheer bizarreness of which has not gone unnoticed by social media users, LADbible appears to have completed a total volte-face from bawdy purveyor of laddish bantz and viral memes to political journal of record following the departure of editorial chief Simon Binns to work as head of content at The Cabinet Office.
In an exclusive with Binns’ Manchester-based former employer, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chose LADbible as the outlet for his “important update” on the government’s plans to tackle vaping among children (or “kids” as down-with-it Rishi refers to them on the hip website).
His 45-second message revealed that the government will ban disposable vapes following some alarming statistics about the rise of vaping in younger age groups, as well as cracking down on packaging, marketing and flavours designed to appeal to younger consumers.
Rishi Sunak with an important message about the banning of disposable vapes 👇 https://t.co/5izLhRe3vV pic.twitter.com/XSYQ6pP8uQ
— LADbible (@ladbible) January 28, 2024
It’s an important issue for sure, but the choice of mouthpiece left plenty, well, surprised?
What a journey LADbible has been on https://t.co/AkfMCO3H6c pic.twitter.com/QNO7a8LzQM
— James Heale (@JAHeale) January 29, 2024
Some entered into a game of “spot the exclusive” about other potential issues LADbible could break to the world:
Imagine Lord Salisbury announcing a victory over the Boers as a LadBible exclusive. https://t.co/95CrFlphXw pic.twitter.com/mjamDT8AYi
— William Atkinson (@WTMAtkinson) January 29, 2024
While some were downright unimpressed:
Why is Ladbible shilling for the Tories? https://t.co/fwQaJErfz5
— Jake 🌹🏴 (@ToryWipeout) January 29, 2024
Others were keen to ignore the platform and focus on the message:
Surely it is the message that is important which is about stopping these devices getting into the hands of impressionable children. It doesnt matter that both Tory and Labour are teaming up to make this happen. If anything traditional Tories do not agree with the plans
— Jason Cain (@JasonCain71) January 29, 2024
There was some impressive whataboutery taking place too. I mean, how dare the PM make a policy announcement about thing x when thing y is also taking place:
The official death toll in Gaza so far is 26,637. I couldn't name anywhere near that many humans I've met in my life. I don't understand how Rishi Sunak is launching vape banning initiatives on Ladbible when preventable horror is ongoing & we're supporting it.
— Tim Clare (@TimClarePoet) January 29, 2024
And of course some token referencing of culture wars which, to be honest, we’re still struggling to get our head around to find any relevance:
I’m not shocked. Lad bible has always been part of stoking the culture war
— Elliott Gardiner 🌹 🐝 (@rdg_elliott) January 29, 2024
One thing we can probably all agree on, however, is that whether he’s dishing out his pearls of wisdom on LADbible’s Twitter, in the pages of the broadsheets, or under ferocious questioning from Conservative Party press officer BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg, it’s going to take more than a new head of content and a nod to the “kids” to make Sunak come across as an even vaguely relatable member of the human race.