Is it any wonder that GB News is on its knees already?

I was not one of those who wished GB News ill. I thought attempts to strangle it at birth childish. Nevertheless, it seems to be doing a good job strangling itself. Driven by former BBC big beast Andrew Neil, GB News set itself up as an “anti-woke” channel, to promote free expression and challenge broadcasters’ pandering to the “metropolitan elite”.

The furore over presenter Guto Harri “taking the knee” on air reveals why that’s a confused aim. The broadcaster’s editorial charter commits itself to “respect for opinions and those expressing them”. But many GB News viewers disagreed, boycotting the channel.

The station responded with a pair of tweets, claiming both that “we do not have a company line on taking the knee” and that Harri had committed “an unacceptable breach of our standards”. He was taken off air. “Cancel culture is insidious, it stands against everything we have stood for since the enlightenment onwards,” Neil insisted before the station launched. Obviously more insidious than he realised. Many high-profile supporters of GB News were appalled. But it was almost inevitable. Framing everything as woke v unwoke not only misunderstands real-world conflicts but imposes a cage on what you say or do. You police yourself not to be woke.

Neil insists that the channel will not be Britain’s Fox News. That remains to be seen. Director of programmes, John McAndrew, has resigned, apparently after refusing to dial up the “culture wars” aspect of the channel. And Nigel Farage coming on board smells quite Foxy.

GB News reveals how difficult it is to produce good broadcast news. Being anti-woke is not the same as being open-minded or open to free speech. Nor does it necessarily make for good viewing.

• Kenan Malik is an Observer columnist