Twitter

By engaging with the rage farmers, we merely add fuel to the fire of polarisation…

| Readers 2089
white and black cat sketch

Peter Lockhart is a law student at Queens A term which has recently entered common parlance is ‘rage farming’ – broadly defined as a manipulative tactic by bloggers or journalists to elicit outrage with the goal of increasing internet traffic, online engagement, revenue and support. Originating in the US, once one recognises this tactic, it becomes difficult to ignore its prevalence. Imagine that one individual who, when they appear on your timeline or tv screen, creates an instantaneous feeling of …

Read more…

Elon Musk’s Twitter drama continues…

| Readers 2063
happy birthday to you print

I am not sure how 2022 was for you, but it has been a tough year for the world’s former richest man Elon Musk. He bought Twitter for $44 billion, but some analysts estimate it to be worth only $15 billion at best. Given the disastrous few months it has had, even that valuation looks generous. Twitter is a money pit; last year, it posted a net loss of $221 million. All the drama has had a contagion effect on Musk’s …

Read more…

Is social media helping to keep us stuck in the past?

| Readers 2098

I was listening to an interesting podcast recently. It was a discussion with the writer Michael Sacasas about his article – We Are Not Living in a Simulation, We Are Living In the Past. The discussion is a little heavy on philosophy, but the general gist of it is that social media is keeping us stuck as we replay the same debates over and over and never move on. You may remember I wrote something similar last month – Is …

Read more…

Do politicians really need to be on social media?

| Readers 2139
social media, interaction, woman

One of the party leaders once said to me ‘I f*cking hate Twitter’ and I found it hard to disagree with them, given the abuse politicians get online. I have had a Twitter account for 13 years and I deliberately say practically nothing on it. I have also managed to avoid putting a single photo on my Instagram account. When you see what some politicians have to go through you really do wonder if it’s all worth the hassle. You …

Read more…

Twitter troll to pay Stephen Nolan six figure damages…

| Readers 4679

A bad week for whoever was behind the Pastor Jimberoo Twitter account as Stephen Nolan just made their bank account over a 100k lighter. From the BBC report: A person who used anonymous Twitter accounts to make defamatory remarks about Stephen Nolan has apologised and agreed to pay a six-figure damages sum. The BBC radio and TV presenter traced the identity of the person who was behind an online campaign against him. In a statement issued by the person’s lawyer, …

Read more…

You are never as anonoymous online as you think…

| Readers 4991

Eoghan Harris has been sacked by the Irish Independent for running a sock puppet Twitter account. There is also a good overview of the story in the Irish Times. For those not aware of the term this is when you set up a Twitter account with a fake name. I am not a reader of the Irish Independent so I have never read anything by Eoghan Harris. I have no opinion of him either way but I know he does …

Read more…

Freedom to express, but not freedom to incite?

| Readers 1129

Western liberal democracies pride themselves on the right to freedom of expression. But social media has within the last decade or so had a profound impact on the possibilities of political expression. The suspension of Donald Trump’s access to Twitter, Facebook and now YouTube following the assault on the Capitol on 6th January has opened up a new debate on whether this ban is contrary to the right of free speech. The irony is that Trump’s supporters have accused these …

Read more…

If I had to do lockdown again, I would cut back on media…

| Readers 1584

In my younger years, I used to backpack around the world. One time I met an Australian girl who mentioned that she never consumed any news at all. This has always stuck in my mind. I was amazed and asked her was she not worried about missing out on anything important? Her insightful reply was that if it were important enough people would tell her. She gave the example of 9/11. The day after 9/11, someone said to her ‘Did …

Read more…

Much to dislike about the 8th referendum campaign

| Readers 1801

As the campaigns to repeal or retain the 8th Amendment forge ahead, the first major television debate is now in the history books. The “three on three” format, on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live with audience contributions and boisterous applause throughout, has been criticised for shedding more heat than light. Meanwhile, Google’s late stage decision to call a halt to all online referendum advertisements, no matter who pays for them, has sparked outrage from backers of a No vote, who are …

Read more…

George Orwell and Twitter rage…

| Readers 1299

Interesting post over at The Idler about Twitter rage. In our current cultural climate, opinions have gotten very black and white, you need to pick a side. Nuance and shades of grey have gone out the window to be replacement by mock outrage. To quote the post: The periodic bouts of hatred directed at public figures on Twitter reminds me of Orwell’s “Two Minutes Hate” in 1984. In Two Minutes Hate, the residents of Oceania watch images of the enemy on …

Read more…

High Court awards Elliot £48,750 damages [plus costs] for Flanagan libel

| Readers 1848

Whilst waiting for the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle to ratify his re-selection as a candidate in Fermanagh/South Tyrone, at the second time of trying, notorious tweeter Phil Flanagan, MLA, has discovered the cost of his “grossly defamatory” libel against former UUP leader, Tom Elliot, then MLA, now MP for FST.  As the BBC reports The High Court in Belfast has awarded almost £50k in damages to a former Ulster Unionist leader over a defamatory message posted on Twitter. Mr Justice Stephens …

Read more…

NI Assembly Insurers Refuse to Cover Sinn Féin’s Phil Flanagan for Compensation and Costs Awarded in Tom Elliot Libel Case

| Readers 2732

It’s worth noting to begin with that that refusal is in accordance with advice given to Jack Peel, Deputy Head of Finance, NI Assembly in March 2011 by Karen McLaverty, Vice President, Marsh Ltd, who provide the Assembly insurance broking and risk management services. Nineteen months after libelling the former UUP leader, Tom Elliot, then an MLA, now MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone [since May 2015], the recently deselected Sinn Féin MLA, Phil Flanagan, appeared in Belfast High Court yesterday where he recognised the …

Read more…

Men Bleed Too- the Incoherent Outrage of Men’s Rights Activists

| Readers 2349

MENS RIGHTS: There has been a recent upsurge in the number of disgruntled men taking to social media to loudly proclaim that they too suffer. They too suffer domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, and a range of other injustices. They are determined to let the world (for that, read women) know that they suffer, and that they demand change.

It wasn’t quite Twitter wot won it – social media and the General Election

| Readers 454

In the end, it was hardly a case of “as Twitter goes, so goes the nation”. If the election had been decided by the number of followers each candidate had before the election, Ed Miliband would have been elected Prime Minister, albeit needing the help of the Liberal Democrats and, um, the Pirate Party. The FT Data blog (£) has some fascinating charts showing how the conversation on Twitter was dominated by supporters of Labour and the SNP. It is apparent …

Read more…

If #GE2015 was decided by Twitter – the candidates with the most followers in each constituency

| Readers 1998

Politicians’ attitudes towards social media have evolved significantly since David Cameron’s famously disparaging comments about Twitter in 2009. Social media is now widely accepted as one of the key theatres of the electoral battle, and is widely being used by politicians and aspiring candidates to build a relationship with potential voters and boost their profile. The excellent dataset created by yournextmp.com shows how different social media platforms are being used by those seeking election to the House of Commons.  Of …

Read more…

Basil’s call to arms issued to a small room of cats (who may be reluctant to be herded) #tweetupni

| Readers 2601

At Thursday night’s Slugger O’Toole Tweet Up in the Hudson Bar, Basil McCrea took the opportunity to deliver a more elaborate speech than the informal remarks I’d expected. (Earlier in the evening Máirtín Ó Muilleoir also stopped by for some casual craic.) The NI21 leader has been unusually quiet for a protracted period, though answered a few media questions after his party’s conference in December, and has been speaking much less sporadically [Ed – you mean, speaking more often?] in …

Read more…

Gerry Adams ‘tweets’ and that “streak of sentimentality that marks the totalitarian mind”?

| Readers 2022

Awright, I’m not really sure to do with this, except to say this oddly narcissistic video from The Journal has gone somewhat viral… In lieu of any coherent response from me, here’s Henry McDonald with his take on the general phenomenon… …like every other move Adams has made both inside and outside the republican movement, these tweets are carefully considered and released at strategic times. Is it the height of cynicism to suggest that the headline-grabbing nude-man-and-dog bouncing act was …

Read more…

The trolling of Ann Travers

| Readers 4057

The first in a three part series exploring so-called ‘trolling’ and abuse on social media At the beginning of November 2014 it was widely reported that victims campaigner Ann Travers had closed down her Facebook and Twitter accounts following a barrage of online abuse. It’s worth reminding people of the fact that Ann’s sister, Mary, was murdered by the IRA in Belfast in 1984. The target of the ambush was their father, Tom, a resident magistrate. He survived. In 2011 …

Read more…