MPs received almost 190,000 abusive tweets over a three-month period, research has shown.
One in 20 tweets to MPs were abusive, analysis by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and the independent thinktank Demos found.
If it got up to 19 of 20 told the truth in that properly abusive fashion then we might be rather better ruled.
I’d like to see a sample of those Tweets. I’d like to look at the criteria that’s been used to decide if they were ‘abusive’.
Julia, “disagrees with me” usually suffices. That or what we would call common abuse, which has been a staple of English politics fore time immemorial. They stepped up to the plate, they have to take the flack. It is after all, just words.
The vast majority of it is likely well earned.
What Julia said. They may be blunt expressions of the truth.
@Ljh – that is verboten these days. Do try to keep up.
“You are useless” would definitely qualify. Remember, these are people who report as a death threat the phrase “get in the sea”.
Rest assured Tim. If I ever find, in my dotage, my intellect slipping away to the point I develop an urge to Twatter, I will make it a point; my very first twat will abuse a politician. Possibly several, if they have short names.
That’s three per day per MP. And it will be the MP’s staff that deals with them, same as the green ink letters.
Rob: “Get in the Sea”???
I like that. I’m surprised Tarantino hasn’t picked that up.
“Get in the Sea you POS”.
@Ecks,
It’s twitter, but you get the point…
https://twitter.com/getinthesea
Not even close to enough.
“That’s three per day per MP.”
Democracy demands far more involvement of the citizenry!
@JuliaM
Yes, I was blocked by my local MP just for suggesting I’d heard it all before and wanted to see results when he was blustering about how he’d sorted out the train company good and proper.
I didn’t use any rude or abusive language,
The train company responded to his tongue-lashing with a marvellous spate of delays and cancellations.
So yeah, abuse = valid criticism
analysis by BCS..
Hang on, the British Computer Society? Really? They still going?
I actually think that’s quite an achievement.
Noel Scoper, that’s brilliant.
Politicians spend 40%+ of all we make, they also deign to tell us what we should be eating and drinking, how much exercise we should take, what we can and cannot say.
They should count their fucking blessings that it’s only abusive tweets they receive.