Saturday, March 25, 2017
When Twitter bites back
Social media can be an unrelenting and unsympathetic beast especially if one has built their career on controversy. Katie Hopkins has certainly discovered that is the case and now, rather less sensationally, so has the Conservative MP for Shipley, Phillip Davies.
Mr. Davies is not shy of making his views known. He has repeatedly made headlines for antagonising liberals, left-wingers, and feminists. Last year he attacked “feminist zealots”, got himself elected to Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee, and tried to derail a bill intending to protect women against domestic violence.
So when, he stood up in the House of Commons yesterday and told MPs that he has “about 16,000 followers” on the service, “all of whom hate me”, then most of us were unsurprised though somebody might want to show him how to unfollow and block people if he needs to.
The Independent says that Mr Davies made the light-hearted admission in a parliamentary debate about who should be considered a journalist. He said he was “not entirely convinced” that “any moron on Twitter” should qualify as one under legislation:
“I’m not entirely sure of the numbers of people who aren’t on Twitter or Facebook, they’re the sensible ones, it seems to me in the country, that aren’t on Twitter and Facebook, but I don’t think there are that many,” Mr Davies told MPs on Friday.
“I’m not on Facebook, but I am on Twitter. I probably regard it as one of the worst things I did in my life, going on Twitter, madam deputy speaker, I have about 16,000 followers all of whom hate me.
“It’s all very interesting what they have to say, I’m sure, but it seems to me rather pointless, to be perfectly honest. They can hurl as much abuse as they like, it’s all very interesting, it doesn’t bother me, but I’m not entirely sure it gets us anywhere.”
I am almost tempted to follow him myself.
Mr. Davies is not shy of making his views known. He has repeatedly made headlines for antagonising liberals, left-wingers, and feminists. Last year he attacked “feminist zealots”, got himself elected to Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee, and tried to derail a bill intending to protect women against domestic violence.
So when, he stood up in the House of Commons yesterday and told MPs that he has “about 16,000 followers” on the service, “all of whom hate me”, then most of us were unsurprised though somebody might want to show him how to unfollow and block people if he needs to.
The Independent says that Mr Davies made the light-hearted admission in a parliamentary debate about who should be considered a journalist. He said he was “not entirely convinced” that “any moron on Twitter” should qualify as one under legislation:
“I’m not entirely sure of the numbers of people who aren’t on Twitter or Facebook, they’re the sensible ones, it seems to me in the country, that aren’t on Twitter and Facebook, but I don’t think there are that many,” Mr Davies told MPs on Friday.
“I’m not on Facebook, but I am on Twitter. I probably regard it as one of the worst things I did in my life, going on Twitter, madam deputy speaker, I have about 16,000 followers all of whom hate me.
“It’s all very interesting what they have to say, I’m sure, but it seems to me rather pointless, to be perfectly honest. They can hurl as much abuse as they like, it’s all very interesting, it doesn’t bother me, but I’m not entirely sure it gets us anywhere.”
I am almost tempted to follow him myself.
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> I am almost tempted to follow him myself.
The anticipation of your violent reaction to one of his tweets must have deterred you.
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The anticipation of your violent reaction to one of his tweets must have deterred you.
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