Matthew Steeples shares his views on those who tweet, comment and like
The world is a poorer place in the wake of Sally Bercow losing the libel action brought against her by Lord McAlpine. Those who know me will know that I don’t especially care for the Speaker’s wife or approve of her behaviour, but nonetheless that “the gift that kept on giving” (as some newspapers have referred to her) has been silenced is indeed a shame.
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Mandy Rice-Davies provides a lesson in how to behave on Twitter A misguided tweet cost Sally Bercow, the wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons, an estimated £100,000. Yesterday, when Mandy Rice-Davies, famous for her role in the Profumo scandal, took to Twitter to attack me in the wake of an article […]
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This weekend a lady who very briefly worked for me some years ago wrote to me expressing her anger at being mentioned in an article I wrote about the ASmallWorld social network on 19th March this year.
In it I praised Erik Watchmeister, the founder of the site, for having created a forum that was fun (well, it was just that back then in 2004, it isn’t anymore). I listed the names of the main characters that made it such and received countless messages that reminded me of those fun days.
The aforementioned “lady”, however, plainly must have been Googling herself this weekend as she wrote to share her fury at having been mentioned. Said individual took offence that I described her having “talked about camels, chocolate and basements” in the forums. Members of ASW will indeed recall that she did indeed bring these strangely linked properties (rather wittily I thought actually) into many of the posts she wrote but now, she plainly wants to forget what she actually said.
In her emails, which were paranoidly signed off with a rather ludicrous confidentiality clause, this woman told me she’d report me to the police and her MP, Mark Field if I did not remove her name and the passage mentioned.
Out of kindness, I generously removed her name and wished her all the best but still she came back ranting about the Metropolitan Police and Mark Field MP. She copied both parties in and I laughingly told her to “grow up” (copying them in).
I’d argue, that this lady ought to take stock and stop pestering people about things that will remain on the Internet back in 2004 and 2005. She wrote these things and they’re still available for all to see.
The lesson is clear: If indeed you think you might not like something you’ve written on the Internet at a later date, you shouldn’t have written it in the first place.
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Readers have their say
5 comments
How will his Lordship invest his windfall? Perhaps a new hat, scarf or mobility scooter.
Free speech is the cornerstone of a free society. This is a outrage.
It’s not that we regret what we have written because the truth is not negotiable (the privileged, powerful and wealthy should take note!)but the problem is that people with money do not like ordinary plebs writing the truth. Politicians hate the truth because they are elected on lies. The powerful stay in power because they control the media and its propaganda and the rich get richer because they know how to make the poor poorer and pay for that ‘privilege’. Free speech is not negotiable. So to the Lords who control this world and run the courts, understand I will die rather than surrender freedom of speech.
Very well put. Of course the way around all of this is to write a book and call it fiction. They say its lies. You say it’s lies so everyone agrees.
Well, that can’t be the ********* ****** [EDITED BECAUSE OF THE VANITY OF THE FUR AND SUN GLASS WEARING WOMAN IT CONCERNS WILL BORE THE POLICE AND HER MP AGAIN IF WE DON’T] I rember, now really…
It is worth noting The www leaves an eternal footprint ! Sometimes this is good sometimes not! It doesn’t help in court cases where juries , although told not to , look at the Internet as second nature. This is known as guilt by google !!! No offence google it could be any platform!!! Don’t want legal proceedings from innuendos!!!
Let’s hope JTugendhat is consistent with the same judgement to newspapers as he was to Sally Bercow. That s if the accused has funds to go to court!!!