The Cybernat Song. Cybernats – a Scottish political phenomenon. It was, I think, the noble Lord Foulkes who coined the memorable term ‘cybernats’.
Still Raining, Still Dreaming. A couple of weeks ago I was violently abused by a British Nationalist after one of their public meetings, for the perfectly fair reason that my phone was too bright for the attacker to be able to hear the speakers.
I’d previously seen how easy it was to get in the media after such events – you don’t even need to provide any evidence whatsoever – so I went to the top and sold my story to the best of the Scottish media, before spending days locked inside for fear of another attack. Today, I finally plucked up the courage to go out to the shops as I hadn’t eaten since the ordeal. My vile BritNat assault ordeal. I’d waited a long time for an official independence meeting to take place in my home town of Stonehaven, so when I read on Monday morning that Better Together (or No Thanks or SNPSNPSNPBOOO!
Or whatever they’re calling themselves this week) were holding just such a thing at the town hall that evening, I bounded along Allardice Street with all the enthusiasm I could muster. CyberNatWatch 2014. Twitter accounts to watch out for. Twitter accounts to watch out for. Yes campaigners launch bid to silence cybernats. Custom byline text: Magnus Gardham Political Editor A group of respected party activists, with a high-profile presence on social media, has begun policing offensive comments on blogs and social networking site Twitter.
In a separate move, the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign has highlighted warnings to supporters not to make personal attacks or engage in abuse. Frances Barber’s Cybernat abuse. This is an exhaustive record of a real live Torrent Of Cybernat Abuse™.
Frances Barber is a respected English actor. Today she tweeted this: She then repeatedly claimed to be subject to abuse by Cybernats. I think this abuse deserves to be seen in full. She did receive at least two or three abusive comments (where abusive language was used against her): Those are the worst tweets I was able to find. “They died so you could make small political points with their bodies and memories. “You do see that many perfectly reasonable Scots will be deeply offended by you scoring cheap points off D-Day dead don’t you?” Social media support ‘growing for Scottish Independence’ The report, from PR agency Hotwire, observed the yes vote gain almost 10% more support between March and April, despite multiple swings in the volume of positive sentiment.
Key findings: • Online support for voting ‘yes’ increases by 10% between March and April • Peak support on 7 April saw 38.84% of all #Indyref tweets support ‘yes’ • Volatility of online support linked to media coverage Hotwire’s Insights and Analytics team has been monitoring support for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ for two months since 7 March. Twitter and Cyber-Bullying. Monday, January 27th, 2014 @ 3:07PM I had the opportunity to fulfill a personal ambition when I was invited on to Question Time last week, a programme which as a young person was an introduction for me to real political debate and one I still find tests my certainties and assumptions.
So I had the chance to emulate many of my Labour heroes last Thursday night by taking on David Dimbleby, Ruth Davidson, John Swinney, Jim Sillars and an impressive Dundee audience who weren’t going to be conned by anyone. Of course, I was bit worried that I would mess it up. I was a bit worried about sticking my colleagues in it by saying something wrong. But there was something I was more worried about. I knew that taking part in a high profile debate would have consequences. Sure enough, the diatribe and insults that we have learned to brush off as part of the job have multiplied. Mycybershame21.jpg (JPEG Image, 1750 × 2076 pixels) The howls of the cyberbritbrats. The Daily Mail continues its attacks on the evil cybernats, and is still valiantly trying to make out that online abuse is the sole preserve of independence supporters.
Today they had an interview with Kezia Dugdale MSP, former aide to George Foulkes who used the ID Fifi Le Bonbon when she was a cyberbritbrat and an active and enthusiastic participant in the zoo that passes for the comments section of the Scotsman newspaper. Kezia was pictured in the Mail an unflattering photo which made her look like a refugee from the former East Germany who had narrowly escaped the Stasi. Cybernats – a Scottish political phenomenon. Jim Murphy: Cybernat Detector. Greg Moodie@gregmoodieNational Collective.
‘Cybernat’ is a Loser’s Word. Today’s (Glasgow) Herald has a story about ‘cybernats’ posting rude messages on social media about Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy’s opposition to Scottish independence.
For the uninitiated, ‘cybernat’ is the term used in Scottish politics to refer, ostensibly, to slightly mad old-school nationalists who post vile, personalised attacks on their political opponents. Some politicos in Scotland don’t seem to understand, though, that this attack doesn’t really work as a political device as it seeks to apply a pejorative to the SNP when everyone knows it can be applied to some supporters of all political parties. Take a look at the comment pages of any UK newspaper. The bully pulpit. It’s mainly hilarious, if we’re being honest. Ultimate Trolls. What is a Troll? In the classical sense it is the big bogie man from the frozen past of Norse mythology, a mythology we in Scotland also partly share thanks to the internationalist aspect of our mutual histories.
In more modern mythologies is the version of the troll as portrayed in the recent Harry Potter films and books. This took the thought process a step further. Broadcast Yourself. @dhothersall: In defence of Lyall Duff, and other smears. Lyall Duff, the SNP candidate in North Lanarkshire whose ill-judged language and offensive comments on Facebook were "exposed" in the Daily Telegraph a couple of weeks ago, has apparently resigned from the SNP tonight, ending the party's disciplinary procedure against him. "Exposed" is of course an odd word for this. Vote Yes for Scotland. A new worrying tactic has emerged that threatens Scotland’s great debate. Friday, 09 March 2012 12:50 By G.A.Ponsonby “I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it” ... unless you are Scottish and support independence it seems.
It’s one of the defining aspects of our society, the freedom to express an opinion, to disagree, to criticise – in short, free speech is fundamental to who we are. However, going by some of the reactions to an article written by SNP MSP Joan McAlpine this week, this basic human right is under threat from irate Unionists. Journalist Ms McAlpine left the Scotsman last week and joined the Daily Record. Welcome to planet Cybernat where the air is toxic. Shakespeare, Broadstairs, warmish summers – I'm an Anglophile, it seems.
Reading the comment threads that follow many pieces of journalism online, including mine, I think of two analogies. The first is where I've gone into an old-fashioned kind of pub and in conversation with a stranger raised a mild question such as, "Do you think he really was offside? " I leave after an orange juice and walk to the top of a hill and look back down at the pub, which is now emitting little puffs of smoke as it might in a strip cartoon, with "Biff! " and "Ouch! " and "Take that! " in speech bubbles that squeeze from under the door. The second analogy is more disturbing. Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, previously George Robertson MP, has come new to the game. Alex Salmond Dictator-Comparison Bingo!
It won’t have come as any surprise to SNP supporters that the media – the same one that devoted hundreds of column inches to misrepresenting Joan McAlpine’s “anti-Scottish” comments on Twitter – was today absolutely silent on Labour MP Denis McShane’s comparison of Alex Salmond to Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. MacShane, who voted in favour of the Iraq War, hasn’t deleted the tweet, despite a storm of protest on Twitter. Bitten by the Cybernat – Unionism awakens to the internet. Monday, 07 November 2011 22:47.