When should we worry about social media?
This is a guest post by Luke Reeshus
In the frantic attempts to explain the riots, social media, blackberry messenger, and other technics of free dissemination of information have been blamed by almost all those who don’t wish to engage with an analysis of poverty and deprivation. Most of this, as we know, is bollocks, but there is one case that seems clearcut:
A few days ago Sunny Hundal over at Liberal conspiracy reported that after having his name and addressed tweeted by Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) who have over 100,000 followers, a young man, Dane Williamson, had his house burnt down while he was in custody on remand. It emerged today that his entire case was a result of mistaken identity.
It will, of course, emerge in the mainstream media that this information went out through the Greater Manchester Police twitter account, but so far the media seem to be a bit slow. The BBC has run a report which fails to mention it at all (they claimed earlier in the week that the same police force had suggested that the fire was not suspicious, while the Press Association doesn’t mention the fire in his home at all. I am not normally a great believe in state cover-ups, but I am having trouble here suspending my disbelief.
This is on top of a series of tweets from the Greater Manchester Police earlier in the week: “Mum-of-two, not involved in disorder, jailed for FIVE months for accepting shorts looted from a shop. There are no excuses!” – this tweet was widely criticised as the police using their position to comment on the decisions of an apparently independent judiciary. They later issued two apologetic tweets: “Apologies for any offence caused from the last tweet. Comment was not directed at individual person.” and then “Thanks to all for feedback messages – all your comments have been noted. You are right, it is not our place to comment on sentences.” Of course, the outcome of the appeal for the case they were discussing is now well known: Ursula Nevin was released from prison and instead given community service, one can only assume to the great dismay of whoever is behind the @gmpolice twitter account.
One could speculate that it is a matter of misfortune that the Greater Manchester Police managed to pick up these two cases in a week in which such great cock-ups have been exposed. I am more inclined to believe that someone there is attempting to ride roughshod over the entire legal system for calculated political ends. If this story tells us anything, it is that if we are to be worried about social media anywhere it should be when it lies in the hands of the arms of the state.
