Saturday 27 June 2009

The power of Twitter

A few weeks ago the Daily Mail ran a story about how it was being suggested that travellers should be treated quickly by local NHS services if they need it, because, being travellers, they would be moving on to somewhere else pretty soon and thus might not ever get the treatment they needed.

The Mail, obviously expecting an outbreak of indignation amongst its readers, then started an online poll: 'Should gypsies be allowed to queue-jump in the NHS?' or something along those not-at-all-loaded lines, But word got out on Twitter, and before you know it the poll was showing a magnificent 96% in favour of the proposition. Before it was pulled.

5 comments:

Martin said...

Is there anything in the world more biased than a Daily Mail poll? The questions are loaded to the hilt.

Remember Remember said...

The Daily Muslim Hater is hardly a paper. It's a propaganda sheet for the intellectually challenged who are daft enough to actually pay for it.

Bristol Dave said...

I think it was the Daily Mail that Russell Howard took the piss out of very well on Mock The Week, surmising that most of their headlines can be expressed as:

"Don't go outside, there's blacks and queers everywhere! Oh, if only Diana was alive..."

I wouldn't even wipe my arse with The Sun, let alone The Mail

Bristol Dave said...

Whoops, it was the Daily Express. Same thing, really

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq5_joo5l5I

Fred Trellis said...

However, the 96% does not represent true feeling.
I regularly visit sites - of which I'm only vaguely ashamed - 4chan and b3ta - and on these, one particular viewpoint predominates. One message from a member making the suggestion, and the entire membership make an effort to distort web polls in one direction.

For example, Rick Astley recently won a music award - to everyone's' surprise - that was also a b3ta-led campaign.

B3ta made an effort on the 'gypsies' poll, and whilst I agree with their viewpoint and motive, I'm wary of their methods.

It's a small example, but those who champion democracy most strongly, seem ready on a whim, and for fun, to distort it.

Even though I would have preferred it to be 100%, that 96% wasn't a true reflection.