An extraordinary display of solidarity for Jeremy Corbyn suggests the smear campaign has backfired

Jeremy Corbyn


Support us and go ad-free

As The Canary reported, a call went out to show support for Jeremy Corbyn across social media on 2 August. It happened and it was huge – thousands shared #WeAreCorbyn images, comments and memes.

In fact, for several hours the hashtag was trending globally. Although the mainstream media took no notice, and press coverage is filled with anti-Corbyn attacks yet again, the show of support for the Labour leader was extraordinary.

#WeAreCorbyn

From Labour voters to members of the shadow cabinet, thousands joined in the Twitter storm.

Right-wing papers such as the Mail, the Express and the Sun appear intent on portraying a split between shadow chancellor John McDonnell and Corbyn. But this seems far from the truth:

Labour Party chair Ian Lavery also reminded people of Corbyn’s longstanding fight against oppression:

And other Labour MPs offered support too:

And #WeAreCorbyn trended globally:

Number 1

The response was phenomenal. It was trending at No. 1 on Twitter in the UK and – for several hours – globally:

In the face of continued media attacks and criticism, the hashtag’s ranking on Twitter shows how strong grassroots Labour support really is.

For the many. Not the few.

The tweets showed a range of support for Labour policy under Corbyn. People expressed support for its stance on the rights of sick and disabled people, the NHS, education, and ending the misery caused by austerity. Voters came out in force to share their views.

Meanwhile, many shared this now iconic image of Corbyn:

And others gave their own reasons for believing in Corbyn:

The media seem to want to ignore the fact that many people joined the Labour Party only because Corbyn became leader. So, while some critics have argued that this support is simply a ‘cult of personality‘ trend, they’ve ignored something vital.

It’s hard, if not impossible, to imagine an “I support Theresa May” hashtag trending on Twitter. While people march in their thousands to support the NHS, no one marches to defend Tory cuts or austerity. But no matter how hard the right-wing press come after Corbyn, his grassroots support grows even stronger.

Get Involved!

– Join The Canary, so we can keep holding the powerful to account.

Featured image via Garry Knight/Flickr

Support us and go ad-free

We need your help to keep speaking the truth

Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.

Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.

We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.

In return, you get:

* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop

Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.

With your help we can continue:

* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do

We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?

The Canary Support us

Comments are closed

Related articles