Sky News’s choice for ‘civility’ champion on ‘Positive Twitter Day’ is absolutely hilarious

Sky News host


Support us and go ad-free

Sky News celebrated Positive Twitter Day on 30 August. As it explained in a tweet on the subject, it’s a day about “civility” on social media. So who did the broadcaster invite on to discuss “civility and trust in social media”? None other than Guido Fawkes, aka Paul Staines. You know, the guy who tweeted a picture of himself lying in bed next to a cardboard cut-out of Diane Abbott. The same Staines who doubled down on the personal attack on the UK’s first Black female MP by tweeting:

 

 

Read on...

What an utterly bizarre way to celebrate Positive Twitter Day, as many people tried to make clear to Sky News.

Kinda like

Sky News announced its Positive Twitter Day interviewee on the platform:

Clearly, the news was not music to many people’s ears:

Some tried to point out to Sky News the incivility they’ve come across on Guido Fawkes‘s platform:

And many tried to come up with a sufficient comparison so that Sky News could understand the error of its ways:

Echo chamber

During the interview itself, Staines did concede that he has “in the past been pretty belligerent” on social media and is trying to be “better”. The Sky News host also suggested that people existing in ‘echo chambers’ – i.e. surrounding themselves with views they agree with – on social media platforms is also a problem.

Well, the establishment’s echo chamber was certainly a problem here. Because if Sky News had stepped outside of it for a second, it would have realised – given Staines’s track record – how badly its choice for ‘civility’ champion would go down with the British public.

Featured image via Sky News/YouTube

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us