When The National was founded 15 years ago, social media was in its infancy. Today, it’s an established aspect of life.
For the opinion writer, it’s both a friend and enemy, a useful tool but also a dangerous opponent. If you want to know where someone stands on a particular issue, see what they’re posting on Twitter or Facebook. Likewise, if you want to know what people think of something you’ve written, see what’s being said about you on Twitter or Facebook.
But keep it in perspective. The most active folk on social media, the ones who post the most and have the biggest followings, are not representative. They’re often the noisiest, shouting to attract attention.
This is the problem, that nobody is especially interested if you’re reasonable. Social media feeds extremes, both in the lengths of the comments (it’s hard to be reasoned and thought-through in a few words) and the fact that readers will give you only seconds of their time. Then there are the active users themselves – people who by and large like a good argument, who seemingly enjoy being rude to others.
Most, the silent majority, view and post nothing. Social media wants them for the advertising, but to keep the beast alive, it requires the minority to tweet and post away.
Many is the time I’ve gone on to Twitter to see the reaction to a piece I’ve written, only to find something abusive. Fine, if it’s considered and justified, but usually, they’ve not read the article at all, they’ve not gone beyond the headline or they’ve chosen to quote something entirely out of context.
Think of social media like the shouty man standing at a bar. He’s there, mouthing off, airing his beliefs and you’re sitting quietly at a table, listening and shaking your head at the rubbish that he’s spouting.
Just because he’s got an audience gathered around him does not make him right. Similarly, those with the largest followings are not necessarily people you respect and trust.
Once, people did not have a platform. Now they’ve got one – and so conspiracy theories that previously would not gain currency spread like wildfire. Worse, they’re believed.
It’s a brave person who dares to contradict them. People don’t like being told they’re wrong or speaking nonsense. Instead of listening they shoot you down, sometimes in the vilest terms.
But as opinion writers we must do that. It’s our duty to shoot down the preposterous theories about the pandemic and the efficacy of the vaccine. We’re beholden to explain that 9/11 was not caused by the CIA bombing its own. We need to describe how man really did land on the Moon and the whole spectacle was not shot in a warehouse in Florida. Otherwise, all we’re left with is the conspiracy theorists who love to populate the vacuum.
That’s not to say it’s not also a hugely useful resource. When he was president, I grew quite fond of turning on my phone in the morning as I still lay in bed and reading what Donald Trump had tweeted overnight.
He was stating it, without editing or embellishment. In doing so, by choosing Twitter, he was stealing a march on the world’s press by declaring his agenda and therefore setting their agenda, to an extent my agenda, for the day ahead, before they’d had their morning editorial meetings and we’d discussed priorities.
With his tendency to indulge in screaming block capitals and only write pithy comments, ones he did not have to justify, Trump was in his element. He was the ultimate loud bloke, letting rip.
It was clever and smart, and he was influencing public opinion in a way no president, no politician anywhere, had ever done before.
Other figures do the same, airing anything and everything via the social networks, cutting out the mainstream media to get their thoughts across. Our job is to agree and disagree, to aggregate and filter for you, our readers, to help you make sense of the world.
Thanks to social media, the landscape has changed much in the last 15 years; doubtless it will evolve again in the next 15. You can rest assured, The National will be there, acting as a friend and expert guide.
Chris Blackhurst is a former editor of The Independent and a columnist for The National
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
