Social Media

  • Hype bubbles increase online

    The Internet has a darker side, so they say, but there are lighter moments. Social media has come through as a breakthrough in ‘humour sharing’, or, the pastime of sharing a favourite joke, blooper clip, or image that represents a joke or a punchline.

    As hype bubbles increase, so does the notoriety of the content being shared. Entire industries comprising millions of followers have come out of simple shares, posts, or viral moments online.

    A post on @dominos/X
    A post on @dominos/X that shows a sense of humour from a company.

    Comedians are also popular, but a users’ sense of humour is the point now. The reaction options pose a potential for encouraging more content by sharing, by example. Known as a ‘content shop’ in many local English areas, an online media collection is a profitable and socially beneficial pursuit.

    Even companies have jumped on the laughter bandwagon. Domino’s is a regular poster of humour jargon, as trends are followed by employees to be reflected in posts.

  • Social media livens up our lives

    The way thoughts come together is showing how people cope with the modern world. The single stream of consciousness from a politician beholden to a party and a ‘main man’ is plain and too simple for an evening of playful consideration.

    The top rated pundits have a conversational outlook that ranges as much as it punches and looks for the next target.

    This is essentially the ‘putting the world right’ crowd that see the pub as their natural environment but engage in the same sort of banter pretty much anywhere else.

    Piers Morgan is an example of this gaming type of attitude. He’s long spent his time onscreen challenging the status quo at every angle and from any seat going. His position on it is to challenge the best and the brightest among us to find holes in their arguments.

    It’s a big ask because the pressure is on and the issues stack up very quickly. His judgement as an editor helps him to pick apart the weakness in people’s postulations and to deliver straight and direct questions to get to the nub of a matter.

    His X profile is an example of someone who is taking aim at the conveyor belt of madness that is pulled across our line of sight by endless newsrooms of liberal ideologues and fanatics.

    His daily ‘chat’ isn’t warfare but an incursion on this terrible diatribe of a culture. He believes that such writers filibuster the system to drive people crazy and push through alternative reforms that people didn’t want and never argue for.

    He can admit – like many of us – that such warring against the same isn’t going to achieve a ramming of common sense through legislation in the opposite direction. But he knows it at least pulls the pints and gets people laughing, too.

  • Illegal news streaming is a global horror show

    In recent times the Internet has spread freedom and liberty for many different people, but directly connected devices using a medium such as social messaging apps has allowed for a growth of alternative content and media that’s both concerning and urgent for lawmakers everywhere.

    It’s not often found if a user history is more mainstream and their behaviour is less familiar to searches and clicking or tapping through to material that is just ‘there’, or available as a suggestion. But it can popup as grainy or poorly produced footage of a person showing an innocuous scene but providing their own commentary.

    A so-called Witch Doctor using a World Cup football event to report a car crash worldwide (Credit: The Telegaph/Online).

    In Policing circles these videos are known as news reports, and made by those wishing to continue a cycle of information gathering and sharing that forms a helpful if perverse tool for criminals to use in their own networking worldwide.

    The work needed to recognise and takedown such material is forensic and time-consuming, but active efforts have helped to crack crimewaves and even brought new detail to existing large scale crime investigations. The modern world will proliferate its content without sleeping, but law enforcement can be hot on its tail, too.

  • A social media ban offers few rewards

    The prospect of fewer children in your face online is of obvious benefit to those that find it so. In the experience of many, children don’t pop up online all that often.

    The drive is clearly to promote child welfare by limiting scope for conflict between the pathways of the innocent and the perverse. A block on user-generated content is then proposed as the best format.

    The elimination of children isn’t the point, but blocking children won’t reduce the paedophile population by a single percent. This only comes by concerted policing, and not by moving children out of the way.

    The best in international law enforcement say that funding for anti-perversion units is proving more beneficial than tweaking settings, either on phones or in offices.

    The aggressive sub-culture that is child abuse has hideaways and hiddenness in public realms that cannot easily be found. Soft touches won’t expose them, but hard facts and effort always thwarts it.

  • Distortion of reality is our fault

    Another day, another social media crisis. It’s what we’re led to believe by public statements, from a Prime Minister to a backbencher.

    The posts we put online for friends and also an anonymous remit of followers anywhere are picked up now as being separate from our own right to speak freely.

    Despite the regular abuse of Parliamentary privilege, there seems to be a spectrum of banned themes in public life.

    Of course these are only the ones that contradict the manifesto of the ruling party. It’s been proved by the Prime Minister criticising Elon Musk for stating his opinion.

    Musk believes, like many in the American Republic, that one voice is of the same value as another.

    Here we think differently, and work according to a different mindset. This mode of operation has apparently spread to cover every day in politics and not just a special one.

    It’s not a new feature of Journalism or public life to have opinions repeated far and wide. Especially it’s an American practice to re-quote prominent business people, even if they’re not in politics.

    The UK is different, but we should appreciate a different political culture, and not damn it.

  • Spain wants to analyse – not ban – hate speech. Will it work?

    Spain has a reputation for the written word, but the digital space is a trying time for most people. Right now, hate is able to be spread by anyone, about anyone, to anyone. This makes it dangerous, according to the nations Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. He intends to clamp down on it, and has launched a tool – ‘HODIO: Footprint of Hate and Polarization’ – to do it with. It rolls out across Spain’s digital usership in the hope of clearing it up and making the Internet a safe space for all.

    It works by researching the pros and cons of what people post, write, and say, and returns it as information that can be analysed by lawmakers – and anyone else – to work out how it can be done better. This is a risky effort because not all government office workers or academic experts work by absolutes. They follow subjective thoughts and opinions to honour feelings, and not facts. This results in policies that aim at mastering political expression for control purposes.

    The other point is that editorial control – which this is – is a difficult exercise. It’s not yet clear if anyone can truly exercise regulatory effect over such a large number of people – and with immediacy, which the Internet now demands. The government of Spain, or any other, isn’t just a big institution for big things. These endeavours always take time, not pronouncements, and effect, not cause. Sanchez may have a way forward, but some still see it as a way back.

  • Social networks still need some work

    The social media universe is now replete with all sorts of platforms, known and unknown. It’s hard to find someone that doesn’t have an account somewhere, even if it’s still on Facebook. The fact is, the technology has spread out exponentially, and it now encompasses much of what people regularly do online.

    Yet, the growth strategy of some needs refinement. This is believed to be the key to making and keeping it safe. If numbers of users can increase healthily, it means social interaction may also stay balanced. It’s believed sudden spurts in new signups increases the likelihood of negative content appearing on platforms.

    An example is Truth Social, a predominantly American social network, that reportedly has twelve million registered active users and somewhere in the region of one million users posting regularly. This is an expected ratio and backs up claims it has a better user eco-system than other, similar brands.

    The sudden growth spurts of networks like X and Bluesky may have contributed to a negativity in its output that’s too high. This is remedied by slower, medium level growth that’s consistent with innovation, or in-service updates that improve user experience. This covers for low quality engagement.

  • Russia seeks Ukrainian surrender

    In a strange post to X, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told its followers that President Putin welcomes the surrender of Ukrainian servicemen.

    His request is the Russian army makes provisions for its enemy’s personnel to give up fighting so that his country can win.

    This isn’t necessarily common in warfare, but some sides tend to open up the opportunity if they feel they lack fighting force.

  • We need to end the politics of news media

    The way we communicate is more direct, narrow, and straightforward than ever before. The informal interactions we’ve got used to are bringing out the best and worst in us.

    It’s symptomatic of all our changing modes and manners. There’s no going back.

    It’s a huge leap ahead that unnerves the control freak. He or she still believe in narratives. They think headlines matter and react to each one as if it’s a case to be made.

    However, these points made are insights into daily activity. It explains people’s behaviour.

    The intelligent are moving on to use data to make real decisions. It’s intelligible if it’s about society. While the facts are checked, the beliefs and emotions are still noted.

  • UK media punditry grows online

    The UK’s alternative media is a growing landscape. It’s populated by an increasing number of people, and their work is gaining widespread interest, and traction online.

    There are easy-to-use platforms that have marketing tools, and subscription packages, that make it a viable alternative to expensive and time wasting corporate efforts.

    Substack is a major backer of this, and Dan Wootton, Alex Phillips, and Mark Dolan have found their voice among others online. They’ve used their careers to challenge old ways.

  • MCB says Jenrick must go

    The Muslim Council of Britain has said Robert Jenrick MP (Newark/Conservatives), a recent Conservative leadership contender, should be sacked for his support of an anti-Islam X account, “Inevitable West”.

    The anonymous profile says it’s “run by the people”. It shows support for the AfD, Donald Trump, and Reform UK. It says it opposes socialism, migration, and Islam in particular.

  • Uni Chancellor lashes out at Musk

    Nazir Afzal, a former Chief Prosecutor and Chancellor of the University of Manchester, has criticised Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur.

    He alleged on X, also backed by Musk, that his “followers” had sent racist messages to him, and had used derogatory, ethnic language.

    In response, users gave mixed reactions to his claims. One said, “you are becoming a laughing stock”, after noting his other criticisms.

  • Caught: “Anon” activist

    In an exclusive for ConservativeNewsSite.com, a youth activist part of the “Anon” network of digital activists has been spotted.

    His operational nickname, “North Shores”, implies he likes to work alone and receive minimal support. He’s behind an X profile, “YourAnonCentral”, with 5+ million followers.

    @YourAnonCentral – X

    The groups real name, “Youth Central”, is indicative of its criminal aim to draw in youth issues to control any of its associated assets.

  • Caught: YouTube antagonist

    In an exclusive for ConservativeNewsSite.com, a suspected antagonist targeting YouTuber’s was spotted in Reading, Berkshire, earlier today.

    She’s suspected of plotting harassment, intimidation, and false accusations against creators, and users.

  • Farage gets at Tories

    Nigel Farage MP (Clacton/Reform UK) hit out against two of the last candidates for the Tory leadership today. He posted a thread of comments on his X account, coinciding with the start of their annual conference in Birmingham.

    Farage claimed Kemi Badenoch MP’s (North West Essex/Conservatives) record on immigration is insufficient, saying “I don’t believe a word that she says on anything.” He cited her support for overseas students bringing their dependants to the UK.

    He also lambasted Robert Jenrick MP (Newark/Conservatives), who is accused of projecting an image of being a “hardliner” on illegal immigration, but without any evidence to back it up. Farage said, “I doubt that Jenrick will last long if he wins.”