Wagatha Christie - should Colleen have named and shamed?

[Copernicium]

The Guardian called it 'The best day on Twitter of all time':https://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...itter-wag-wars

Wag Colleen Rooney went public to shame fellow wag Rebekah Vardy on twitter. Social media went into a frenzy. Rebekah Vardy was the bad guy and Colleen was the clever hero. Then there was a backlash and it all got complicated.

This raises issues about trust and bullying on social media that could potentially affect any of us. If someone betrays your trust and goes behind your back, should you publicly shame them? Do they deserve to be tarred and feathered on social media with the possible risk of online bullying? Or is it always better to talk to them in private?

What would you have done in Colleen's position?

[Dougella]

The world is literally burning, I have never cared about something less than this.


If you think someone has betrayed your trust talk to them, don't shame them on social media, that would be my advice.

[Bambos]

From what little I have gathered of this, It seems she drew her own conclusion and felt hurt. Then reacted on twitter in the heat of the moment and will probably come to regret it, having that nickname and the story generally follow her around for many years.

A lesson for the modern world.

[Coffee]

The main issue this raises is why on earth @Copernicium is reading The Guardian?!

[Dougella]

^ I thought that too, has his account been hacked?!

[slrrrrp]

Originally Posted by Coffee

The main issue this raises is why on earth @Copernicium is reading The Guardian?!

Know thine enemy!

[Copernicium]

Originally Posted by Coffee

The main issue this raises is why on earth @Copernicium is reading The Guardian?!

I look through all the papers. I could have linked to The Sun front page:



or The Mirror:



but I thought the report in the Guardian was so bizarre that it was better than any of the tabloids.

I was also surprised by how much the reporting was about enjoying the drama rather than the implications of publicly shaming someone on social media.

[Coffee]

Originally Posted by Copernicium

I was also surprised by how much the reporting was about enjoying the drama rather than the implications of publicly shaming someone on social media.

Well call me a tad less than woke, but I suspect that's because you are male.

[Schmosby]

I find it very sad that this is considered news at all.

[Dougella]

^ So do I! If it was a slow news time you might even understand it but there are so many real issues going on right now. All I end up thinking is what are they trying to distract us from.

[slrrrrp]

I dunno, I keep seeing people say "why aren't the MSM covering this" and then I look and see that the MSM are and have. Maybe a big problem is that people, including the people who say they are*, aren't that interested in these important stories and they don't get the prominence in the news that they deserve, sadly.

*For example, sometimes you see people on twitter say "why MSM not covering this!" and then you do a search of their twitter handle and that subject, using various search terms, and they've never mentioned what is supposedly important to them.

[Professor Willow]

Originally Posted by Schmosby

I find it very sad that this is considered news at all.

Amen Mr Schmosby

It's a very sad world we live in when a couple of tarts having an argument on Twitter is headline news

And for the record I would speak to someone privately if I had a problem with them, not go running off to post attention seeking crap on social media.

[slrrrrp]

I'd argue it is news, even if not headline news, because it raises questions beyond "a couple of tarts having an argument on twitter." As Copernicium says, it "raises issues about trust and bullying on social media that could potentially affect any of us." And it's interesting in terms of how newspapers get stories.

[Consolida]

If the falling out of these two silly women is considered headline news then maybe this planet would be better off disappearing in a puff of smoke

As for naming and shaming someone, no, Rooney should have spoken to the woman privately. But, since when has anything in the lives of these publicity seeking wags been private

[3stacks]

It's very important news and I shall be following it closely.

[slrrrrp]

The headline news should be about my opinions on what is important news or not.

SLRRRRP ON SAUK THINKS FREDDIE STARR HAMSTER STORY ISN'T IMPORTANT NEWS

[limey123]

Whole thing seems pretty infantile to me...

[humphrey]

Couldn't care LESS

[slrrrrp]

Originally Posted by humphrey

Couldn't care LESS

You could, though.

[Copernicium]

Originally Posted by Coffee

Well call me a tad less than woke, but I suspect that's because you are male.

I was wondering about that. The sheer glee in the reporting about someone being publicly shamed struck me as extraordinary. I couldn't work out what was going on and I still can't really.

The issue of pubic shaming or turning someone into a hate figure on social media without a proper trial is a big one in my opinion, even if almost everyone on this thread disagrees with me. That the story was being hailed as the "greatest thing to ever happen on twitter" astonished me. If someone is now harassed or abused or attacked as result, then I wonder where the blame should be laid.

[slrrrrp]

Jon Ronson's wrote a book on this subject: So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed

[slrrrrp]

Originally Posted by Copernicium

The issue of pubic shaming or turning someone into a hate figure on social media without a proper trial is a big one in my opinion, even if almost everyone on this thread disagrees with me.

Yeah, I don't entirely understand why people think it has no importance as a news story. And what's with people saying "I have no interest in this!" but then sharing their strong opinions on the thing they're supposedly not interested in? Very annoying.

[Jen.]

Originally Posted by Copernicium

I was wondering about that. The sheer glee in the reporting about someone being publicly shamed struck me as extraordinary. I couldn't work out what was going on and I still can't really.

The issue of pubic shaming or turning someone into a hate figure on social media without a proper trial is a big one in my opinion, even if almost everyone on this thread disagrees with me. That the story was being hailed as the "greatest thing to ever happen on twitter" astonished me. If someone is now harassed or abused or attacked as result, then I wonder where the blame should be laid.

As cruel as a pile on is (regardless of what the person at the centre of it has done), that kind of drama is exciting to watch unfold for a lot of people. It appeals to the part of our brains that enjoys seeing the majority turn against an individual, probably through relief that it's not us. It also helps that public figures are easy to see at not being real people.

This one seems worse than other examples because the accused woman is pregnant and obviously that amount of stress could cause a lot of harm. Apparently she attempted suicide when she was young too, which makes it seem even more cruel. I'm not sure if what she's been accused of would be a police matter, but going public like this first would likely mean she couldn't be given a fair trial anyway.