'My main takeaway from Huw Edwards saga is the social media bile'
My main takeaway from the whole sorry and complicated sex images scandal is not about Huw Edwards’ alleged conduct or the BBC’s response.
It’s my sheer horror at the lawless world of social media where accusations can go unchecked and nameless trolls can create unfounded conspiracy theories - with no consequences.
As someone in the public eye, it is absolutely terrifying to constantly face the prospect of trial by social media.
The thought of being falsely accused of something and being character assassinated online is horrifying.
In less than a week, pretty much every male BBC presenter has had their name trending on Twitter and Nicky Campbell has now made a crime report to the police after being falsely accused of being the male BBC presenter at the centre of the storm.
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Nicky’s was among a number of names bandied around as social media rushed to speculate on the presenter’s identity.
The saga gave trolls a chance to attack public figures (BBC)He told listeners to his BBC Radio 5 Live programme: “Worse things happen at sea, as they say, but it was a distressing weekend – I can’t deny it – for me and others falsely named.”
“Distressing” feels like an understatement for this rampant witch-hunt.
The vitriol aimed at these presenters online has been intense and I cannot comprehend how it must feel to wake up in the morning and see your name associated with something so traumatic.
It terrifies all of us in the industry. Anyone with a grudge against you can come out and make shocking, cruel and untrue comments that can spiral hysterically out of control.
But it is not just people in the public eye who suffer. Sensational online speculation about the nature of poor Nicola Bulley’s death caused untold trauma to her family and even hampered the police investigation.
But the frenzy didn’t even stop when a coroner concluded her death was as a result of drowning.
The cesspit of social media has allowed anyone and everyone to become amateur super-sleuths, trolls and physics, with devastating real-life consequences.
The lack of regulation on social media also gives rise to deepfake technology, which could lead to vulnerable people losing money and ruining lives.
Martin Lewis had to issue a warning this week after he discovered a fake video of him circulating on Facebook was being used by scammers.
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The Government urgently needs to impose serious regulations on social media companies such as Twitter and Meta and more needs to be done to regulate scam adverts.
Otherwise we are dangerously close to living in a social media wild west of increasingly harmful content.
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