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Cybernat

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Cybernat is a term used in the media of the United Kingdom to refer to extremist online supporters of Scottish independence and the Scottish National Party.[1][2][3]

The term was apparently coined by Lord Foulkes and was used by Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray in 2009.[2][4][5] It gained greater prominence during 2013, after mainstream media sources reported that Sir Chris Hoy had been subject to online abuse for expressing his support for unionism in Scotland.[6][7]

The Daily Telegraph reported in March 2014 that a retired soldier had received some abusive messages from Cybernats, after SNP politician Roseanna Cunningham posted a message on Twitter showing a letter from the soldier asking for donations to Better Together.[8] In June 2014, J.K. Rowling was subjected to online abuse by Cybernats after donating to Better Together and comparing Scottish Independence supporters to death eaters.[1][9][10]

The Herald stated in February 2013 that: "The problem is not limited to the nationalist side of the referendum debate, with the SNP complaining of Unionist "unitrolls" spreading online abuse."[11] It also reported that the Yes Scotland campaign would monitor blog sites and Twitter in an attempt to police offensive comments by supporters of independence.[11] Christopher Stevenson, a British unionist and a fire safety technician from Glasgow, was convicted in August 2014 of behaving in a "threatening or abusive manner" for stating on Twitter that he "might assassinate Alex Salmond".[1][12] Stevenson, who argued in court that his statement was meant as a joke, had sentence deferred for one year.[1][12]

During the 2015 UK general election campaign, Labour called on the SNP to disown their candidate for Edinburgh South, Neil Hay, who had posted abusive comments on Twitter about Scottish unionists and elderly voters.[13] Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader, condemned the comments but also pointed out that a Labour activist, Ian Smart, had abused nationalists.[13] Labour subsequently suspended Smart from membership of the party.[14] Charles Kennedy, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, was the target of on-line abuse during the campaign and immediately after the election.[15] One person who had posted comments directed at Kennedy using a personal Twitter account was identified as Brian Smith, an SNP constituency official; the party declared that his comments were inappropriate and Smith quickly resigned.[16][17]

Polling

Post-referendum, a Panelbase poll for Wings over Scotland found that in terms of online abuse specifically, 11% of those who had voted No had experienced online abuse compared to 20% of those who had voted Yes.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d McKirdy, Euan; Jones, Bryony (10 September 2014). "Hecklers, hackers, tricks and trolls: Dark side of Scotland's independence debate". CNN. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Cybernats and cyberbrits: How do they affect mainstream political debate?". stv.tv. STV. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  3. ^ Cochrane, Alan (7 March 2012). "Welcome to planet Cybernat where the air is toxic". The Daily Telegraph.
  4. ^ "Labour MP calls for independence supporters to be barred from debates". www.glawest.org. 24 January 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Parties demand Salmond holds blog smear inquiry". BBC News. BBC. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2014. Back in May I asked Alex Salmond to get a grip of these 'cyber nats' bloggers
  6. ^ "Geek, twerking & cybernat among words of the year". The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  7. ^ "cybernat: New Word Suggestion". www.collinsdictionary.com. Collins. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  8. ^ Johnson, Simon (6 March 2014). "General accuses SNP minister of endangering his family after 'Cybernat' attack". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  9. ^ "JK Rowling subjected to Cybernat abuse after £1m pro-UK donation". The Daily Telegraph. 11 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Who, what, why: What does 'Death Eaterish' mean?". BBC News. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2023. Harry Potter author JK Rowling has called some campaigners for Scottish independence "Death Eaterish". What does she mean, asks Justin Parkinson.
  11. ^ a b Gardham, Magnus (2 February 2013). "Yes campaigners launch bid to silence cybernats". The Herald. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Twitter troll who threatened to kill Salmond as joke found guilty, has sentence deferred". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Election 2015: Sturgeon condemns candidate Neil Hay tweets". BBC News. BBC. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  14. ^ Gordon, Tom (14 June 2015). "Labour suspends outspoken blogger Ian Smart". Sunday Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  15. ^ Gillian Bowditch (14 June 2015). "Abuse Kennedy suffered should spur Sturgeon to clean up the cybernats". The Sunday Times. News UK. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015. (subscription required)
  16. ^ "SNP official quits over Charles Kennedy online abuse". The Scotsman. 12 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Charles Kennedy: SNP activist quits over Twitter abuse". BBC News. 12 June 2015.
  18. ^ "The abusers and the abused". Wings Over Scotland. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
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