Conor Kenny
Staff Writer
Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker’s game because they almost always turn out to be—or to be indistinguishable from—self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free time.
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― Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon
There was a time, not too long ago, when the now disgraced columnist Johann Hari was considered one of the brightest journalistic prospects Britain had to offer. In the ten years since the Cambridge graduate won ‘Young Journalist of the Year’ at the Press Gazette Awards, Hari has stumbled from controversy to ignominy in a short career that now increasingly resembles that of a man determined to outdo Piers Morgan for editorial unethicalness. The revelation of extensive plagiarism in Hari’s writing came to light as early as 2003, and by 2011 he had returned his Orwell Prize as an “act of contrition”. But if all of this was embarrassing, it did nothing to match the humiliating discovery later last year that Hari had been deleteriously editing the Wikipedia pages of fellow journalists, while simultaneously rewriting sections of his own entry to make him seem like a more noteworthy writer. “Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity”, said a non-specific person at an unknown time.
It was announced earlier this week that the British parliament is set to consider legislation that will allow website moderators to reveal the identities of those who post defamatory comments online. Surely if we can put Twitter users in prison for similar offences, then the identity of those who decide to produce comparable bile anonymously must be exposed. The Swansea University student, Liam Stacey, was jailed in March for mocking the on-pitch collapse of Fabrice Muamba, while also branding other Twitter users who criticized him as “wogs”. Disgusting stuff, to be sure, but there are some who would question if an online account should have the same legal culpability as a human being. Why on earth the web should be above the law in this regard, or indeed any other, is beyond me. If someone can be imprisoned for libelous and defamatory comments in person, why should the same rules not apply to the Internet?
As someone who has written articles on this website over the last year on an almost weekly basis, I can say with no uncertainty that I despise the very invention of online comment sections. Undoubtedly I have probably written a lot of drivel on here that I will look back on in five years time with a degree of discomfiture, but I’m not averse to criticism. And yet there is a large difference between letters to the editor, or even book reviews, and the nonsense that people are prepared to type through a veil of anonymity. That is not to say that it can’t be entertaining, however. I often find myself looking forward to reading the thoughts of Norton Parker, whom it appears is enraged by just about every word I have the gall to type on UT. The following entry was posted in “Saints and Shinners”, an article in April that analysed the rise of Sinn Fein in Irish politics.
“Contact the editor and chancellor and have Kenny this IRA apologist expelled and fired. He is clearly a left wing extremist pushing a radical agenda.”
Now don’t get me wrong, I can see how the subject matter I wrote about might very well provoke strong feelings. And far from being someone who would criticize Ad Hominem attacks, I actually believe that they have some relevance if they call into question how someone’s personal life might well compromise their arguments. Yet being branded a “left wing extremist” and an “IRA apologist” is undoubtedly defamatory, as well as factually incorrect. These comment sections on articles take away authorship, but it is the people who post in them who should be held accountable for what is written. Incidentally, if anyone wants to follow up on Norton’s proposal, the chancellor of Trinity College is the former President of Ireland, Dr. Mary Robinson, who I’m sure would be delighted to spend her time trying to get a student ‘fired’ from the college newspaper.
It is time to stop pretending that the Internet is a make believe world in which laws have no precedent. Rightly or wrongly, the SOPA Act passed, and despite the efforts of groups such as Anonymous, the web is becoming more and more regulated. What we cannot allow is people to continue making vituperative and insulting comments to others, simply because they believe they have anonymity. Bullying online is no different from bullying in the real world. It’s time to stop hiding behind a screen. So bring it on – I’m ready for all of you today.
