Allison Pearson In Free Speech Row

00:18:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BAKzhcO2oo

Summary

TLDRThe video reports on a recent controversy involving Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson, who found herself in a media storm after allegedly being visited by police on the charge of a 'non-crime hate incident'. This incident was connected to a tweet she made, which described a group of individuals with a Pakistani flag as 'Jew haters'. The situation has spiraled, garnering significant attention, including from Elon Musk, who criticized the police action. Essex police, however, have clarified that Pearson is under investigation for potentially inciting racial hatred, which is a crime under the 1986 Public Order Act, rather than a 'non-crime' as Pearson claimed. Even UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer weighed in, urging police to focus on community justice matters. This situation raises questions about the limits of free speech, journalistic integrity, and how police prioritize investigations. Furthermore, discussion around the role of journalism in spreading potentially harmful narratives was amplified. Critics argue that Pearson's work often minimizes serious issues, while sensationalizing others, and some believe that her actions should be subject to professional sanctions rather than criminal investigations.

Takeaways

  • 📢 Allison Pearson is known for controversial writings that often provoke public outrage.
  • 🚔 Pearson claimed the police visited her over a 'non-crime hate incident'.
  • 🐦 The controversy revolves around a tweet involving accusations of racial hatred.
  • 📰 Essex Police clarify that Pearson is under investigation for a serious offense.
  • 👮 Prime Minister Keir Starmer advised police to prioritize community-focused issues.
  • 💬 Critics say Pearson's journalistic methods are problematic and biased.
  • 🤔 The incident raises broader questions about free speech and police resource allocation.
  • 📜 The 1986 Public Order Act considers inciting racial hatred a severe offense.
  • 🖥️ Elon Musk publicly criticized the police's response to Pearson's tweet.
  • 🗞️ Discussions highlight issues of media responsibility and societal impact of journalism.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Allison Pearson, a columnist known for writing provocative columns, finds herself in a media storm after claiming police visited her over a "non-crime hate incident." Pearson tweeted about police posing with a flag associated with a Pakistani party, describing the group as "Jew haters." The tweet incited discussions about racial hatred and free speech, drawing attention from public figures like Elon Musk and even the UK Prime Minister. Pearson's story highlights ongoing debates about media, police priorities, and the limits of free expression.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Transcripts revealed that police are investigating Pearson under a specific UK law for potentially inciting racial hatred, contradicting her non-crime claim. Police and press critics raise concerns about media inaccuracies. The discussion touches on broader freedom of speech issues, like counterterror laws affecting journalism, and highlights Pearson's controversial reputation for inflammatory resources. Some suggest her approach showcases a conspiratorial, biased stance inconsistent with responsible journalism.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:18:28

    The debate continues on whether Pearson's tweet should have warranted police involvement. The conversation stresses the need for high thresholds for criminal intervention in speech. It highlights the role of media institutions in self-regulation and penalty enforcement without involving law enforcement. Personal anecdotes illuminate the complexity and range of online abuse and the challenges of setting legal boundaries. There is a consensus that while the tweet was offensive, it might not rise to a crime level.

Mind Map

Mind Map

Faqs

  • Who is Allison Pearson?

    Allison Pearson is a journalist and columnist for the Daily Telegraph, known for her controversial opinions.

  • What caused the media storm involving Allison Pearson?

    The media storm was caused by Allison Pearson's claim that police visited her over a 'non-crime hate incident' related to a tweet she made.

  • What did Pearson's controversial tweet say?

    Pearson's tweet suggested that a group of people with a Pakistani flag were 'Jew haters' which was perceived as inciting racial hatred.

  • How did Elon Musk react to Allison Pearson's situation?

    Elon Musk tweeted in response to the situation saying 'This needs to stop,' showing his disapproval of the police action.

  • What is Pearson under investigation for?

    Pearson is under investigation for potentially inciting racial hatred, which contravenes the 1986 Public Order Act.

  • What was Prime Minister Keir Starmer's response?

    Keir Starmer urged police to concentrate on what matters most to their communities.

  • What did the Essex police comment on the incident?

    Essex police stated that Pearson is being investigated for inciting racial hatred online, not a 'non-crime hate incident'.

  • What does the 1986 Public Order Act entail?

    The act defines inciting racial hatred as a crime, which can lead to a maximum sentence of 7 years.

  • How did this situation affect Pearson's reputation as a journalist?

    Pearson is criticized for her lack of journalistic values and accused of promoting a biased narrative.

  • What broader issues did this incident highlight in the debate?

    The incident highlights issues of freedom of speech, the handling of police resources, and media integrity in reporting.

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  • 00:00:00
    Daily Telegraph columnist Allison
  • 00:00:02
    Pearson is no stranger to outrage in
  • 00:00:05
    fact it's her speciality with colum
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    after column aimed at riling up the
  • 00:00:09
    tempers of the paper conservative
  • 00:00:11
    readers we shouldn't imply uh we
  • 00:00:13
    shouldn't imply her motives actually
  • 00:00:15
    which seem to be aim to rile up their
  • 00:00:17
    readers um now though she's found
  • 00:00:20
    herself at the center of a media storm
  • 00:00:24
    after publishing this piece last week so
  • 00:00:28
    it says my visit from police on
  • 00:00:30
    Remembrance Sunday is living proof of
  • 00:00:33
    our two tier justice system now in that
  • 00:00:37
    column Pearson says she was told that
  • 00:00:39
    the police had knocked at her door to
  • 00:00:41
    investigate quote a non-crime hate
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    incident now this does sound very odd a
  • 00:00:48
    non-crime hate incident now that's a
  • 00:00:49
    phrase she used again when describing
  • 00:00:51
    what happened to talk TV's Julia Harley
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    Brewer two young coppers and they said
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    um uh we here about non-crime hate
  • 00:01:01
    incident which I had which I have sort
  • 00:01:03
    of vaguely heard about before and he
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    said it related to a tweet of a year ago
  • 00:01:10
    um which was stirring up racial hatred
  • 00:01:13
    he said and I said oh that's very
  • 00:01:15
    interesting what did it say the tweet
  • 00:01:17
    that you think was stirring up racial
  • 00:01:19
    hatred and he said I'm not allowed to
  • 00:01:22
    tell you that and then I mean God forbid
  • 00:01:24
    you should know what you're actually
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    being accused of God forbid God forbid I
  • 00:01:28
    should know exactly and then I said who
  • 00:01:30
    is my accuser which is the next question
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    and then he said we we're not allowed to
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    tell you that either but it's not an
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    accuser it's the victim so Pearson's
  • 00:01:40
    story has been uh very very prominent in
  • 00:01:42
    the media over the past few days the
  • 00:01:44
    telegraph um ran two front pages
  • 00:01:46
    featuring her tail with other right-wing
  • 00:01:48
    Outlets chipping into an ex-owner Elon
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    Musk got involved um posting this this
  • 00:01:55
    needs to stop and he's quote tweeting
  • 00:01:57
    Peter Sweden saying that police British
  • 00:01:59
    police visited and questioned a
  • 00:02:00
    journalist in her home because someone
  • 00:02:02
    was offended by a year- Old Post on X um
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    yes in Soviet Britain you get
  • 00:02:06
    interrogated for posting on Twitter even
  • 00:02:09
    prime minister Kia starm had a response
  • 00:02:10
    to the story asked about Pearson's tweet
  • 00:02:13
    at the G20 Summit in Brazil starm urged
  • 00:02:16
    police to quote concentrate on what
  • 00:02:18
    matters most to their communities
  • 00:02:21
    potentially a smart response I think
  • 00:02:23
    from him um but what had Pearson
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    actually tweeted well late last week the
  • 00:02:28
    guardian reported that it had spoken to
  • 00:02:30
    the person who reported Pearson to the
  • 00:02:33
    police and this is alleged to be the
  • 00:02:36
    post in question so reposting a
  • 00:02:39
    photograph of police officers standing
  • 00:02:42
    with a group of people holding the flag
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    of a mainstream Pakistani political
  • 00:02:47
    party Pearson wrote How dare they at met
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    police invited to pose with lovely
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    peaceful British friends of Israel on
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    Saturday police refused look at this lot
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    smiling with the Jew haters now as you
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    can see that the Tweet was seen over
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    410,000 times before it was deleted by
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    Pearson now that image didn't involve
  • 00:03:10
    the Met police it was taken in
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    Manchester and it had nothing to do with
  • 00:03:13
    Israel's war on Gaza given it was taken
  • 00:03:15
    in August
  • 00:03:17
    2023 um if that is the tweet in question
  • 00:03:20
    then it appears to be Allison Pearson
  • 00:03:23
    just describing a random group of Asian
  • 00:03:24
    people as du haters to her audience um
  • 00:03:28
    the person who made the police report
  • 00:03:30
    explained to the guardian why they'd
  • 00:03:32
    done it saying this each time an
  • 00:03:34
    influential person makes negative
  • 00:03:35
    comments about people of color I as a
  • 00:03:37
    person of color see an uptick in racist
  • 00:03:39
    abuse towards me and the days after that
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    tweet are no different so I suppose they
  • 00:03:46
    actually the days after that tweet and
  • 00:03:47
    no different the idea that this
  • 00:03:49
    complainant
  • 00:03:50
    themselves saw an uptick in racist abuse
  • 00:03:53
    because of that tweet by Alison Pearson
  • 00:03:55
    I can see why you know the connection
  • 00:03:58
    doesn't seem completely obvious there
  • 00:04:00
    although I can see the broad Point um it
  • 00:04:03
    also turned out that Allison Pearson may
  • 00:04:05
    have got some of the details of the
  • 00:04:07
    police visit to her home and a year
  • 00:04:09
    later um wrong now remember how she'd
  • 00:04:12
    called it a quote non-crime haate
  • 00:04:14
    incident well transcripts of body cam
  • 00:04:18
    footage revealed by Essex police appear
  • 00:04:20
    to tell a different story with the
  • 00:04:22
    officer telling Pearson this it's gone
  • 00:04:25
    down as an incident or offense of
  • 00:04:27
    potentially inciting racial hatred
  • 00:04:30
    online that would be the offense because
  • 00:04:32
    of what's been alleged and the evidence
  • 00:04:34
    that we've got I need to just ask you
  • 00:04:36
    some questions so inciting racial hatred
  • 00:04:40
    online that's not a non-crime that that
  • 00:04:42
    would be a real crime um Essex police
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    say Pearson is under investigation for
  • 00:04:47
    an alleged breach of the 1986 public
  • 00:04:50
    order act it's is not to say she has
  • 00:04:52
    committed a crime but they were
  • 00:04:53
    interviewing her not necessarily over a
  • 00:04:55
    non-crime incident but there is a law
  • 00:04:58
    that they were investigating whether she
  • 00:05:00
    had broken it speaking to LBC Essex
  • 00:05:03
    police commissioner Roger Hurst
  • 00:05:05
    explained why he believed Pi's tweet was
  • 00:05:08
    worthy of Investigation we can't go
  • 00:05:11
    around ignoring crimes just because um
  • 00:05:14
    it's politically sensitive and we
  • 00:05:16
    perhaps need to just think about how our
  • 00:05:19
    black and Asian communities are hearing
  • 00:05:20
    this debate after all the 1986 public
  • 00:05:24
    order act defines this as a
  • 00:05:27
    crime and the maximum sentence the
  • 00:05:30
    normal measure of of crime severity is
  • 00:05:32
    on the maximum sentence the maximum
  • 00:05:34
    sentence is 7 years that puts it up
  • 00:05:36
    there well ahead of shoplifting it's
  • 00:05:38
    fairly evident isn't it really that it's
  • 00:05:40
    not been treated as a high priority it's
  • 00:05:43
    taken a year uh to actually go and knock
  • 00:05:45
    on the door but um nevertheless this
  • 00:05:48
    this is is something which has to be
  • 00:05:50
    dealt with by due process the force has
  • 00:05:53
    also complain to press regulator IPO
  • 00:05:55
    over um the factual accuracy of some of
  • 00:05:58
    the reports on the case so they think
  • 00:05:59
    that has been reported poorly the first
  • 00:06:03
    thing is that if you want to talk about
  • 00:06:04
    freedom of speech issues and how they
  • 00:06:07
    impact British journalists I think the
  • 00:06:08
    first place you've really got to look is
  • 00:06:11
    the way in which counterterror laws have
  • 00:06:13
    been wielded against journalists um
  • 00:06:16
    regarding things they've said about or
  • 00:06:18
    their coverage of the genocide in Gaza
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    now one of the things that's really
  • 00:06:22
    really important about the terrorism Act
  • 00:06:24
    is that they do not there are not
  • 00:06:25
    exemptions in the legislation for
  • 00:06:28
    journalistic activity
  • 00:06:30
    and how support for a prescribed Terror
  • 00:06:33
    organization is defined is really really
  • 00:06:37
    broadly now I know you know this Michael
  • 00:06:39
    because this something that we've got to
  • 00:06:40
    discuss a lot when it comes to our own
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    coverage which is one of the the um
  • 00:06:46
    really sticky parts of that legislation
  • 00:06:49
    is that you can be uh you know arrested
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    prosecuted for breaching the terrorism
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    act if something that you say is
  • 00:07:00
    interpreted as Reckless as to whether it
  • 00:07:02
    may cause support in another person for
  • 00:07:05
    a prescribed terrorist organization so
  • 00:07:07
    it doesn't have to be someone like you
  • 00:07:09
    or I saying oh I really think you should
  • 00:07:11
    support you know Hamas or Hezbollah or
  • 00:07:14
    the P it could be could someone
  • 00:07:16
    interpret this thing that I'm saying
  • 00:07:18
    which may include analysis of news
  • 00:07:20
    events as being Reckless as to whether
  • 00:07:21
    or not it would cause someone else to
  • 00:07:24
    support those prescribed terrorist
  • 00:07:25
    organizations now that is something uh
  • 00:07:28
    you know that is a a bit of legislation
  • 00:07:30
    which has been used in recent months
  • 00:07:32
    journalists have been um detained
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    they've been investigated it's unclear
  • 00:07:36
    to me what the outcome is of of some of
  • 00:07:39
    those things and I've not seen um
  • 00:07:41
    mainstream newspapers you know LBC rally
  • 00:07:45
    around uh a journalist saying oh look at
  • 00:07:47
    this this is awful this is this is
  • 00:07:49
    against Free Speech all right so that's
  • 00:07:51
    the first thing which I'd really point
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    out which is for me that is that is one
  • 00:07:55
    of the the most egregious bits of police
  • 00:07:58
    overreach that we seen in recent months
  • 00:08:00
    so having said that let's get to Allison
  • 00:08:04
    Pearson I'm going to separate two things
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    one is what I think about
  • 00:08:09
    um I guess in involving the police and
  • 00:08:12
    the other is about what I think about
  • 00:08:14
    Allison Pearson as journalist going to
  • 00:08:16
    start with what I think about Allison
  • 00:08:17
    Pearson as a journalist I think that
  • 00:08:19
    Allison Pearson is everything that's
  • 00:08:21
    wrong with British journalism and if she
  • 00:08:23
    decided to take a nice quiet retirement
  • 00:08:26
    I don't know take up chihuaha breeding
  • 00:08:27
    or something I think that the industry
  • 00:08:30
    would be a lot better for it I mean I
  • 00:08:32
    think you look through um her opinion
  • 00:08:34
    pieces for me I think that they
  • 00:08:36
    demonstrate um a a degree of
  • 00:08:39
    conspiracism a strong tone of
  • 00:08:42
    conspiracism in my opinion uh I think
  • 00:08:45
    that she has a real two-tier system of
  • 00:08:49
    morality so if something involves uh
  • 00:08:52
    people who are being accused of being
  • 00:08:54
    far right or indeed um the the you know
  • 00:09:00
    horrific events of this past summer and
  • 00:09:02
    the racist rioting she goes out of her
  • 00:09:04
    way to in my view minimize and humanize
  • 00:09:08
    those people whereas when it comes to
  • 00:09:10
    for instance transgender people uh LGBT
  • 00:09:14
    activists Muslims people who are pro
  • 00:09:16
    Palestine well you know it's all guns
  • 00:09:19
    are blazing um I think that her work is
  • 00:09:21
    awful um and I I think that part of the
  • 00:09:25
    the reason why she got caught out with
  • 00:09:27
    this tweet is because don't think that
  • 00:09:29
    she she has particularly High
  • 00:09:32
    journalistic values right you know it's
  • 00:09:34
    like it fits the narrative I'm going to
  • 00:09:36
    put it out now obviously everyone can
  • 00:09:38
    get caught short of that uh at one time
  • 00:09:40
    or another but I think that this
  • 00:09:42
    particular tweet calling
  • 00:09:45
    completely you know random uninvolved
  • 00:09:49
    you know pakistanis Jew haters I think
  • 00:09:51
    that's emblematic of of a a broader
  • 00:09:54
    problem in her journalistic practice the
  • 00:09:58
    next question is whether or not that's a
  • 00:10:00
    matter for the police now I do think
  • 00:10:03
    that a tweet like that demonstrates
  • 00:10:06
    racism that's my opinion um I think that
  • 00:10:10
    it shows the way in which allegations of
  • 00:10:13
    anti-Semitism and Jew hatred have been
  • 00:10:15
    used by sections of our press and our
  • 00:10:18
    politics to smear Muslims and South
  • 00:10:21
    Asians in particular it's you know a
  • 00:10:23
    nice synonym for Muslim when you can't
  • 00:10:25
    say that I think that that's wrong do do
  • 00:10:29
    I think that that meets the
  • 00:10:32
    threshold of a crime for me personally
  • 00:10:36
    no right and and the reason why I say
  • 00:10:38
    that the reason why I say that is
  • 00:10:40
    because I think generally I want a high
  • 00:10:43
    threshold for intervention uh when it
  • 00:10:45
    comes to um speech acts now I I think
  • 00:10:50
    that if I were a person
  • 00:10:52
    photographed uh in that in that image
  • 00:10:55
    and you could identify me um I would
  • 00:10:58
    certainly consider suing her for liel I
  • 00:11:01
    think that you might have a a civil case
  • 00:11:03
    and might reach the Civil threshold but
  • 00:11:06
    for for criminality maybe not for me um
  • 00:11:09
    that's not a defense of Allison Pearson
  • 00:11:11
    the person or Allison Pearson the
  • 00:11:12
    journalist for me is about thinking
  • 00:11:15
    about how you um where you set the
  • 00:11:19
    threshold um on hate speech in a way
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    which can facilitate
  • 00:11:26
    um I guess the the maximum level of
  • 00:11:30
    freedom of speech with the minimum
  • 00:11:32
    amount of harm now those two things are
  • 00:11:34
    obviously intention with each other and
  • 00:11:36
    I I understand that people might reach
  • 00:11:37
    different conclusions but for me that's
  • 00:11:39
    not it I pretty much agree with
  • 00:11:41
    everything you said there Ash so we're
  • 00:11:43
    not going to have a debate on this one
  • 00:11:44
    but um I just been looking up um ASA win
  • 00:11:47
    Stanley you know he his home getting
  • 00:11:49
    raided um which I you know I think was
  • 00:11:51
    an outrage barely anyone covered it we
  • 00:11:54
    covered it on this on this show so if
  • 00:11:56
    you Google us and it you can't find it
  • 00:11:58
    but if you watch our show from that day
  • 00:11:59
    you you'll see that we discussed it um
  • 00:12:02
    but yeah it's it's the national covered
  • 00:12:04
    it the Morning Star but the guardian the
  • 00:12:06
    BBC sort of no no one mentioned that and
  • 00:12:08
    there's been a number of of occasions
  • 00:12:10
    like this so it does definitely seem
  • 00:12:12
    sort of like the outrage is is
  • 00:12:16
    disproportionate when it comes to
  • 00:12:17
    Allison Pearson compared to other um
  • 00:12:20
    cases of journalists getting the police
  • 00:12:22
    knocking on their door um but I do agree
  • 00:12:24
    with you that I I don't think this
  • 00:12:26
    should meet the threshold and also it
  • 00:12:29
    does seem like
  • 00:12:31
    a big error for the police you know
  • 00:12:34
    there is a crisis of confidence in the
  • 00:12:35
    police at the moment from pretty much
  • 00:12:37
    all sides right um and especially there
  • 00:12:39
    was a narrative building up on the right
  • 00:12:41
    that the police um clamp down on on on
  • 00:12:44
    on right wings and people tweeting
  • 00:12:45
    offensive stuff and don't deal with
  • 00:12:47
    actual crime and it is getting to a
  • 00:12:49
    point now where lots of people have had
  • 00:12:51
    an experience I haven't personally but
  • 00:12:52
    sort of I see on Twitter people I know
  • 00:12:54
    and trust sort of saying you know their
  • 00:12:57
    their phone got stolen they can tell the
  • 00:12:59
    cops where it is because they've got it
  • 00:13:00
    on find my phone they can sort of tell
  • 00:13:02
    them the address and then the police say
  • 00:13:04
    well sorry there's nothing we can do
  • 00:13:05
    about that and they say we we don't we
  • 00:13:06
    don't go to address as if they're on
  • 00:13:08
    Estates and people with bikes as well so
  • 00:13:09
    bikes getting Nick they say oh we can't
  • 00:13:11
    look through the whole CCTV uh because
  • 00:13:13
    we don't have time and people do look at
  • 00:13:15
    the police and say why the hell are they
  • 00:13:16
    knocking on the door of a Daily
  • 00:13:19
    Telegraph comment journalist for an
  • 00:13:20
    offensive and I agree I think it's a
  • 00:13:22
    racist tweet why are they doing that
  • 00:13:24
    when they can't investigate actual well
  • 00:13:27
    I say actual what what what most people
  • 00:13:29
    think of as a sort of an actual physical
  • 00:13:31
    crime let's say I mean look I think a
  • 00:13:34
    couple of things the first thing is that
  • 00:13:35
    I don't necessarily think that it should
  • 00:13:37
    been a matter it should have been a
  • 00:13:38
    matter for the police but if the
  • 00:13:39
    telegraph was a serious newspaper I
  • 00:13:41
    think they should have sacked her right
  • 00:13:43
    I think they should have sacked her
  • 00:13:44
    because if you if you hire someone as a
  • 00:13:45
    journalist I think that they have to
  • 00:13:48
    have you know a basic commitment to
  • 00:13:50
    telling the truth all right now
  • 00:13:52
    obviously that's going to be subject to
  • 00:13:54
    interpretation but where facts are
  • 00:13:57
    indisputable and a journalist has has
  • 00:14:00
    you know I I think quite egregiously
  • 00:14:03
    departed from those facts um in a way
  • 00:14:06
    which I think is in this in this case
  • 00:14:07
    very racist I think I think it's fine to
  • 00:14:09
    say all right that passes the threshold
  • 00:14:12
    I think you should be sacked especially
  • 00:14:13
    if they haven't apologized for it now
  • 00:14:14
    you have said yourself the tweet's been
  • 00:14:16
    taken down I don't know whether she's
  • 00:14:18
    apologized for this um but I think an
  • 00:14:20
    apology would be the the absolute
  • 00:14:22
    minimum for keeping your job there um
  • 00:14:25
    you know similarly uh you know I've had
  • 00:14:28
    my own experience
  • 00:14:29
    with shall we say um famous journalists
  • 00:14:32
    being egregiously racist and indeed
  • 00:14:36
    keeping their colum writing position at
  • 00:14:38
    the telegraph when that happened um I
  • 00:14:41
    don't I I don't take that paper
  • 00:14:43
    particularly seriously although I should
  • 00:14:45
    correct myself I think it was the Sunday
  • 00:14:46
    Telegraph um I don't take that paper
  • 00:14:48
    seriously I don't think they take racism
  • 00:14:50
    seriously and I think that they'll go as
  • 00:14:51
    far as they can in in protecting their
  • 00:14:53
    journalists no matter how badly they
  • 00:14:55
    behave that's my take on them as an
  • 00:14:57
    institution from from at least two
  • 00:14:59
    instances that I can think of but I
  • 00:15:02
    think when it comes to this thing about
  • 00:15:03
    um the police like I've always really
  • 00:15:06
    struggled um personally on on when to
  • 00:15:09
    involve the police with some of the
  • 00:15:11
    things that I experienced there has been
  • 00:15:13
    one occasion where I've made a report to
  • 00:15:15
    the police and that's when someone
  • 00:15:17
    messaged me on on Instagram to say I'm
  • 00:15:19
    going to come around to your house and
  • 00:15:20
    and cut off your head
  • 00:15:23
    um and I didn't I didn't chase it up
  • 00:15:27
    maybe I should have chased it up maybe I
  • 00:15:28
    should have like pushed far and tried to
  • 00:15:30
    get a conviction but I think that
  • 00:15:32
    ultimately when it got to the point they
  • 00:15:33
    were like hey do you want to come in for
  • 00:15:34
    like a really full interview I was just
  • 00:15:36
    a bit like I don't know how much I want
  • 00:15:38
    this hanging over my life anymore but
  • 00:15:40
    that's just a completely random and
  • 00:15:43
    arbitrary example right it's like you
  • 00:15:45
    get so much of it and that ranges all
  • 00:15:47
    the way from like you politically
  • 00:15:49
    disagree with me and you're saying that
  • 00:15:50
    a particularly aggressive way right
  • 00:15:53
    don't I'm not going to call the police
  • 00:15:55
    over that to things which are just
  • 00:15:57
    outright lies so you know a couple of
  • 00:15:59
    weekends just gone someone accused me of
  • 00:16:01
    being a holocaust denier um he he didn't
  • 00:16:04
    he said that I think that your Tweet is
  • 00:16:06
    a kin to Holocaust denial said that
  • 00:16:08
    publicly but dm'd me to say oh being a
  • 00:16:11
    holocaust Den not a good look and I was
  • 00:16:12
    like I will sue you do you
  • 00:16:14
    understand I'm not around I will
  • 00:16:16
    sue you um and there's that where I'm
  • 00:16:18
    like this lie feels so egregious I'm
  • 00:16:21
    going to take action on it and then
  • 00:16:22
    there's all this other stuff where it's
  • 00:16:25
    like you know like it's easy when
  • 00:16:28
    someone someone calls you a Packy do you
  • 00:16:30
    know what I mean like that's easy right
  • 00:16:32
    it's easy when someone says I'm going to
  • 00:16:33
    chop your head off that's easy but when
  • 00:16:35
    you've got just like this I don't know
  • 00:16:39
    how to phrase it but it's like
  • 00:16:41
    contextualizing you in such a way and
  • 00:16:43
    always lumping you in with like child
  • 00:16:46
    sex abusers or or violent anti-sites or
  • 00:16:49
    jihadists or whatever and they're
  • 00:16:50
    putting your person in that context
  • 00:16:53
    again and again and again it almost
  • 00:16:55
    doesn't seem right to me that that's
  • 00:16:58
    that's just fine that there isn't a sort
  • 00:17:00
    of societal sanction for it and I can
  • 00:17:02
    understand that you sort of go well that
  • 00:17:05
    that does breach the you my personal
  • 00:17:08
    threshold of of you know criminality
  • 00:17:11
    because this is having a real impact on
  • 00:17:13
    me like I can see how people get there I
  • 00:17:15
    don't think that that's where the law
  • 00:17:17
    should be set but I can understand why
  • 00:17:19
    people turn to it when the other
  • 00:17:22
    institutions aren't operate operating as
  • 00:17:24
    they should I realize I'm rambling a bit
  • 00:17:26
    and and maybe it wasn't right to go like
  • 00:17:29
    oh this is how I try and think about it
  • 00:17:30
    or this is how I try and deal with it
  • 00:17:31
    but I suppose when I see something like
  • 00:17:33
    that I can understand why someone made
  • 00:17:34
    that report I just don't think that
  • 00:17:36
    that's the threshold the law should be
  • 00:17:38
    set at no I mean I didn't find that
  • 00:17:41
    rambling at all I thought that was
  • 00:17:42
    really really interesting and I always
  • 00:17:44
    have so much time to hear about your
  • 00:17:45
    experience online because I just know
  • 00:17:47
    it's a thousand times worse sometimes
  • 00:17:49
    I'm mildly irritated on X whereas you're
  • 00:17:52
    getting vile racist misogynist abuse and
  • 00:17:55
    people telling you they're going to cut
  • 00:17:56
    your head off right so it's it's just a
  • 00:17:58
    million miles from I think what the vast
  • 00:18:00
    majority of people experience so it's
  • 00:18:01
    it's very I think important and useful
  • 00:18:03
    for you to speak publicly about that
  • 00:18:05
    because I suppose I do have a tendency
  • 00:18:07
    to think like why are the police
  • 00:18:08
    occupying themselves with this let
  • 00:18:09
    people say on Twitter and I think
  • 00:18:12
    you have you know very expressly
  • 00:18:14
    articulated how it's actually a little
  • 00:18:17
    bit more complicated than that
Tags
  • Allison Pearson
  • media storm
  • non-crime hate incident
  • racial hatred
  • freedom of speech
  • journalistic integrity
  • police investigation
  • Public Order Act
  • Elon Musk
  • Keir Starmer