MPS on the end of nearly 190,000 abusive tweets in only three months

MPS received almost 190,000 abusive tweets over a threemonth period, new research has shown.

One in 20 tweets to MPS was abusive, analysis by BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT – and the independent thinktank Demos found.

They looked at tweets sent to or from a UK MP between 9 May and 18 August, 2016.

Analysis of the exchanges found that 188,000 were abusive, with almost two-thirds of the tweets coming from accounts registered to men.

The abuse peaked on the day of the EU referendum result, 0 Former Tory leadership contender Boris Johnson 24 June, and on 30 June, the day Boris Johnson pulled out of the Conservative leadership race, the report stated.

Brexit was the most commonly occurring hashtag in abusive tweets, while #Borisjohnson and #Voteleave ranked second and third. Party leaders, deputy leaders and prominent campaigners in the EU referendum were among the most frequently abused MPS.

The analysis also found that 34 per cent of the abuse was “unqualified”, as the tweets did not contain any additional information about why the abuse was sent.

The report blamed the “anonymous and ‘safe distance’ nature of social media platforms” for allowing “abuse to be handed out far less respectfully than it would usually be if delivered face-toface”.