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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think Mumsnet is no longer the bastion of free speech that it was

130 replies

MumsTheWordFact · 13/12/2021 20:30

I've noticed a number of threads that I've been following have been deleted lately. The latest one was about a mother saying she had been 'cancelled' by her children.

I even had my own thread pulled down about a month or so ago with absolutely no reason given as to why.

Have Google or Facebook bought out Mumsnet and I just didn't hear about it?

OP posts:
HollowTalk · 13/12/2021 23:41

What was the message on the cancelled mother thread? I thought that was very very topical and interesting.

HirplesWithHaggis · 14/12/2021 00:47

Thread deleted
Message from MNHQ: The OP has had lots of advice on all aspects of the issue now, but we've had a number of reports and can see that the thread has been a bit 'not in the spirit' in places, and doesn't seem to be improving, so we've taken it down.

HirplesWithHaggis · 14/12/2021 00:48

@HirplesWithHaggis

Thread deleted Message from MNHQ: The OP has had lots of advice on all aspects of the issue now, but we've had a number of reports and can see that the thread has been a bit 'not in the spirit' in places, and doesn't seem to be improving, so we've taken it down.
Sorry, that's the "cancelled mum" deletion notice, I didn't make that clear!
SoSoTiredToday · 14/12/2021 09:25

I've had posts and threads taken down before and also been banned for a bit! I genuinely can't understand it! I very rarely swear (some people swear like troopers on Mumsnet yet their posts remain!), my posts are always polite. But it seems sometimes either people think you r trolling (when you are not) and complain and Mumsnet takes away your post/thread, or the Mumsnet team just don't like your views. I am a nice person, work in a caring profession and I hate that Mumsnet only like to see one side of a story represented. It is ridiculous. How can people debate issues when only one side is allowed to be seen ...

SoSoTiredToday · 14/12/2021 09:27

Coatilove -

Yes ! I was enjoying the Adele thread!! Couldn't believe that was taken down!! I couldn't see anything wrong with it at all!!!!

coatilove · 14/12/2021 09:31

@SoSoTiredToday the only thing I could assume is that the moderator was an Adele fan 🤷‍♀️!!

Scraggythang · 14/12/2021 09:34

The feminism board is cyber patrolled by certain groups to put a stop to any critical thinking. If i start following an interesting thread that’s got momentum or start one it’s usually taken down within a few hours.

dreamingbohemian · 14/12/2021 10:02

MN is under no obligation to let anonymous randoms spout off covid disinformation, conspiracy theories, racism, xenophobia, transphobia, or all the other things that will get a thread pulled. They're also under no obligation to let threads stand that could get them sued by celebrities.

I've been here more than 10 years, I don't think the standards have changed, there are just more deletions because more nonsense is getting posted.

Sparklingbrook · 14/12/2021 10:05

I've been here more than 10 years, I don't think the standards have changed, there are just more deletions because more nonsense is getting posted.

I think that's absolutely right.

DonGray · 14/12/2021 10:08

It's never been a bastion of free speech
The "she who must not be named" ended that many years ago

Bagamoyo1 · 14/12/2021 10:09

@dreamingbohemian

MN is under no obligation to let anonymous randoms spout off covid disinformation, conspiracy theories, racism, xenophobia, transphobia, or all the other things that will get a thread pulled. They're also under no obligation to let threads stand that could get them sued by celebrities.

I've been here more than 10 years, I don't think the standards have changed, there are just more deletions because more nonsense is getting posted.

I think the concern is the definition of transphobia. Saying that people who are trans should all be lined up and shot is clearly offensive and transphobic. But saying a biological man cannot be a woman is simply stating a fact, yet these are the kind of posts being deleted.
WomanStanleyWoman · 14/12/2021 10:10

There hasn’t been free speech for a long time when it comes to certain topics - specifically anything involving the surnames McCann or Markle.

‘Not in the spirit’ seems to be a catch-all phrase that doesn’t actually mean anything, but allows mods to delete at will.

DropYourSword · 14/12/2021 10:11

I’ve been here on and off for years - seems to be about the same deleted as there ever was!

PatterPaws · 14/12/2021 10:11

This thread will disappear soon

Mouseonmychair · 14/12/2021 10:12

Mumsnet never has been free speech, the usage of "hate speech" and "not in the spirit" are deliberately blurred and moderation not consistent. Look at the man hating allowed to stand on here would another protected characteristic like race be as widely accepted?

Sorry Mumsnet is what it is a privately owned site which can set it's own arbitrary rules. You can either accept this by continuing to post or not.

dreamingbohemian · 14/12/2021 10:14

@groundcontroltomontydon

One persons Free Speech is another person Hate Speech “[F]reedom of expression … is applicable not only to ‘information’ or ‘ideas’ that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population.” A quote that any journalist/publisher should know by heart.
And yet interestingly, the ECtHR ruled in that case that it was legitimate for the state to interfere in freedom of expression, because the overriding objective was preventing young people from being exposed to what was felt to be obscene material.

The .... in that quote are often included but what is missing there is that freedom of expression is still subject to the limiting conditions of Article 10, Paragraph 2 of the ECHR:

  1. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

The ECtHR has since ruled in a number of cases that restricting 'hate speech' may be legitimate, as long as it is genuinely necessary and proportionate.

BringMeTea · 14/12/2021 10:16

Yes, I have noticed they are happy to be guided by the agenda-having reporters in certain sections... for SURE. It does put me off and I guess that is the agenda-havers aim in part. Shame.

MothExterminator · 14/12/2021 10:16

I never saw the mother thread.

It is beyond sad if a mum cannot ask for parenting advice (I assume it was that since “mother” was in the title). I thought this was a site where parents got advice Sad.

What was wrong with it? Was the mum herself “not in the spirit” or was the replies wrong?

ButYouGottaHaveASkillJeff · 14/12/2021 10:17

@Mouseonmychair

Mumsnet never has been free speech, the usage of "hate speech" and "not in the spirit" are deliberately blurred and moderation not consistent. Look at the man hating allowed to stand on here would another protected characteristic like race be as widely accepted?

Sorry Mumsnet is what it is a privately owned site which can set it's own arbitrary rules. You can either accept this by continuing to post or not.

What men-hating have you seen? I've seen comments about men's actions. Not just because they are men.

50ShadesOfCatholic · 14/12/2021 10:17

@dreamingbohemian

MN is under no obligation to let anonymous randoms spout off covid disinformation, conspiracy theories, racism, xenophobia, transphobia, or all the other things that will get a thread pulled. They're also under no obligation to let threads stand that could get them sued by celebrities.

I've been here more than 10 years, I don't think the standards have changed, there are just more deletions because more nonsense is getting posted.

I wish that was true. But I see so much hate in here. It would be great if hate speech was banned and we could have a conversation without thread jackers desperate for attention.
AnkleDeep · 14/12/2021 10:21

I would subscribe but not if they ban people for daft reasons. Which I can see from here that they do.

dreamingbohemian · 14/12/2021 10:21

@50ShadesOfCatholic I agree. I think MN actually lets a lot of awful posts stand.

Oblomov21 · 14/12/2021 10:23

I never get to see all this hate that is always mentioned. Too slow to all the best threads clearly.

BigYellowHat · 14/12/2021 10:23

I once got called racist and had my post deleted. It was just before that Black Mumsnetter board was implemented. It was clear that no-one had read my post, especially people 12 pages down who had just piled on 😂 It seems that you need to don your hard hat if you mention BAME/black on certain threads. FWIW, I was defending something that had happened in the newspaper.

DrSbaitso · 14/12/2021 10:24

But saying a biological man cannot be a woman is simply stating a fact, yet these are the kind of posts being deleted.

Are they? I've seen plenty of posts stating that, pretty sure I've said it myself and no bans or deletions for it that I know of. MN seems to be one of the few places you can say that you can't change sex.

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