Sick of social media kangaroo court

[Minerva38]

Not here to discuss specifics of BBC presenters case or get on my high horse about the morality of it. Bottom line is no crime is deemed to have been committed and so far allegations have come vía the gutter rag that is The Sun and endless speculation on social media.

Before the police had even looked into things, the Sun and social media were already rife with speculation and it seems this is now the modern Court where we judge and condemn anyone famous who might have had something happen in their private lives. It's a sick feeding frenzy and everyone has to have an opinion.

Now the family are forced to identify the man and news and social channels are feasting on this endlessly.

Caroline Flacks death clearly hasn't taught us anything and I won't be surprised if this or other cases go that way too.

Why does everyone bring Caroline Flack out everytime, like she's some sort of angel.

This is about a seedy man.

Boris Johnson and the government being in contempt of a high court order.

Home Office taking actions to stop traumatised children feeling just a little bit less terrified.

At least 8 Tory MPs suspended and/or under investigation for harassment or sex offences.

UK reneging on its climate change commitments.

Government restricting citizens’ rights and looking to pull out of our human right commitments.

But yes, let’s keep people busy arguing over how much we should know about the life of a sleazy bloke. Suits Murdoch and the government perfectly. Not saying it’s not news, but the top story for the best part of a week really?

Yes I agree with all of this (although tbh, my sympathy is moderated for the ever whining Vine).

Since the publication other people have come forward including members of BBC staff to complain about his behaviour. Some may be jumping on a bandwagon but junior members of staff put their jobs on the line when they complain about star talent.

What we have even without the Sun spin is a 61 year old male celeb on a tax payer funded £450k salary, the voice of a great public institution and whilst in position he is pursuing young men for sexual gradification. The power disparity is far too great for it to be any meeting of equals.

The young men might be the right side of "legal" but how many posters here would be happy with their own late teen/early 20s DC being pursued in this way?

I've known a lot of men and women with mental health issues and severe depression, I've yet to meet one who behaved in this way as a result (and they lacked celeb resources to private treatment).

The BBC are still investigating his behaviour - an investigation which is now going to be very difficult in the face of the PR campaign running heavily on the sympathy card. I can have sympathy for someone with mental illness and still have more for their victims.

What we learnt from Caroline Flack was that women are capable of DV too. I have no idea why people are desperate to present her as some sort of saint. If you live your life in the media then don't be hitting people with lamps or buying sexual pictures of young people and be expecting to get away with it and no one to hear about it. The women excusing these things are the ones spouting bekind as a way to shut others up.

I thought the pictures were supposed to be of a male not a female - didn't the Sun start by saying 'he' and then change it to gender neutral later?

Sex sells, always has, always will.

Sad but true.

In the U.K. there is no law forbidding the exchange of images between adults as far as I'm aware, no law against infidelity - this is a personal tragedy for his family nothing more. Time to let it rest

Unfortunately this looks like another consequence of homophobia in the past, where men felt they had to suppress feelings and marry - he's far from alone, yes we know about Philip Schofield but for every "celebrity" there's hundreds of private tragedies in normal society where women (and it's normally women) in what they thought was happy marriages find out their middle aged husband has a secret life with men. I know one personally.

Let's hope the younger generations can be true to themselves from the start.

the ever whining Vine).

Love this! (Don't have a huge amount of exposure to Vine, as am in Ireland, bar knowing who he is etc)

I’m not clear if you are inviting sympathy for the men who behave in this way but to the extent you are, I think my store is empty - or I should say, reserved for the women who waste their lives on this dishonesty.

In the U.K. there is no law forbidding the exchange of images between adults as far as I'm aware, no law against infidelity - this is a personal tragedy for his family nothing more

Legal, yes.

Morally & ethically right, it would appear not.

It is more than a personal tragedy (and I'd dispute the use of the word 'tragedy' given how deliberate his actions were). He's a public figure of trust - he represents a venerable institution & can no longer to do with any authority.

With sounding overly moralistic, he's also a role model, and has failed in that regard.

@LakeTiticaca

The law says it's not illegal. Young people aren't passive in this, they are choosing to sell said pictures. Seedy doesn't mean illegal and the Sun implied illegal to set off the feeding frenzy. He won't be back on our screens, but they'll be another for sure because exploitation goes both ways

I’m sick of people trotting out Caroline Flack at times like this.

A 60 year old bloke preying on very young adults is sick. These men usually keep it just legal. It doesn’t stop them being predatory, unethical and immoral.

So it keeps being repeated we have only heard one side

yet more colleagues are coming forward about inappropriate behaviour- now why did they feel they couldn’t report this before

when do men who have acted inappropriately (crime committed or not) put their hands up and say well yes I was sexually inappropriate and abused my position of authority

how many have got to come forward until they are believed we don’t need to see the evidence but we know that this is a pattern of behaviour many men follow and get away with for far too long

People bring up Caroline Flack because it was somebody else who hadn't actually - yet- been convicted of a crime who was found guilty by the media and ended up dead.

Yes who cares if tax payer funded public figures abuse their status and power to pursue very young men and women? Unless they are politicians.

It is possible to object to more than one bad thing at a time. There has been no shortage of coverage of those items you list in my news feeds - perhaps you follow the wrong accounts/news journals.

Does only the law set someone’s moral compass

I never hit on young adults, I do not pester young (or any) colleagues with flirty text message or messages of a sexual nature - I don’t want to and when it has been done to me I have found this extremely uncomfortable

People bring up Caroline Flack because it was somebody else who hadn't actually - yet- been convicted of a crime who was found guilty by the media and ended up dead.

Its to manipulate people into shutting up.

Both Edwards and Schofield were born in the 60s not the 30s. They grew up on the wave of gay rights, equal age of consent etc. Homophobia was far from done and dusted with but it was not the world of a generation earlier, especially in the media.

What about the women whose lives they steal for decades and who in late middle age or older find out that their marriage has been a lie?

Agree. I feel sorry for him.

this is a personal tragedy for his family nothing more

If the others involved were 18 ish, it’s disgusting and not just about his family.

Unfortunately this looks like another consequence of homophobia in the past, where men felt they had to suppress feelings and marry

Does that make gay men interested in much, much younger men, who are only just entering adulthood, who are young enough to be their grandchildren? 🤔 Does it also make them be inappropriate with work colleagues? Or is that the depression? 💩

But Caroline Flack technically did do something "shitty" didn't she.

She assaulted her partner causing physical harm. The CPS were continuing with the case.

Caroline Flack was a suspected DA perpetrator.

I mean in regards to Huw, the CPS at present and multiple police forces have stated "no offence". So in a weird and twisted way Huw Edwards is "one better" he's not being prosecuted.

But if you take the legality out of it, Huw Edwards actions were still morally wrong and abhorrent. But where is the line in when a kangaroo court can be called upon?

Seems if you are a celebrity, do anything wrong and the kangaroo court will come for you.

My opinion, it's all a mess, more will come out of the woodwork and wash now. But I'm not one to participate in mob justice. It's all best left to the BBC and The Edwards family to deal with.

I think one of the worse things about the media's actions is that apparently the Sun received communication from the young person at the centre of it all, the apparent victim, who said that there was nothing in it (or wtte) and not to publish a story and they went ahead anyway

How is that either responsible journalism or in any way centred around the young person?

It's all best left to the BBC

Yeah, they’re great at dealing with predatory men. They’ll definitely sort it. 🙃

As is everyone else, but that is absolutely not the situation here.

Philip schofield didn't commit a crime either, still inappropriate

🤣

Does that make gay men interested in much, much younger men, who are only just entering adulthood, who are young enough to be their grandchildren? 🤔 Does it also make them be inappropriate with work colleagues? Or is that the depression? 💩

This