Do you think anyone from the government monitors mumsnet?

[nellodee]

This is in the Guardian today:

"A third cabinet source said: “There’s no exit plan at the moment because they don’t want to do anything without the boss’s say so. “Not a huge amount is going on in these cabinet meetings.”

The source added: “They are waiting for the public to change their minds.

“We didn’t want to go down this route in the first place – public and media pressure pushed the lockdown, we went with the science.

“The lockdown will only start coming loose when the public wants it to – not ministers.”

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Given Johnson has history of seeing "which way the crowd is running, then dashing in front", do you think anyone has the job of monitoring these forums to see what public opinion is on easing the lockdown?
And more tin foil hatty - do you think anyone on here is a shill, paid to try to nudge that opinion?

Not really monitor - but there are plenty of people who work in government who have a quick flick through. You don't have to spend long looking to get a general idea of what the mood is on here.

But no, there isn't a role at No 10 for the Mumsnet Media Monitor.

They don’t need to. Hysterical mumsnetters were signing petitions demanding school closures. If you want an exit strategy just start a petition.

@PowerslidePanda what to do think will happen if the NHS can’t cope? Why do you think that the highest death toll with the second largest population is surprising (given that Germany, the country with the highest population, has a better healthcare system which was far better equipped for this kind of epidemic)?

Yep, I reckon BJ is on mumsnet right now - HI BORIS!!!!

That sounds really paranoid...

I would imagine they monitor a lot of different forums, and Mumsnet is probably one.

Of course SM is being monitored to get a feel of public opinion. Who is doing it, I wouldn't like to say.

Me

/scribbles in notebook.

It’ll be the grim reaper Dominic Cummings - who apparently still has his job even after his pensioners being collateral damage comments.

Absolutely

Yes. It’s a great way to sense public opinion. Unfortunately though, mumsnet seems to be full of people who think the government can pay for everyone to stay at home for an indefinite period without them personally having to pay higher taxes.

There are well established companies that do this, for government and for other brands. It's not someone sitting here reading, it's all done via sentiment tracking technology. It's been around for years. Hootsuite, rapidminer, socialmentjon, there are dozens of companies that do it.

If they do wouldn't mind applying for that job

Ive thought that since stuff got deleted from the worriedvthreads. Yes they were countering 'misinformation '
Change also started with #getborisout.
Also i think teachers were reporting all the staff and pupils not in.
They were definitely misleading the general public about severity.
I think still a bit misleading about risk to children.
Misled about when people should start to shield.
Lied aboyt the case numbers so that people felt safe to go out. Pretended to be testing but never more than the italy returners and who is to say all of them got tested either.
Blatantly said they would keep schools open with cases.
There e is really no way they didnt know the deaths would be more like 500k.
Lied about needing masks.
Said the food supply was ok.

Im actually really surprised as i knew mps were selfish but they have exceeded that and turned into a malevolent bunch. (Now sat at home for the duration?...)

I think in future they need to understand it is an on call job. And no excuse for not impossibl ementing something quickly before all the people returned from italy.
I really think they need calling out about their lies.

what to do think will happen if the NHS can’t cope?

Eh? Obviously things would be even worse in that situation - I don't think anything in my post suggested otherwise? My point was that the government has got many people thinking that a high number of deaths is negligible. We can just write those off - as long as the NHS is ok.

Why do you think that the highest death toll with the second largest population is surprising

Fair point - let's consider deaths per capita instead then. We don't come out any better by that metric either.

Any attempt to break the law in this way would soon be noticed and whistle blown, which would be disastrous for any government. Why would government take such a huge risk?

To win elections.if you’ve heard of Cambridge Analytica you might have noticed that there are agencies that offer these election influencing services, which include offering sock puppet accounts on Facebook, Twitter and forums.
I have further details if you want which show exactly which agencies and their services.

IMO sock puppet accounts are already contributing to most of the Coronavirus threads (Poor government had not a single chance to do any better than this, at least it isn't Corbyn, ...)

Not only monitoring, but posting too.

Not only that there were multiple articles online when Boris announced that he was setting up an internet Army specifically based on the Israeli model. ( his words)

The Brexit threads are likely also full of these special accounts

Of course they do... But only for my posts, which they await with baited breath, eager for the wisdom that I impart.

Yes they will likely be opinion mining social media. I doubt there's much spare resource for paying people to create posts though.

any platforms that give them a window into public opinion will be in some way monitored Surely?

And any opportunity to influence public opinion to the government's advantage will also surely be exploited?

Agree they will definitely monitor public opinion. Mumsnet? I don't think so. All the government need to do is look at the comments on their Facebook announcement pages to get a feel for the public opinion or look at comments on specific news stories. Much easier than trawling mums net.