Politics For All, Or Just For Moar?

Faye Minton

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Last week, Politics For All and its affiliated accounts were suspended from Twitter. No exact reasons for this were given, but a Twitter spokesperson claimed that it was for violations of “manipulation and spam” policies.

The back story: Politics For All

Politics For All was run by student Nick Moar. The account had earned over 450,000 followers, including public figures, celebrities and politicians. Moar posted regular breaking news updates, filled with his trademark klaxon emojis. On busy news days, it was not uncommon for my feed to be filled with Politics For All (even before I followed them) because they gained traction so quickly.

For this, I understand why accusations of spam would be circling – but I do not think this is the central issue. People subscribe to actual news outlets like Sky or BBC News all the time, and if short, simplified tweets multiple times an hour are peoples’ preferred news method, then that is okay.

The central issue

I think the manipulation is bigger and more dangerous, and it is something we need to check consistently when we educate ourselves through social media.

For a long time, Politics For All was praised for encouraging young people to take an interest in the news and politics. Especially throughout the pandemic, it was a lot of social media users’ main news source. This has its own problems: only receiving information from one source puts you at risk of consuming bias, rather than fair and honest reporting. You have no way to check your facts, and if you trust the one source you have chosen, you do not feel the need to go out of your way to do so.

“When such a large following is entrusted into amateur hands, it’s almost impossible to guarantee they will know how to cope.”

I personally think Twitter made the right call. The hold that Politics For All had over the Internet was powerful, and it just kept growing. For a student without journalistic training, taking on the responsibility of educating such a huge group is massive.

Even people who have studied for years work as part of larger teams with other professionals, who can call them out when they make mistakes and are experienced enough to spot such mistakes in the first place. The news is of course accused of bias all the time, anyway – but when such a large following is entrusted into amateur hands, it is almost impossible to guarantee they will know how to cope.

Defending Moar

Politics For All fans have defended Moar. They have noted that for most stories, a source was provided in the replies, so that followers could trust the information and fact check if necessary. But these sources were mostly other newspapers. Moar was essentially using others’ work to gain a following. Whether this was with malicious intent or not, it stands that he was profiting from trained journalists’ efforts.

“It becomes harder to claim that it is just a kid’s hobby.”

When Moar’s following grew significantly, brands began reaching out for paid advertising deals. This created even more concerns than those already brewing. Advertisers might end up getting bargaining power to control the content, or to sway the account in one direction or the other. If too much money was offered, the intention and motivation behind Politics For All might change altogether.

Payments change the perception entirely – it becomes harder to claim that it is just a kid’s hobby, something that can be run for fun from their bedroom. And still the profits grew as he established sister accounts, like Football For All and News For All. It showed that politics was not even just a specialty area he wanted to contribute to. Moar and his affiliates just wanted to create something to generate attention.

Pre-existing political sympathies

Moar saw this as a potential career. That is not really up for debate. Late last year, it was revealed that he also ran the social media for The Spectator, a right-leaning British paper. How can somebody not have loyalties to a publication that they work for? How can someone work for a publication that their beliefs do not align with? If a breaking news story did not align with The Spectator’s own views or stories, would Moar be restricted in what he posted on Politics For All? If Moar had his own conservative views, it is hard to imagine that these would not seep through into the Politics For All sphere.

I think this is what Twitter means when it claims Politics For All broke “manipulation” rules. It was never clear to the average user that the account was run by someone with pre-existing affiliations. For those untrained in politics, analysis of the account’s content would not be instinctual. While information about Moar was available on other sites such as his own LinkedIn, most would not know it was worth searching for.

Lessons to be learned

As a Politics student myself, I am not saying accounts like these are never acceptable. Getting people passionate about politics is a skill, and Moar is definitely intelligent. He knows his stuff, especially considering that he was only an 18-year-old sixth-former when the page was set up. Social media can give you great CV experience, so a project like this, if done right, can be amazing for your future career, in terms of networking and practical experience.

“Part of the beauty of politics is the art of debate and communication.”

I also do not mean to claim that, if you have a political leaning, you cannot show your opinion. There is no way that could ever happen – if you know politics and follow it as intently as Moar clearly does, it is unrealistic to think he would be neutral. We are all human and part of the beauty of politics is the art of debate and communication.

So, as we move to the future, it has to be all about transparency. Twitter got it right; Moar blurred the lines between a hobby and a business venture, and did so on a scale that we still are not used to seeing, because social media is relatively new. Over the decades and centuries, we have learned of the need for newspaper and mass media watchdogs, but social media is new territory.

It was not clear to new followers whether Politics For All was a company, or just an individual doing it for fun.

This is why, as they grow, social media platforms need to review accounts as they have done here. They need to make sure misinformation is not spreading, and take action where it is.

“Make sure that if you have a leaning, you’re open about it.”

If you want to post what you think about something, sure. That is exciting and can also be informative. But if you are influential at all, make it clear that they are your own views. If your aim is to, like Moar, create a ‘service’, like a news channel tweeting live headlines throughout the day, that’s cool. But be careful: make sure that if you have a leaning, you are open about it. If you are transparent about your goals and aims, especially when it is a political issue, you can definitely still gain a following. The ethics of promoting polarisation is another debate entirely.

Social media can be an incredible tool to get ahead, gain an audience, connect, network, gain CV experience, and so much more, when it is used correctly. If you are going to go for it, you will have so much more fun being open.

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Featured image courtesy of Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.