Anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe quits Twitter amid relentless online abuse

 

 

Monroe is no stranger to social media pile-ons, having faced accusations of inventing experiences of living in poverty as well as anti-LGBTQ+ hatred for years.

In 2015, a man was arrested for sending them abusive and homophobic tweets, in 2017 Katie Hopkins was forced to pay Monroe £107,000 in legal fees and £24,000 in libel damages after she falsely claimed on Twitter that Monroe had defaced a war memorial, and in 2018 they left Twitter “for the good of their mental health” after facing abuse for coming out as non-binary.

But on Monday (26 September), Monroe was forced to step back from the platform again, after the relentless hate got too much.

Their final tweet read: “I’m done. Show yourselves out when you’ve finished.”

Monroe’s fans were furious that they had been bullied off the platform once again, especially considering their tireless campaigning during the coronavirus pandemic and cost of living crisis.

Last year, they helped to force a government U-turn on free school meal provision during lockdown, at times working through the night to help worried parents and keeping consistent pressure on the government.

More recently, they have worked relentlessly to advocate for those impacted by the escalating cost of living crisis.

Speaking on LBC last month, Monroe told viewers that they hear “almost hourly” from people who are “terrified that they aren’t going to live through the winter”, and added: “This cost of living crisis isn’t new, it’s not something that’s just suddenly smacked us round the face out of the blue… it’s the result of 12 years of austerity cuts by three consecutive Conservative governments.”

Shocked that Jack Monroe @BootstrapCook has been trolled so badly that’s she’s had to delete her account. Death threats, slander and torn to bits by some vile people on here. All because she wants to help people beat this awful cost of living crisis. Shame on them

— BonnieC 🐝🇺🇦🌻 (@BonMuss) September 27, 2022

This is a loss to Twitter but I bet it makes Jack Monroe happier. pic.twitter.com/Agag7yrcXw

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) September 26, 2022

Some people are utter shits.
That much was proved today when @BootstrapCook deleted her account.

If you were privy to spiking her mental health, guilty of piling on her & hiding behind your childish & pathetic avatars then you are an utter shit.

Dan.

— Dan White ♿️ 🌹🛸 (@Danwhite1972) September 26, 2022

Jack Monroe leaving Twitter highlights all of the reasons why social media is dead as a public forum. The trolls, people trolling the trolls, the inability of too many people to understand irony, humour, logic, tolerance or nuance – and people willing to fight over potatoes 🤯

— James Kennedy ✊ (@JamesKennedyUK) September 26, 2022

I hope Jack Monroe is ok. Don’t blame them for deleting their account on here, in the face of relentless, hideous abuse. They have a young son and are a single parent, so no option to curl up in self-care but only to stay strong for their boy. I hope they have people to call on

— Hannah Spedding 💙💛🇺🇦 (@LondonSandIII) September 26, 2022

Children’s author Dan White wrote on Twitter: “Some people are utter s**ts. That much was proved today when Jack Monroe deleted her account.

“If you were privy to spiking her mental health, guilty of piling on her and hiding behind your childish and pathetic avatars then you are an utter s**t.”

“It’s absolutely awful that Jack Monroe has been hounded off Twitter,” author Russell Jones added.

“Nobody is perfect and I’m sure she’s made mistakes – god knows I have! – but she spends her life helping the poor. The vilification and hate… I simply don’t understand it. It’s entirely alien to me. Awful.”

TV presenter Jeremy Vine tweeted: “This is a loss to Twitter but I bet it makes Jack Monroe happier.”