Local journalist slams ‘vicious’ trolls

AN Omagh journalist temporarily left Twitter last week after being subjected to abuse by “venemous trolls.”

Michael Kelly, editor of the Irish Catholic News, announced on Friday that he has “had enough” of Twitter after receiving vitriolic messages for his thoughts on President Higgins declining an invitation to attend an event celebration 100 years of Northern Ireland.

Mr Kelly suggested that President Higgins is on “the wrong side of history” for not attending the NI Centenary church service event in Armagh.

He then received comments that included he should “join the British army”, that he is British and other messages that are not printable.

Mr Kelly stated, “Many were pure venom, it is hard to switch off from them. It came to a head with the strongly held opinions on partition. I felt battered by the abuse and decided I had enough.”

The following day, however, Mr Kelly reviewed his decision and posted the message to his almost 1,000 followers, “Happy to change my mind and stay on Twitter… even if it can be a terrible place, no point in letting bullies win.”

Speaking to the UH, from his base in Dublin, Mr Kelly suggested that public figures seem to be “fair game” for online abuse.

He explained, “I joined Twitter a number of years ago, like many other people I thought it would be a nice forum for news and with people expressing different opinions but respectfully getting on with each other. I expect disagreement of my opinions and even robust debate but the last 18 months to two years, some of the comments and feedback has been vicious. Particularly when I appear on TV, I get nasty comments about my appearance and my accent and it is nothing compared to the abuse that some women get.”

Having reconsidered his position and remained on Twitter, Mr Kelly said the issue of online trolling needs to be addressed.