The idea that anything useful can be gained from the comment sections on news websites and Facebook pages was kicked out the window a long time ago. Vain hopes that input from the general public could provide some useful new information, or an indispensable perspective on a news story, have been proven to be foolishness.
Instead, they're full of weird political perspectives and strange spam and nasty, vindictive and vitriolic rants. At least half of them will be people insulting the media company who published the story, and the other half will be insulting everybody else. Anybody who has the time to get worked up about a news story, no matter how innocuous it is, and is so willing to spew out their opinion, is someone who is not worth hearing from.
And yet, they're still there, still full of homophobic, sexist and outright misogynistic bullshit, stinking up the joint for everybody. Even though newsrooms can also be held responsible for all this shit, and have to answer to places like the Press Council when their comments are hijacked with people with an odious agenda.
There is nothing to be gained from comments, and everything to be lost. The numbing stress of moderating the comments has driven some people out of journalism altogether, and they're an increasing barrier to people in the greater public arena who aren't used to dealing with this shit.
Take the case of Lower Hutt weaver Veranoa Hetet, who had a story published by Stuff about the gorgeous Māori cloak worn by our Prime Minister in London, but last week took to Twitter to declare she would 'never ever' talk to a reporter again. Not because of anything the journalist did, but because she was shaken and appalled by the comments on the Facebook post pointing to her story:
I am reading the comments that follow the article on https://t.co/jGLWVIQmhS facebook page and crying. Some people are so nasty and have taken the article the wrong way. I'm never talking to another reporter ever. Never ever again 😢— Veranoa Hetet (@whaeavee) April 24, 2018
And this was on a nice fucking story, about a lovely piece of ceremonial clothing worn on a state occasion, and it was still corrupted and tarnished by the comments. Ms Hetat obviously went into the story with the best of intentions, and had her entire faith in human decency pissed on by muntheads who think they are great keyboard warriors. Nothing was gained, nothing of value was added, it was all just more histrionic and unnecessary bullshit that was hijacking the narrative.
Journalists have a hard enough time convincing people to tell their story without this new barrier. Even people who only have pleasant interactions with reporters might think twice about talking to them when they can be personally attacked. Reporters have to build up a thick skin to this kind of crap, or they're never going to get anywhere in the business, but they can cut to the bone of regular civilians, and who can blame them for shying away?
Comments need to die, and to be turned off altogether. News is not a dialogue, especially when the other side is so moronic and full of hate. Surely we learned this by now. How many more stories like Ms Hetat's do we have to put up with, before media companies take the fucking hint?
The hardcore commentary class might choke on their cries of free speech, but they're free to piss off and create their own forum, and stew in the fetid and rotting filth of their outdated and harmful opinions. Nobody is stopping them. We just need to stop encouraging the fuckers.
- Margaret Tempest
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