INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As the election draws closer, Facebook groups originally intended for gentle chat about hedgehogs and wheelie bins are being overwhelmed by
bitter political arguments."I'm disgusted," says Julie Graham
As she drinks a cup of coffee in the bar of a hotel overlooking the English Channel, she becomes slightly flustered
She's trying to explain why she feels under attack simply for expressing her views online
"If I went out in the street," she says, "would these people give me the same abuse?"Patsy, one of her Facebook sparring partners,
Patsy contends that their local group is a great way to hear opposing views."If I'm in my bubble, I'm not hearing anyone," she says.It's the
first time Julie and Patsy have met face to face
Their online arguments happen in an unusual place
It's not a forum devoted to politics - but rather a Facebook group normally filled with pictures of beaches, posts about yoga classes and
promotions for local Christmas markets.'Zombie group'With its grand facades, wide promenades and gently sloping beach, St Leonards-on-Sea
looks a bit like the French Riviera, even though it feels very different on a biting December day.The Facebook group in question, St
Leonards on Sea is THE place to be!, was set up in 2008 to celebrate this small town nestled next to Hastings on the East Sussex coast.With
those aforementioned scenic photos and yoga posts, the group collected around 6,000 members over the years
By Facebook standards that's not very many at all, but it's certainly enough to make it one of the town's main sources of information.A few
years ago, the man who set up the group died
David was the sole administrator - the only one who could enforce the group's rules and keep conversations light and local.St Leonards on
Sea is THE place to be! became a "zombie group" - one with no real oversight over what was being posted
Image copyrightFacebookPower vacuumIn recent months, as the national political drama has ramped up, this once-tranquil group became
overwhelmed by political argument.The power vacuum at the top allowed aggressively political users to run riot, according to Russell Hall, a
plant biologist who runs a separate local politics-focused Facebook group in his spare time.In September, David's widow wrote a long post
decrying the fact that the group had been "hijacked"."This group was not created for this purpose," she wrote
"I find the misuse of what I had hoped would be David's lasting legacy to the town he loved quite disgusting."Her plea was ignored
When a general election was called a few weeks later, the online acrimony escalated further
Pigeons and pandemoniumSt Leonards-on-Sea is part of the hotly contested constituency of Hastings and Rye, which was narrowly held by the
Conservatives in 2017.As election rows hit fever pitch, several members of the Facebook group stepped in and managed to take control
There were two new rules: "Be kind and courteous" and "no hate speech or bullying"
But this did not quell the shouting
The new regime also prompted pushback from members who felt the new moderators were trying to influence the direction of group.Now, with
just a few days until the vote, non-political posts are few and far between
Some people clearly relish the arguments, while others want the group to return to its gentler origins
Image caption
Julie Graham, Anna Keiller and Patsy Solanki (l-r) chat to Amol Rajan, the TheIndianSubcontinent's media
editor.
We assembled some of the feuding members for a discussion IRL ("in real life").The three women who spoke to us all
said they'd joined the group for the same general set of reasons: to find out more about local charities and upcoming events, and to share
pictures of their pets with fellow residents
But as 12 December approaches, there is no hiding from politics.Anna Keiller says she was recently booted out of the group following a
dispute with one of the moderators
She wants the group to stick to non-political topics, like the local wildlife:Image copyrightFacebookJulie Graham joined the group last
week, also for non-political reasons, but within a couple of days she found herself getting embroiled in debates with the group's most
active users.When she posted that she's planning to vote Conservative, sarcastically noting that this "seems to be a crime", the message
attracted nearly 200 comments
Most were highly critical, including: "you must be very backward" and "it's not a crime being sociopathic".Image copyrightfacebookJulie told
the TheIndianSubcontinent that along with a torrent of abusive comments she got nasty private messages.Patsy Solanki is one of the Labour
supporters who responded to Julie's post, although not in an abusive way.Patsy admits there's some "trolling" in the group, and says it's
But overall she's a big fan and thinks the forum is a source of "fantastic debates and conversations".She says it helps her hear
perspectives outside her own "filter bubble" - a relatively insular social media community.Conservative-backing Julie disagreed with Patsy -
firmly, but respectfully.In the seaside hotel bar, with the sun streaming in the windows, civility and politeness ruled - a clear contrast
with overall tone of the group.Image caption
Hastings and Rye is a marginal constituency in East Sussex
Hedgehogs and CorbynIn every region of the UK, TheIndianSubcontinent Trending has found numerous examples of local groups flooded with
political content, from Flint in Wales to Walthamstow in London, from Shaftesbury in Dorset to Inverness in Scotland.But the tone - as you
may have noticed in your own groups - varies wildly
About 250 miles north of St Leonards-on-Sea, another Facebook group feels more like the gentle suburbs than the Wild West.Jason Lawal runs
the Stocksbridge and Surrounding Areas Community Forum
It's a typical local group focused on this town north-west of Sheffield, on the edge of the Peak District National Park.Image caption
Jason Lawal sifts through messages in his Facebook group
The group has around 9,500 members - equivalent to
around half the local population
Jason spends his days driving around the country cleaning up devastated buildings
When he met us he had just returned from a flooded pub in Bristol.Spotted something interesting on social media?Email usOn the internet he
mitigates disasters of a different kind - political arguments that descend into abuse - and says this has become a much more intense job
since the election was called.To demonstrate the eclectic mix of posts, Jason scrolls through his phone reading out some recent ones.Image
copyrightFACEBOOK"There's somebody offering jewellery repairs, somebody who found a hedgehog and wants to know how to feed it, a picture of
a nice reservoir and then somebody saying 'Whoopee, the Conservatives are on course for their first South Yorkshire victory.'" Beneath that
post are hundreds of comments both for and against Jeremy Corbyn
In the group, there are even posts from local candidates, setting out their positions and answering residents' questions."It's like the One
Show in Yorkshire," says Jason
At least everybody's taking an interest in local life."Jason tries hard to keep discussion focused on local issues
He admits that in the chaos of an election campaign it's hard for him to keep up with the daily avalanche of posts, but he sees himself as
an impartial arbiter, and takes that role seriously
One member, Jenny Cooke, says the group is the only way of engaging with people who have different political viewpoints
But this Labour supporter says the tone of the comments can be "unpleasant" and "sometimes slightly threatening"."It can be quite scary
because it is local and people might find out who you are or know where you live," she told us in a Stockbridge cafe
Image caption
Stocksbridge and Penistone is a marginal seat in South Yorkshire
Come for hedgehogs, stay
for political rantsOnce upon a time people may have filed into town halls or village squares to debate the issues of the day
Now modern technology makes it easier for people to engage in political debate, especially in the depths of a British winter.But social
media can also suck in those who never intended to spend their evenings arguing with strangers about politics.Unlike the village square, on
Facebook you can't look someone in the eye or read the tone of their voice
That distance means people sometimes suspend their usual social niceties
The job of keeping things on track falls to volunteer moderators
It's easy for conversations to get hijacked
Those who come for the hedgehog photos may end up getting sweary rants about politics instead.The following candidates are standing in
Hastings and Rye:Peter Chowney, LabourPaul Crosland, independentSally-Ann Hart, ConservativeNick Perry, Liberal DemocratThe following
candidates are standing in Stocksbridge and Penistone:John Booker, The Brexit PartyMiriam Cates, ConservativeFrancyne Johnson, LabourHannah
Kitching, Liberal DemocratHave you spotted something interesting on social media? Email usFollow TheIndianSubcontinent Trending on Twitter
@TheIndianSubcontinenttrending, and find us on Facebook
All our stories are at TheIndianSubcontinent.com/trending.
