Manchester Evening News Wins Praise for Defending Pride

The comments sections of many newspaper websites are hardly the bastion of tolerance and fair argument. Seemingly left unmoderated, user-generated comment is, by and large, a free-for-all for trolls and haters of all shapes and sizes to rant about their views of the world behind the anonymity of an avatar.

While many online editors may be following Rule 1 of online debate – don’t feed the trolls – many others will tolerate ‘unacceptable’ comments because they fuel greater engagement and keep their websites sticky.

If you really want to know how unbalanced huge swaths of the population are, don’t bother reading the stories, just head straight for the comments section.

However, one newspaper has recently won praise for tackling intolerance in the comments section of its website and actively fighting back against trolls, haters and the intolerant.

The Manchester Evening News has jumped to the defence of the city’s Pride event and posted the following comment regarding negative posts regarding the LGBT festival:

‘Quite remarkable how many negative comments we have to remove or hide on stories like this.

‘To those asking when is ‘straight pride day’ or questioning why we still have Pride we’d ask this: did you know that homosexuality is punishable by death in 12 countries? Celebrating Pride in those places can literally get you killed.

‘Did you know there’s been a recent rise in homophobic hate crimes? Did you know that in Britain homophobic attacks rose by 147% in three months from June last year. Did you know nearly half of all trans children in this country have attempted suicide? Or that 80 per cent have self-harmed?

‘Did you know it’s only been 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK? This is why we still have Pride marches. And Manchester’s is the best in the world.’

In writing this comment, the Manchester Evening News are doing so much more than defending a sizable section of the community they serve but they are also taking ownership of their own editorial platform.

It should be remembered: a publisher is responsible for the comments left on their website and if they provide a home to intolerance (whether they believe in it or not) – they must take responsibility for any repercussions generated by such content.

Well done to the Manchester Evening News for not only defending the LGBT community in Manchester and beyond but also for taking pride in its own online editorial platform and the content they carry.