Mike Andrew Consulting

PM’s Facebook discussion turns nasty

By mike, Oct 09 in blog with 0 comments

A Facebook QA with Prime Minister Julia Gillard has attracted sexist and hateful comments, with her office having to censor the comments.

Ms Gillard took to the social networking site on Monday to talk about her education policies.

But the discourse turned ugly, with one man calling the prime minister a slut.

Another man asked how her father was. John Gillard died last month.

‘Get my dinner ready’ posted another man, while one asked if her ‘pubes’ were as ‘radiant, shiny and glorious’ as his own.

A number of other Facebook users labelled her the worst prime minister and criticised her voice, with one saying her voice and demeanour were like nails on a blackboard.

Others jumped to Ms Gillard’s defence, one posting that ‘nothing any of these sexest (sic), Hateful, disrespectful, unaustralian idiots can get to you!’

‘You are an inspiration to Australians and the world,’ said another.

And another: ‘Keep up the great work running the nation Julia! You have quite rightly earned the respect you deserve.’

Ms Gillard has an official Facebook fan page, which is maintained by her office.

A spokeswoman for Ms Gillard said the site was moderated to remove offensive comments and, like all Facebook sites, comments could only be removed after they had been posted.

‘A handful of comments after the session were offensive and have been removed,’ the spokeswoman said in a statement.

The question and answer session was the first of its kind by a senior politician in Australia.

While in Tasmania last week, Ms Gillard took part in a live question and answer session for a news website, with no levelling of offensive remarks.

Story source: www.bigpond.com

About the author

Mike Andrew has been working with the Internet and small business for over 12 years. Mike has been a keynote speaker at conventions and seminars and conducted social media training sessions all over the world. Mike has an extensive media background having worked in electronic media for over 30 years. Mike specialises in social media and Internet marketing strategy, SEO techniques and search engine marketing campaigns. His articles appear on numerous blogs around the web as well as national magazines.