Graham Wroe

Green activist in Sheffield. Blogger and writer for the Sheffield Telegraph and Star. Moving to @tellthetruthsheff.bsky.social

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

Goodbye 2024. https://t.co/yojizvXiNR

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

Just a reminder, if you are missing my posts please follow me here. https://t.co/tzoXp9dg6B

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

I am following @GeorgeMonbiot's lead and leaving X. Please subscribe to my blog here https://t.co/thsRo5kQi9 and follow me @tellthetruthsheff.bsky.social

[George Monbiot @GeorgeMonbiot]

This is my farewell post. I am not deleting this account, as I don’t want to lose the archive, and I don’t want my name taken by imposters. But, for as long as Musk owns the platform, I’ll no longer use it. I’m now posting at https://t.co/0iVBaQEKGy.

Since Elon Musk bought this site, he has transformed it from one on which millions could converse as equals into his personal megaphone. Now the world’s richest man uses it to wage his class war, transferring blame for the ills of capitalism onto vulnerable minorities, boosting the grimmest and most antisocial accounts while suppressing the humane voices with whom he disagrees.

He has used X not only to subvert the election for the US presidency, but to create a role for himself in US politics which, though he has never stood for election and would not be eligible, grants him immense power over the citizens of that nation. This site has been used as a tool to help replace democracy with oligarchy.

Musk claimed, on purchasing the platform, to be a “free speech absolutist”. He is in fact a prolific censor, suspending dissenting accounts and using lawsuits to shut down free speech, while employing an algorithm to increase the reach of his own posts 1,000-fold. He cannot abide a level playing field.

He has permitted or encouraged the growth of a ghost army of bots and trolls to degrade the experience of all who disagree with him. Their task is not just to abuse opponents but, perhaps more importantly, to drown intelligent conversation with a tsunami of stupidity. They respond to data with denial, expertise with execration, insight with insult, humour with hatred and thinking with thuggery. They suck the meaning out of everything. The stupidity trends in one direction: in the service of economic power. It is a weapon used to suppress the possibility of a better world.

Many years ago, when I lived in Brazil, I learnt that the military dictatorship had actively sought to suppress educational levels in schools, as it saw a well-informed population as a political threat. A confused, distracted and ignorant population is easy to manipulate. Now this counter-educational model is being rolled out worldwide, and Elon Musk is its primary sponsor.

I stayed here long after I first considered leaving, as I believed it was wrong to cede the ground to an oligarch and his minions. But I came to see that those of us who do not subscribe to Musk’s grim project are being used as groundbait: stimulating the feeding frenzy of 15-minute, 24-hour hate that now powers this platform. We can no longer build anything of value here. Brute force – the unmediated power of money – has beaten humanity, intelligence, humour and democracy.

On Bluesky I can be the person I want to be, a better person than I am on X, where it is almost impossible not to get dragged into the mud. I feel I can be understood because I am not confronting a deliberate effort to misunderstand me. So I can speak more quietly.

There is no guarantee that Bluesky will not also one day be monetised by its owners or captured by self-serving billionaires. But for now it remains a place in which interesting and enjoyable conversations can be had, kindness can be shown to strangers and a better world can be imagined. I hope to see you there.

[George Monbiot @GeorgeMonbiot]

Tiktok has been banned in the US on the grounds that China could use it "to manipulate and control Americans by spreading propaganda and misinformation." In other words, China *might do* exactly what Elon Musk *has done* with X.
It's a blatant double standard.

[Richard Burgon MP @RichardBurgon]

I am deeply alarmed by the approach of the police yesterday to those peacefully protesting for Palestine, including the treatment of John McDonnell MP and Jeremy Corbyn MP, two elected MPs with decades of participating in peaceful protest.

There is now clear evidence coming to light that shows the reality of what took place and that runs contrary to what has been alleged.

People should not be targeted for peacefully protesting against genocide.

The anti-protest laws introduced by the Tories were an affront to our democratic freedoms and their implementation is clearly undermining long-held civil rights and the freedom of expression. They should be revoked.

[Palestine Solidarity Campaign @PSCupdates]

The police has mislead the public about events in Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, claiming the Palestine coalition attempted to push through police lines. Our footage shows the truth. WATCH ⬇️(1/6)

[Owen Jones @owenjonesjourno]

This is based on a lie.

There were no synagogues on the proposed route of the march.

British Jews were marching against Israel’s genocide, including the relatives of Holocaust survivors.

This is about the accomplices of genocide hounding those who stood against it.

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

@LordWalney I don’t know, I’d rather have elected MP’s peacefully protesting for what they believe in than an unelected ‘Lord’ who duplicitously seeks to influence the law & get ordinary people jailed on behalf of his paying clients.

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

This is not an accurate description of events at all.

I was part of a delegation of speakers, who wished to peacefully carry and lay flowers in memory of children in Gaza who had been killed.

This was facilitated by the police. We did not force our way through.

When we reached Trafalgar Square, we informed police that we would go no further, lay down flowers and disperse.

At that point, the Chief Steward, Chris Nineham was arrested. We then turned back and dispersed.

I urge the police to release all bodycam footage and retract its misleading account of events.

[Stop the War Coalition @STWuk]

Chris Nineham is free!

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

@dom155rich1 @ScientistsX @shftelegraph But Climate Scientists are being ignored by politicians and the media. All scientists have a responsibility to speak up for them. Everyone's future depends on it.

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

Chris Nineham has organised anti-war demonstrations for over 25 years.

Today, he was arrested whilst arranging for flowers to be laid in memory of children who had been killed in Gaza.

His arrest is an affront to the democratic rights of us all — he must be released now.

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

"The blood may no longer stain the streets, but it will stain our memories". Sheffield rallies for Gaza as ceasefire agreed. Police arrest demonstrators in London for defying ban on marching. https://t.co/SheLEN5MNL

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

@ScientistsX @shftelegraph My pleasure! Thank you for all you do. See the full article at https://t.co/rXW8MyqkaM

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

@DH45466977 @JustStop_Oil And what is your plan for when crops fail all over the world due to global heating? We have alternative ways to produce power but we only have one habitable planet.

[Jason Hickel @jasonhickel]

Israel has massacred 70 people in Gaza last night and today, after announcing the ceasefire deal (which they are already trying to sabotage). Just unbelievable levels of depravity. It's impossible to fathom.

[Lauren McKenzie @TheMcKenziest]

Imagine still believing that America is the land of the free when they’re doing this to journalists in press conferences

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

No economic case for reopening #DoncasterAirport. https://t.co/0L4LdHJ7Sc @olivercoppard @SheffieldGreens @SheffieldFoE @shefgreenpeace @SheffLabour @ShefEnvironment @XRShef

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

https://t.co/YVzMHJluIz

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

It's no longer acceptable for scientists to sit on the fence.
@ProfBillMcGuire @RogerHallamCS21 @Abiperrin @ClimateHuman @XRShef @ScientistsX @BBCScienceNews @newscientist

[Graham Wroe @GrahamWroe]

URGENT! Email your MP today to demand they sign EDM 633 calling on the Metropolitan Police to drop the repressive restrictions imposed on the National Demonstration for Palestine this Saturday 18 January. #WeWillMarch https://t.co/4Q4LDDE2gq