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City briefly makes Twitter account private after flood of hate

Out On The Shelf chair says he hopes local queer community and supporters continue to come together and not let hateful views 'infiltrate here, and change what a great place this is for queer people'

Online hate in response to an upcoming rainbow crosswalk in Guelph reached a level where city staff had to temporarily make the city's Twitter account private just to get things under control.

"I seriously cannot even keep up," Laura Mousseau, the city's manager of strategic communications and community engagement, told GuelphToday Wednesday afternoon.

"Every second, there's a new person."

It all started at 1:50 p.m. Monday, when the city posted a tweet about the rainbow crosswalk being installed at the intersection of Gordon and Wilson Street.

It included a link to the Have Your Say page on the city's website, as the city seeks input on what residents need from them to feel "included, safe and celebrated" in Guelph.

The commenting period is open until May 14, and residents can choose to share their comments online.

The negative online response got to the point where the city turned off comments to the post at 8:56 a.m. Tuesday "to ensure that all those who view it can do so in an environment that is respectful to all."

Mousseau said it was the first time the city had to turn off comments.

But that only added fuel to the fire, as accounts turned to using the quote tweet function, many accusing the city of censorship. Between the two posts, over a thousand quote tweets have been published.

"People often have the perception that social media means they can say whatever they want, where they want, but the social channels themselves give their users control over their own accounts," Mousseau said.

"That includes who we interact with, and how, and we moderate our Twitter account and our Facebook account according to the commenting guidelines, which are posted publicly."

She said one of the biggest pieces is that the city won't tolerate discrimination of any kind.

"We just want to maintain a respectful place," Mousseau said. "The city's vision is for Guelph to be an inclusive, connected, prosperous city where we look after each other in our environment, and our social media guidelines support inclusion and connection. 

"They are public channels, people are free to disagree, but again, we're just not going to tolerate discrimination."

Guelph mayor Cam Guthrie said he trusts city staff is managing social media feeds in accordance with the city's guidelines.

"In seeing some of the comments myself, I would suggest that those wishing to give opinions do so without using hate and/or intimidation against others," Guelph mayor Cam Guthrie told GuelphToday.

"I've heard that promoting kindness and love for others is a pretty great thing, and I'd highly recommend they try it out."

Barry Moore, the chair of Out On The Shelf, feels the city isn't obligated to leave replies open on tweets, especially since they have another venue to provide feedback.

"Certainly, some people might find a Twitter reply more accessible, but also with the nature of social media these days, that isn't often a good way to collect information," he said.

Moore added there's also a question on how many people from the community are contributing to the hate being seen on the Twitter post.

While he doesn't doubt there are people living in Guelph who are opposed to the crosswalk, he said social media is heavily influenced by the global discussions going on, discussions that are anti-queer, and discussions Moore doesn't feel is representative of what is happening in Guelph "and what the majority of people in Guelph believe and feel."

"I've lived in a few different places in Ontario in my life, and Guelph really has one of the best queer communities I've ever been a part of, and also one of the most queer-positive communities that I've had the fortune to live in," Moore said.

Moore hopes the local queer community and supporters can continue to come together, and not let the bigger global discussions and hateful views "infiltrate here, and change what a great place this is for queer people."

As for the crosswalk itself, Moore said it's something the community has asked for, and is excited for it. But he said it's a first step to what he hopes is something more.

"We don't want this to be a superficial symbol," he said. "We want to know beyond this crosswalk, what is the city committing to do for the queer community in Guelph. What are going to be their actionable goals to improve the lives of the queer people in Guelph, and to show that they are here for us because a rainbow crosswalk is a great symbol, but there are concerns that it could end up being no more than that."

No date has been set to launch the crosswalk. Mousseau said how it is launched is one of the questions it is asking residents on its Have Your Say page, and a date will likely be locked down closer to when it happens.

One thing not to get lost in all this is the city has received plenty of positive comments.

"There are so many people that support the project, and that are happy with it," Mousseau said.

"There were a lot of people that liked and appreciated our response about having tweets turned off, and I think those people understand."

She said it's disheartening that replies to the Twitter post had to be turned off, but they're just trying to do their part to help everyone feel safe when they interact with the city's accounts.

Mousseau hopes the city doesn't have to turn comments off again, but added Monday's post wasn't creating a "welcoming environment for everybody."


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Mark Pare

About the Author: Mark Pare

Originally from Timmins, ON, Mark is a longtime journalist and broadcaster, who has worked in several Ontario markets.
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