TalkSPORT radio station to boycott Twitter over Stan Collymore 'inaction'
The former England striker has been the subject of alleged abuse on the social media website
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.TalkSPORT’s chief executive Scott Taunton has released a statement claiming that the radio station will not promote any of their affiliated Twitter accounts because of the "inaction" from the social media site regarding alleged abusive Tweets sent to presenter Stan Collymore.
Taunton said that there will be no mention of Twitter on air, in their SPORT Magazine and on their digital platforms until they are satisfied with Twitter’s response to the matter.
Collymore has accused Twitter of inaction after he retweeted a number of vile racist comments and threats that he had received after suggesting Liverpool striker Luis Suarez had dived in last Saturday’s game against Aston Villa and also highlighted Twitter’s lack of action over previous complaints.
Whilst some Tweets are under investigation by police, Taunton has called for Twitter to cooperate with the authorities over the messages.
The full statement released by Taunton said: “We are dismayed at the lack of response and perceived inaction by Twitter. Racist or abusive messages of this nature are illegal and unacceptable.
"We have more than three million Twitter followers across our accounts but we will not promote these until we are satisfied that Twitter is doing its utmost to prevent abuse of this nature. We have a duty of care to all our staff and presenters and until I am satisfied that Twitter is treating this seriously we will no longer promote Twitter accounts or use tweets on-air.
"It seems inconceivable that a hi-tech company with a market capitalisation of $30bn appears incapable of preventing racist and abusive tweets being broadcast across its platform."
A Twitter spokeswoman said the company was unable to comment on individual users.
However she pointed out that targeted abuse was against its rules and the site had recently made it easier for users to report abusive messages to them.
There are "established processes" in place for working with law enforcement, the spokeswoman added.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments