Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison suffers most online abuse

The BBC’s analysis of three million tweets aimed at MPs over a six-week period found more than 130,000 - around one in 20 - could be classed as toxic.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson received the largest number of tweets considered toxic at 19,000 - around four per cent of the total he received.

Richmondshire MP Rishi Sunak, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer during the investigation period, was in the top five MPs receiving the most toxic tweets at 9,000.

The study found Conservatives were nearly twice as likely as a Labour MP to receive a tweet classed as severely toxic.

Female MPs more likely to be called ‘thick’ and ‘ignorant’ and be subject to sexualised language, while their male counterparts were more likely to be called ‘liars’.

Prime Minister and Richmondshire MP Rishi Sunak (Image: The Northern Echo)

Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison received the most toxic tweets - 403 - of all North East MPs during the investigation period and she told The Northern Echo that everybody has a responsibility to ‘call-out’ online abuse.

Read more: STACK to open sites in Bishop Auckland and Durham (and there's lots planned)

“I wasn’t that surprised by the scale of abusive tweets that the BBC uncovered, it is something that myself and my team experience day in day out,” said Dehenna.

“It is kind of part of the job, though I’m not saying that is right.”

Dehenna said that she has developed a ‘thick skin’ when it comes to receiving online abuse, managing not to let even the vilest of messages such as rape threats and sexually explicit slurs affect her personally.

But she does get upset when offensive tweets and threats affect her family and her team and there was one instance when she had to take a break from social media due to the level of abuse she was receiving.

Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison (Image: Contributor)

She said: “On a personal level it doesn’t really bother me at all, I am quite thick-skinned, I think you have to be in politics, but the thing that really affects me is when it impacts on my family and my team.

“The time that did affect me the most was when I wrote to Will Smith about the one punch campaign after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.

“Suddenly I was getting hundreds of really nasty tweets, people telling me to keep my nose out and all sorts of awful things.

“Obviously with what happened to my dad (who died in 2007 after being punched) it’s something I’m emotionally invested in so on that occasion I just had to take a step back from social media.”

Dehenna said that she has had mostly positive responses from social media companies when offensive tweets directed to her are reported, with accounts being suspended and abusive comments taken down.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson received the most online abuse (Image: PA)

But she fears online abuse will never be entirely eliminated due to the anonymity afforded to social media users and the ease at which bullies can create new accounts and operate across different platforms.

Dehenna said: “I do think the social media companies are moving in the right direction in terms of how quickly they act and how much information they are willing to provide to the police.

“But I know their response can vary greatly so I do think improvements could be made.

“To an extent I think we all have a responsibility to call things out, so if you see really vile stuff, click the report button so it can be drawn to the attention of social media companies and the police.”

Read more: 

• 8 North East buildings that are now deemed 'at risk' of being lost forever
• Town and parish councils given chance to take control of local affairs
• Ambulance and fire services called to scene after fire at Sedgefield wholesaler

If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here