Digital Digest – 9th July

Adem Ay on Unsplash

In this week’s Digital Digest, we take a deep dive into the Twitter activity surrounding England’s victory over Denmark on Wednesday night and explore the UK’s new Covid-19 vaccine campaign.

We then take a look at big tech, as social media giants threaten to quit Hong Kong over new data laws, Twitter is stripped of liability protections in India, and Chinese tech company efforts to get around Apple’s privacy policies hit a brick wall.

Deep Dive

England vs Denmark

On Wednesday, with England just one win away from their second major tournament final, Trafalgar’s Data team took a closer look at how fans reacted to the game on Twitter. We wanted to understand how the ebb and flow of the game impacted the overall sentiment of conversations on Twitter.

To start, we analysed 150k English language tweets, during and immediately following the game. The team logged tweets containing at least one of the following hashtags: #ThreeLions, #EURO2020, #Euros2021, #ENG or #DEN. They then used a sentiment intensity algorithm to read, and note the tone of, the language used.

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When the data was visualised (as shown above), we were pleasantly surprised – despite all the pessimism one would expect to find, English fans, and the general tone of the conversation throughout the match, remained positive and upbeat.

On the graph, the red reflects the amount of negative tweets, whilst the blue represents positive tweets. As is evident, for most of the game itself, positive tweets outweigh negative ones.

Even after Denmark scored a remarkable early free kick, the number of English supporters praising the technical skill of Denmark’s goalscorer, Damsgaard, marginally outweighed those criticising England’s goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford.

We then looked to see if fans were pre-empting and sharing substitution recommendations. As shown above, as the second half kicked off, English fans started to show their nerves. Ten minutes before Gareth Southgate replaced Saka with Grealish, fans were already calling for the Aston Villa star to make an appearance – once he did, fans overwhelmingly approved of the decision.

Unsurprisingly, given the controversy surrounding Harry Kane’s match-winning penalty, the reaction on Twitter was split, with a notable minority of English-speaking Twitter users reacting angrily to what they perceived as an injustice against Denmark.

The majority of tweets following the game remained positive, with English supporters ecstatic to now be just one game away from becoming European champions for the first time in their history on Sunday.

Closer To Home

Celebrities back Government’s new Covid-19 vaccine campaign

A string of celebrities have backed the latest Government effort to urge people over the age of 18 to get their Covid jab.

In a short film, David Walliams, Jim Broadbent, Russel Tovey, Nicola Roberts and Asa Butterfield all come together to encourage people to receive their COVID-19 vaccines.

Set to the tune of “The Rhythm Of Life” from the 1966 musical Sweet Charity, the ad was unveiled ahead of the NHS’s 73rd birthday last Sunday.

Pret a Manger brings Noddy Holder to celebrate Christmas in July

After office workers missed out on seasonal meal deals in December, Pret A Manger brought back their famous Christmas Lunch sandwich for customers to enjoy in July.

For a limited time only, those of us who were stuck working from home last year can now tuck into Pret’s festive feast six months earlier than usual. As part of the launch, Pret teamed up with Slade frontman Noddy Holder, who starred in a promotional video and gave out free sarnies to customers in the 182 Wardour Street Store.

IT’S CHRIIIIIISSSTMAAAS (in July) 🎄⛱️🎅🕶️ No one should ever miss our iconic Christmas sandwich so we’re bringing it back for one month only And what better way to celebrate than with the original Christmas icon, Noddy Holder 🎤🎶🥪 Order here: https://t.co/gMzLZWhaGu pic.twitter.com/0v0YW5VhVh — Pret (@Pret) July 6, 2021

Not everyone was pleased, however, with some angry social media users threatening to boycott the sandwich chain, calling Christmas in July a “fresh hell”. Nevertheless, the stunt managed to persuade some of the Trafalgar team to commute into Central London to tuck into their office favourite.

Big Tech

Facebook, Google and Twitter threaten to quit Hong Kong over new data laws

Facebook, Google and Twitter have all reportedly threatened to withdraw from Hong Kong if authorities push ahead with planned changes to the laws around sharing private information online.

The Hong Kong government is considering new rules that could make platforms liable for the malicious sharing of individuals’ information — a practice known as doxing. The potential punishments include fines up to HK$1m, equivalent to about £93,000, and up to five years’ imprisonment.

The dispute highlights escalating tensions between major US companies and Hong Kong as Beijing continues to tighten its grip on the city-state.

Twitter stripped of immunity for user content in India following clashes with government

India has officially stripped Twitter of its liability protections over user-uploaded content as the government cracks down on the social media platform.

In a similar fashion to social media regulation in most democracies, India had previously given the platform immunity for any defamatory or hostile messages posted by its users.

Unfortunately, as India battled with COVID-19, Twitter became the go-to platform for criticism of the Indian government, from disaffected and angry citizens.

How’d you like them Apples?

Efforts by Chinese tech companies to get round Apple’s privacy policies have failed, in what is widely being seen as a victory for the U.S. Tech Giant.

According to the FT “Baidu, Tencent and TikTok parent ByteDance had worked with two Beijing-affiliated groups to create a new way of tracking iPhones for advertising, called CAID, that would let them identify users even if they refused to let apps use Apple’s official ID, called IDFA”

But after a global outcry, CAID did not gain any traction and the whole project has now been scrapped. It’s a win for Apple but, more importantly, for their customers and their privacy.

Also In The News

1. SMEs selling on Amazon recorded over £3.5bn in export sales last year, with the e-commerce giant revealing small businesses sales had created 175,000 jobs across the UK.

2. Amazon is however in the bad books of one small business owner, who was served with a legal notice after referencing “prime day” on a sign outside his fishmongers.

3. Former president Donald Trump is suing Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as their respective chief executives, in lawsuits alleging “unlawful censorship” of Americans.

4. Wise has made a strong stock market debut with a valuation of £8.75bn, making it the largest-ever listing of a UK tech company and buoying London’s hopes of attracting more technology companies looking to float.

5. TikTok has announced it will invite users to submit video resumes to participating companies, encouraging applicants to show off their skills in a creative way while tagging the content with the hashtag #TikTokResumes 

Worth a read:

1. Financial Times: Lenin’s rope may help tame the dominance of Big Tech

2. The Drum: Masks may be the new Brexit, but they don’t have to create the same turmoil for brands

3. The Atlantic: You Really Need to Quit Twitter

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Under The Radar – 02 July

ZQ Lee on Unsplash

This week, we discuss:

1. Tim Berners-Lee’s eye-watering NFT

2. Blossoming relations between Israel and the UAE

3. ExxonMobil’s lobbyists get caught out by Greenpeace

What in the NFT?

What happened?

Tim Berners-Lee has sold the original source code for the world wide web in the form of a NFT for a massive $5.4m at a Sotheby’s online auction.

What does it mean?

Berners-Lee’s sale is the latest in a series of high profile NFT auctions that underscore the growing influence of the crypto world; Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, flogged his first tweet as an NFT for $2.5m, the artist Beeple sold his digital artwork for a record $69.4m, and more recently Andy Murray announced the sale of his 2013 Wimbledon triumph.

NFTs, or ‘non-fungible tokens’, are digital assets encrypted using blockchain (the same code that underpins bitcoin). Basically, imagine you’re trading special edition sports player cards, but they’re digital.

The objective value of NFTs stems from the status of becoming the official owner of the original asset. The ‘token’ is essentially a guarantee of the digital work’s authenticity. The blockchain code is unique to the asset and proves that a particular item is one of a kind as well as enabling those who buy NFTs to claim ownership of an asset that could previously be easily and endlessly duplicated.

However, given the vast sums involved, a bubble threatens the NFT market. Some conservative commentators have branded it a ‘fad’, while the head of Christie’s auction house called people who buy them “mugs”.

NFTs are the wild west of the blockchain world, but their authenticating technology clearly could be valuable for the art world. Whether they turn out to be a digital disruptor, a get rich quick scheme for the already rich, or a passing fad; like bitcoin they won’t be going away anytime soon.

Israel & the UAE: Best Friends Forever?

What happened?

Yair Lapid, Israel’s new foreign minister, has concluded a landmark visit to the United Arab Emirates. Lapid opened the new Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in the commercial centre of Dubai. He held talks with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and signed an economic co-operation agreement on behalf of Israel with the Gulf nation.

What does it mean?

The new Israeli power-sharing agreement will one day see Lapid become Prime Minister as part of a rotating premiership. Therefore, it is wise for the UAE to establish a rapport not only with the new government, but with the leader in waiting.

Since the Abraham Accords were signed last year, trade has boomed between Israel and the UAE, reaching $675.2 million in ten months. Business ties are expanding, while tens of thousands of tourists have flocked between the new partners.

Their new friendship faced its first litmus test during the Gaza crisis. Commentators were expecting considerable backlash from the Arab world, considering hundreds of Palestinians were killed in what has often proved to be a flashpoint in regional relations. But despite some condemnation from the UAE during the hostilities, the accords have remained intact, and Lapin’s visit suggests relations will continue to improve.

This is one area of Trump-era foreign policy that Joe Biden will be keen to build on. Indeed, the White House is reportedly laying the groundwork for more Arab states to normalise relations with Israel. While the Gaza conflict highlighted how America’s commitment to the Middle East has waned, expanding the Abraham Accords will help to stabilise the region and allow the U.S to focus on challenges in the Far East.

Climate (science) control 

What happened?

Unearthed, the investigative journalism branch of Greenpeace, recorded two ExxonMobil lobbyists admitting that they had worked to undermine environmental measures in President Biden’s infrastructure bill.

One of the lobbyists also told the undercover journalist that Exxon “aggressively” fought against climate science, funding shadow groups that cast doubt on global warming.

What does it mean?

Unearthed’s sting operation comes at a time when the oil and gas industry face a wave of lawsuits filed by cities and states across the US, demanding that it pay damages for changing weather conditions.

The nearly two dozen lawsuits claim that oil conglomerates accelerated the environmental crisis by suppressing warnings from their own scientists about the impact of fossil fuels on the climate.

A case filed in Minnesota against ExxonMobil alleges that their campaign of deception amounts to fraud. Minnesota’s attorney general, Keith Ellison, claims in his lawsuit that for years Exxon “spent millions on advertising and public relations because they understood that an accurate understanding of climate change would affect their ability to continue to earn profits by conducting business as usual.” The midwestern state has seen temperatures rise faster than the US and global averages.

These lawsuits will take years to be resolved but, in the meantime, they will significantly accelerate the downfall of oil companies’ standing in the court of public opinion. The discovery that companies knew their product was harmful heralds a seismic shift in the oil and gas’ industry’s ability to impact legislation, rivalling big tobacco’s downfall after it hid the real dangers of smoking.

This Week’s Must Reads

1. ‘Iran’s balancing act: hardliners weigh social freedoms for stability’ by Andrew England and Najmeh Bozorgmehr for the Financial Times

2. ‘Matt Hancock snog scoop and media law: Sleazy, sensational and in the public interest’ by Dominic Ponsford for the Press Gazette

3. ‘Xi warns against Western “bullies”, to argue for one-party rule’ The Economist

4. ‘Whatever happens in Batley and Spen – it’s shown that Labour’s problems run deep’ by Tom Harris for The Telegraph

Under The Radar – 25 June

Bill Oxford on Unsplash

This week, we discuss:

1. Britney Spears’ case to end her controversial conservatorship

2. The landmark victory for working mothers

3. The report suggesting trust in UK news coverage has grown during the pandemic

Toxic! Britney Spears’ Conservatorship

What happened?

Britney Spears addressed a Los Angeles court this week, calling for an end to the “abusive” conservatorship that has stripped the pop icon of her independence since 2008. She told the court: “I just want my life back.”

What does it mean?

In the modern age of conveyor belt reality television and superficial stardom, one could be forgiven for assuming Britney Spears is merely just another disgruntled celebrity. She is not. The draconian conservatorship has given Spears’ father control over her estate, career, and pretty much her entire personal life for the past thirteen years.

Spears revealed in court that she has been forced to work against her will, and that the conservatorship has blocked her from getting married and even having a baby. Court records obtained by the New York Times this week showed that the arrangement was so strict that it gave her father power over who she dated and befriended, and how she designed her home.

The arrangement has faced increased and renewed scrutiny since the release of the Framing Britney Spears documentary in February earlier this year. The hashtag #FreeBritney has continued to gain traction across social media platforms as fans fight on Spears’ behalf for an end to her heavily restricted way of life. For years, campaigners have highlighted how conservatorships are predominantly intended for older and infirm people, of which, self-evidently, Spears is neither.

We often assume celebrity to be a bestowed privilege, which for the most part it is. But in the case of Britney Spears, her celebrity status means she now finds the world untangling the most private aspects of her personal life, paid as a price to fight for her freedom

Working mothers have their day in court  

What happened?

Gemma Dobson, a nurse who was sacked for refusing to take weekend shifts, won an appeal against her dismissal this week. Dobson worked fixed shifts to care for her three children, two of whom are disabled. Her case will now be reconsidered by the original employment tribunal, after the judge said it must take childcare disparity into account.

What does it mean?

The ruling has been hailed as a landmark victory for working mothers. Mr Justice Choudhury granted Dobson’s appeal on the grounds that the employment tribunal had failed to appreciate the greater burden of caring responsibilities that women bear. According to his judgement, women are less likely to be able to accommodate the same working patterns as men, making Dobson’s claim of unfair dismissal and indirect sex discrimination worth further consideration.

The judge’s statement is corroborated by grim statistics that have emerged from the pandemic. With schools shut around the world, parents lost a vital source of childcare support. And while there has been great progress over the past few decades in what men do to take on a greater proportion of child caring responsibilities, the situation is still far from equal. Women lost over $800 billion in income globally between 2020 and 2021, with more than 2.5 million leaving the workforce in the US alone.

The Government-backed Hampton Alexander review established a target of filling 30 percent of executive positions with women. It’s an admirable aim, but it means nothing without safeguards and fairer employment practices throughout the job ladder. A singular focus on targets leaves us vulnerable to reinforcing existing inequalities and failing to develop a pipeline for female talent. By guaranteeing that other working mothers will not be discriminated against for their fixed schedules, Dobson’s case will hopefully represent a huge step forward.

Trust me I’m a journalist 

What happened?

The Reuters Institute Digital News Report has revealed that trust in news coverage has grown in the UK. The survey, conducted in January, found that 36% of UK respondents “trust most news most of the time” compared with 28% in January 2020. Trust levels are still lower than they were before the Brexit referendum in 2016, when 50% said they trusted the UK media.

What does it mean?

The pandemic has predictably increased the British public’s appetite for reliable and trustworthy news.

Broadcasters like the BBC, ITV, Sky News, and Channel 4 reaped most of the rewards from pandemic news consumption, as did the Financial Times, which led the way for print despite its expensive paywall, while cheaper tabloids trailed behind. Despite the addictive design of social media’s outrage machine, which allowed misinformation to spread as fast as the virus, these results prove that in times of crisis people want news that put facts before sensationalism.

But it’s not clear whether the growth in trust means much over the long term. The media’s failings during the Brexit referendum clearly haven’t been forgiven when comparing the data to 2015, before the political positions of almost every media institution was put under the spotlight during and after the referendum.

Brexit may be ‘done’, but the legacy and divisions it created in the media landscape will take more than just time to heal.

This Week’s Must Reads

1. ‘Five years on, Brexit – and the forces underlying it – continues to shape public opinion’ Ipsos MORI

2. ‘Wirecard: a record of deception, disarray and mismanagement’ by Olaf Storbeck for the Financial Times

3. ‘The revolt against liberalism: what’s driving Poland and Hungary’s nativist turn?’ by Nicholas Mulder for The Guardian

4. ‘Channel 4 sale would damage world-leading TV production industry’ by Simon Duke for The Times

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