TWITTER'S anti-porn filters have blocked Dominic Cummings’ despite dominating headlines for days.
According to research by the Guardian, the correct spelling of Cummings' surname has fallen foul of the filters, meaning that a number of misspellings have instead been trending, including #cummnings, #dominiccummigs and #sackcummimgs. The hashtag #cumgate has also trended, having seemingly not been stopped by the censors.
The place names Durham, County Durham and Barnard Castle have also been trending.
READ MORE: Dominic Cummings: Tory support plummeting, Daily Mail poll shows
The site blocks all photo and video results containing search terms it believes may contain sensitive content.
The filter also affects suggested hashtags, meaning users who tried to type #dominiccummings were instead presented with one of the misspelled variations to auto-complete, helping them trend instead.
In computer science this kind of accidental filtering is called the Scunthorpe problem due to the Lincolnshire town’s regular issues with such censorship.
READ MORE: WATCH: Shameless Tory MSP condemns 'hounding' of Dominic Cummings
Although Twitter does not publish the contents of the word filter list, users can check whether a particular term is blocked from trending by searching for it.
Twitter declined to comment to the Guardian on the filtering.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel