#welovetheNHS : How Twitter defended Britain's public health service
At 1:16pm on August 12th @Glinner tweeted the expression ‘#welovetheNHS’ from his Twitter account. His qualm was with American Republican advertisements, which condemned President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform policy and comparing it in a derogatory way to the British public health system. Few could have predicted the breathtaking and sustained response from the Twitter community, which has kept #welovetheNHS at the top of the Twitter Trending Topics for two days now.
Shortly after this first tweet was published on Twitter, many thousands of users, predominantly from the UK, began sharing similar experiences to @lesliefloyd. Driven by a compulsion to defend an institution that lies at the heart of British society, Twitterers offered their stories – and those of their families and friends – to the world, condensed into 140 characters.
@bigtitch: neighbour - got cancer - radiotherapy, home visits, nurses, dietitians, physios - 3 years later still alive and not bankrupt #welovethenhs
@HarrietCrosse: #welovethenhs Scary operation in middle of dissertation year at Uni. Away from home/family. Nurses amazing. So kind. I’ll never forget
@penny_dr3adful: #welovethenhs because we don’t have to think about whether we can afford life-saving treatment when an emergency happens
@Alison_McGovern: For making sure that Dad was there for his speech at my wedding, despite cancer coming back, with the best treatment possible #welovethenhs
As the expression forced its way up the trending list on the social networking site, Twitter users flocked to Twibbon to register their solidarity with a ‘#welovethenhs’ Twibbon. The movement had already taken on a serious political dimension, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah tweeting in appreciation of the moving outpouring and Health Secretary Andy Burnham reporting that he would ‘defend the institution to my dying day’, so it was little surprise to see former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and MP Kerry McCarthy sporting the design.
It wasn’t long before mainstream news outlets took notice and published articles about the trend:
Here’s a full list of links to articles in the British and international Press detailing the story.
The Daily Telegraph
The Times Online
The Guardian
BBC News
National Post
The Huffington Post
UK Press Association While Twitter has facilitated unprecedented global conversation at grassroots level on the subject of healthcare, there has also been heated debate. Twibbon users have created causes arguing against ‘ObamaCare’ based on a NHS model, the most notable being ‘I Am The Mob’.
No doubt the saga will continue to dominate the pages of our online and printed media sources, and Twitter users will continue the astonishing momentum of this cause. Watch this space, and use Twibbon to pick your side.
