Onasagoras
Get ready for the First Nationwide Cyprus War. Of trolls. Political, party, government, and opposition trolls. The armies are preparing and taking up battle positions. DISY and AKEL, having been soundly defeated in the past by the admittedly well-organized army of the Presidential Office, are determined to recruit the strongest names among the (anonymous) trolls of the internet, and the battles on “X” and beyond promise to be more epic than even those of the Odyssey.
“Christodoulides won’t catch us unprepared again,” a friend close to AKEL told me with meaning. “But is it ethical to create fake and anonymous profiles to deliver below-the-belt blows to political opponents?” I asked naively. “They started it,” he replied. And as the famous philosopher Machiavelli said, “the ends justify the means.” And I would add, Social Media too.
Recently, the President’s supporters have gone wild on Social Media, competing to see who can praise our long-acclaimed Caliph the most. One former mayor even went so far as to label as “mentally ill” anyone who criticizes him instead of kneeling and glorifying him. Why now, you might wonder? The explanation is simple: a cabinet reshuffle is approaching, along with the filling of various other positions, and the competition is fierce. Today’s flatterers who aren’t selected will surely become tomorrow’s harshest critics. We’ve seen this play before.
The first impression a Prince gives is the one conveyed by the people surrounding him. Machiavelli
A woman, with somewhat extreme and toxic statements and posts online, attends a gathering where the President is present, and in her excitement, some say because she was angling for a position for her daughter, she hugs and kisses him. Someone present captured the moment, and since, truth be told, the pose was somewhat…awkward, the photo quickly went viral. Critics railed against the… excessive intimacy between the woman and our young Nikos, using inappropriate labels that bordered on vulgarity and strayed far from political decorum.
The Government, on the other hand, through its deputy spokesperson, rushed to call the photo fake news, claiming it was a product of Artificial Intelligence. However, in the end, the group Fact Checkers Cyprus verified the photo’s authenticity after investigation. It’s a shame that some seized on an awkward pose to do opposition politics, and even more a shame that the government again appeared unprepared, shouting “fake news” in an attempt to mislead. A little severity, please, from all sides.
