Fake social media post brings out the bigots | Rosie Jones and Eddie Izzard used as unwitting hate-bait © Jiksaw

Fake social media post brings out the bigots

Rosie Jones and Eddie Izzard used as unwitting hate-bait

Bigots have been triggered by a fake online poll saying that Rosie Jones has come top of a list of funniest British female comedians, followed by Eddie Izzard and Victoria Wood.

No source has been cited, nor any evidence apparent online of a real survey taking place, but the fake news has triggered more ableist and transphobic abuse on social media, which was never in danger of running out.  

A typical comment, from a user with two Union Jacks in his handle, was: ‘ Rosie Jones only gets airtime because she has cerebral palsy,  she's simply not funny and it's an insult to other female comedians, Eddie Izzard wasn't funny as a man, isn't funny as a woman and is an all round embarrassment.’

Some of the posts quote a website called Rankerz, which does not exist.  The website Ranker, where users can register a vote, has Victoria Wood at No1, Caroline Aherne at No2 and Jennifer Saunders at No3.

Published: 13 Sep 2024

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.