Scotland must get online racists and bigots to book Scotsman’s comment

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A mural of England players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka in Manchester after being victims of racist abuse (Photo: Peter Byrne / PA Wire)

However, the real explanation is probably that most racists already existed, but simply lacked a platform on which to express their heinous opinions.

Social media has changed that by allowing them to launch abuses behind the cloak of anonymity. It may have emboldened other like-minded people who were previously silent and won converts to the cause of irrational prejudice and hatred.

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But the reality is that Twitter and its colleagues have held up a mirror to our company and shown anyone who is willing to watch just how racist this country really is. The attitudes that ethnic minorities and anti-racist activists have been talking about for years are now regularly exposed to the public and on an alarming scale.

Of course, no one should praise social media companies behind the back. They may have helped highlight racism in society, but they are also very clearly complicit in those who are actively fueling the fire by giving them the oxygen of publicity.

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Ian Blackford asks Boris Johnson what penalties would be appropriate for his own …

The birth of the Internet has sparked an information revolution comparable to the invention of the printing press. The latter allowed publishers to reach a mass audience. Now anyone in the world with a computer and an Internet connection can become a publisher.

This is sure to cause tremendous upheaval, both good and bad, and it will take time for society to catch up with what is still a relatively new phenomenon.

Fortunately, Boris Johnsons is pledging to ban people from attending football games if they racially abuse players online is a sign that we are starting to treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves.

Like England, Scotland has a problem with racism. But, unfortunately, this country is also home to another form of prejudice that has found its way into some sections of the football world and on social media bigotry.

The Scottish government therefore has even more reason to seek to further strengthen the rule of law online, with anonymity being one of the main issues. People are responsible for their words and actions in the real world and there is no reason why it should not be the same in the virtual world.

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