The name Toby Young has been plastered all over Brits' Twitter feeds this week after he was appointed the UK's new universities regulator — a position created by the government to uphold free speech at third level, among other things.
But just days after his appointment, Young deleted a huge chunk of his digital footprint. All in the space of a day.
We're not talking about the deletion of the odd misjudged tweet posted during one's early adulthood. 54-year-old Young deleted nearly 50 thousand tweets in a day in an effort to erase racist, misogynistic, anti-LGBTQ, and sexually explicit tweets, some of which date back to 2009.
Young—a right-wing commentator and free schools campaigner—was appointed tothe Office for Students (OfS), the UK's new university watchdog, on 1 Jan. Since then, people have been tweeting screenshots of tweets posted prior to his appointment, with many questioning if he's fit for the job.
More than 100K people have signed an online petition imploring Prime Minister Theresa May to sack Young from his new position. Amid this outcry, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended Young on Twitter, stating he'd bring "caustic wit" to the job, for which he's the "ideal man."
Ridiculous outcry over Toby Young. He will bring independence, rigour and caustic wit. Ideal man for job
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 3, 2018
Johnson's mentions were subsequently flooded with screenshots of the offending tweets, many of which contain extremely offensive and coarse language.
This is what it has come to. “An ideal candidate” according to the Foreign Secretary @BorisJohnson. A fine example to British students, sending a great message to the world. Welcome to Trumpland. @toadmeister why won’t you even apologise and withdraw these horrendous comments? http://pic.twitter.com/oiJf7YsqWU
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) January 3, 2018
Many have called out Young's use of racist, homophobic and sexist language in his tweets.
I won’t allow the Toby Young in Politics to give sexual predatory behaviour as a joke it’s no joke when these impressionable young minds act out these impulses thinking it’s ok I hope your daughters never have to suffer from being forced by a guy that thinks it’s ok ? http://pic.twitter.com/eMU90F2VHR
— Nicola ??????? (@HRHTudor1976) January 4, 2018
Young posted many tweets making lewd comments about the physical appearance of high-profile women.
Looking at his tweets (he’s rapidly deleting them btw) he does have a fixation with women’s breasts or “baps” as he likes to call them. http://pic.twitter.com/5LB4GUSRzC
— Bitter Blue (@turner_kevin) January 4, 2018
Hi @toadmeister, that wasn’t Danny Boyle’s wife. It was his student DAUGHTER who was a MINOR at the time.
I’ve known this family since childhood. We’ve grown up together & I know her date of birth.
In case it wasn’t obvious, Toby Young is disgusting. http://pic.twitter.com/XbndQImDb7— Ana ফরজানা (@wordsbyana) January 2, 2018
Young issued a statement in a Twitter thread on 3 Jan., defending himself against the "controversy" surrounding his recent appointment.
Young described the offensive comments as "politically incorrect," and that it's ironic that people are stating he's "unfit" to serve on the board of the OfS.
Given that defending free speech will be one of the OfS’s priorities, there’s a certain irony in people saying I’m ‘unfit’ to serve on its board because of politically incorrect things I’ve said in the past. 22/
— Toby Young (@toadmeister) January 3, 2018
He also used the words "sophomoric" and "silly" to describe his tweets, some of which, he says, he regrets. But he also believes that people have chosen to "deliberately" misinterpret to portray him as "a caricature of a heartless Tory toff."
Some of those things have been sophomoric and silly – and I regret those – but some have been deliberately misinterpreted to try and paint me as a caricature of a heartless Tory toff. 23/
— Toby Young (@toadmeister) January 3, 2018
He also added that he's a "supporter" of women's rights and LGBTQ rights—despite what his tweets might suggest.
For the record, I’m a supporter of women’s rights and LGBT rights. Indeed, I was a supporter of gay marriage and debated Nigel Farage on the topic in public. 24/
— Toby Young (@toadmeister) January 3, 2018
While Young might think there's an "irony" about his right to free speech online, but as political journalist Marie Le Conte points out, there's a difference between "merely having offensive opinions" and "deciding to tweet and write publicly relentlessly about them."
Here's a pro-tip for you Toby Young: Expressing a view on Twitter is tantamount to writing in indelible ink. And, people always keep the receipts.
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