Only in the UK…..

Twitter responds as ‘joke’ bomber prepares to stand trial | Metro.co.uk: “Twitter responds as ‘joke’ bomber prepares to stand trial

10 May 2010

As Twitter user Paul Chambers prepares to stand trial over a ‘joke’ bomb threat on the micro-blogging site, others have been looking to raise awareness of the case using the #twitterjoketrial hashtag. “

26-year-old Chambers will go on trial today after allegedly posting a Tweet that threatened to blow an airport ‘sky high’.

Chambers, of Balby, Doncaster, denied tweeting the message about Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster on January 6.

The post was picked up by routine investigations into the site, which lead to Chambers’ eventual arrest.

The alleged tweet read: ‘Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week… otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!’

Twitter users have mounted a campaign to raise awareness of the trial, with #twitterjoketrial appearing high in the UK trending topics.

Messages of support have flooded in from fellow users, ranging from: ‘A misconceived prosecution against a Twitterer is now occurring: Please help trend #twitterjoketrial’ (@jackofkent) to ‘What angers me, almost as much as my friend’s life being flipped on it’s head, is the money the CPS have wasted on this. #twitterjoketrial’ (@tdotwells).

Chambers has pleaded not guilty to a charge of sending a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

If convicted, Chambers could be the first person in the UK to face jail for comments posted on the micro-blogging site.