Tweets largely focused on the event, on the chimp, not on Nash herself, echoing the tone of the article. There is likely a link between the publication of the Daily Star article and the references to Nash’s attack in tweets from British authors. But coverage in the UK was limited to a few sensationalist pieces in the tabloids, while the broadsheets focused on surgical innovation. And follow up coverage shared news of her face transplant. The news of Nash’s attack circulated widely in the US when it happened. Unusually, a number of replies came from British authors, who may have recently been reminded of, or learned about the event for the first time in a recently published Daily Star article. The article presented a graphic description of the attack, including audio of the 911 call made by Nash’s friend. One referenced what happened to Nash indirectly, writing ‘I see a face transplant in her future’. Comments instead mentioned ‘the woman overseas who needed a face transplant’. Tweeters drew parallels between the real life attack and the potential for a repeat occurrence. Nash (pictured) received a face transplant in 2016, after being brutally attacked by her friend’s pet chimp in 2009. I noticed that a number of angry responses mentioned Charla Nash. It was while looking for recent tweets mentioning face transplants that I came across the video of the woman in the spider monkey enclosure, and the vitriol that followed it. A valuable place to connect with trends, conversations, and public feeling. Additionally, it can be a space in which to conduct research. Over the past six months I’ve come to realise that social media is capable of being far more than a tool for disseminating research. Namely, on how we present sensitive histories on our social media channels. The Institute of Historical Research’s History Labs+ recently invited me to speak about my work in this area. Social media is core to my work on AboutFace. But such moments are fleeting, and the outraged crowd will flock to a new issue before long. Whether because of the relative anonymity that it affords, or because we are so strongly encouraged to share our opinions on any given issue, we are used to witnessing, feeling, any maybe even contributing to waves of collective outrage. These reactions are familiar to those of us on social media. Commenters decried the woman’s reckless disregard for her own and the animals’ safety. ![]() The video predictably gained a lot of attention, much of it negative. She did so for her social media channels. The woman allegedly broke into the enclosure to get a video of her feeding the monkeys Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Diminishing their Voices: Face Transplants, Patients, and Social MediaĪ video showing a woman inside a spider monkey enclosure at El Paso Zoo, Texas, started circulating on social media in late May 2021.
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