Judging Leaders by Old Tweets: Fair Game or Double Standard?

Ethicist and commentator Brendan Malone joins Andrew Urquhart to discuss what standards we should expect of political, business and church leaders - particularly as old social media posts and search histories are dug up ahead of the election. Malone weighs whether such scrutiny is fair, noting the difficulty of judging decades-old comments, the role of brain development in younger people's online behaviour, and society's odd shift from "anything goes" permissiveness to puritanical digital scrutiny.

Malone warns that social media algorithms reward reactive, antagonistic behaviour by triggering dopamine responses, meaning leaders' online conduct isn't always representative of their character - though voting records and parliamentary behaviour remain reliable markers. He also flags apparent media bias, pointing to a journalist who has repeatedly targeted candidates from one party while ignoring extreme comments from others, and urges editors to demand consistency. Both men agree the public should hold itself to the same standard, with Malone recommending a personal rule - "pause, ponder, then post" - before engaging online.

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