The cult of Curtice: social media love for polling guru
- Published
A mild-mannered number-cruncher has become the surprise celebrity on a tense election night.
John Curtice, Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde, has been relied on by the BBC as a key source of polling wisdom throughout the general election campaign. However, his social media fame reached a peak on election night, with his name regularly appearing on the UK top trends list.
Even before polls closed, Twitter users were unable to hide their excitement at Curtice's upcoming TV appearances.
Someone has even created a Twitter page, external, designed to monitor and celebrate Curtice's TV appearances. The page, simply called, "Is John Curtice on TV", was started in April and has nearly 8,000 followers.
Curtice is being followed closely by his Twitter fans. There has even been speculation about why he's been allocated a balcony on the BBC's election programme.
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On Wednesday, Curtice was quoted, external by the New Statesman, saying "I've no wish to become a media celebrity". It seems as though Twitter has other ideas.
Blog by Sam Bright