Editing Stephen Fry (section)

===Twitter===

Fry wielded a considerable amount of influence through his use of Twitter.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8406898.stm|work=BBC News|title=A portrait of the decade|date=14 December 2009|access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/gill-hornby/6349700/Dont-laugh---Stephen-Fry-is-giving-the-orders-now.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019223004/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/gill-hornby/6349700/Dont-laugh---Stephen-Fry-is-giving-the-orders-now.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 October 2009|title=Don't laugh – Stephen Fry is giving the orders now|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=17 October 2009|location=London|first=Gill|last=Hornby|date=16 October 2009}}</ref> He was frequently asked to promote various charities and causes, often inadvertently causing their websites to crash because of the volume of traffic generated by his large number of followers; as Fry noted on his website: "Four thousand hits a second all diving down the pipeline at the same time for minutes on end."<ref>{{cite web|first=Stephen |last=Fry|url=http://www.stephenfry.com/2009/08/26/servers-with-a-smile/#more-1197|title=Servers with a Smile " The New Adventures of Stephen Fry|publisher=Stephenfry.com|date=26 August 2009|access-date=17 October 2009}}</ref> He used his influence to recommend underexposed musicians and authors (who often saw large increases in web hits and sales)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/6170777/Stephen-Frys-Twitter-posts-on-David-Eagleman-novel-sparks-6000-sales-spike.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/6170777/Stephen-Frys-Twitter-posts-on-David-Eagleman-novel-sparks-6000-sales-spike.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Stephen Fry's Twitter posts on David Eagleman novel sparks 6000% sales spike|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=11 September 2009|access-date=17 October 2009|location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/8306827.stm|title=Fry's Twitter lift for singer, 16|work=BBC News|access-date=17 October 2009|date=14 October 2009}}</ref> and to raise awareness of contemporary issues in the world of media and politics, notably the dropping of an [[injunction]] against ''The Guardian''<ref>{{cite news|first=Alan |last=Rusbridger|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/oct/14/trafigura-fiasco-tears-up-textbook|title=The Trafigura fiasco tears up the textbook|work=The Guardian |date=13 May 2009|access-date=17 October 2009|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jacobson|first=Seth|url=http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/54667,news-comment,business,twitter-claims-another-scalp-as-trafigura-backs-down|title=Twitter claims another scalp as Trafigura backs down|work=The First Post|date=13 October 2009|access-date=17 October 2009|archive-date=16 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016225830/http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/54667,news-comment,business,twitter-claims-another-scalp-as-trafigura-backs-down|url-status=dead}}</ref> and public anger over ''[[Daily Mail]]'' columnist [[Jan Moir]]'s article on the death of [[Boyzone]] member [[Stephen Gately]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8311499.stm|title=Anger over Mail column on Gately|work=BBC News|access-date=17 October 2009|date=16 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a182344/twitter-outrage-over-gately-smear.html|title=Twitter outrage over Gately smear|work=Digital Spy|access-date=17 October 2009|date=16 October 2009|archive-date=19 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019061841/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a182344/twitter-outrage-over-gately-smear.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In November 2009, Fry's Twitter account reached one million followers. He commemorated the million-followers milestone with a humorous video blog in which a 'Step Hen Fry' clone speaks from the year 2034, where MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have combined to form 'Twit on MyFace'.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.stephenfry.com/2009/11/14/twillionth/|title=Twillionth|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117154947/http://www.stephenfry.com/2009/11/14/twillionth/|archive-date=17 November 2009}}</ref> In November 2010, he welcomed his two-millionth follower with a blog entry detailing his opinions and experiences of Twitter.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fry|first=Stephen|title=Two Million Reasons To Be Cheerful|url=http://www.stephenfry.com/2010/11/30/two-million-reasons-to-be-cheerful/|publisher=The New Adventures of Stephen Fry|access-date=3 December 2010|date=30 November 2010}}</ref> On 11 March 2012, Fry noted his passing of the four-million-followers mark with a tweet: "Lordy I've breasted the 4 million followers tape. Love you all. Yes even YOU. But let's dedicate today to [[Douglas Adams]]'s diamond jubilee".<ref>{{cite tweet |last=Fry |first=Stephen |user=stephenfry |number=178760058656653312|title=Tweet |date=11 March 2012 |access-date=28 March 2012 }}</ref> {{As of|2021|June}} he had 12.4&nbsp;million followers.<ref name=Twitter>{{twitter|stephenfry}}</ref>

Fry had a history of temporarily distancing himself from the social networking site which began when he received criticism in October 2009. However, he retracted the announcement that he would be leaving the following day.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8336425.stm|title=Fry ends row with Twitter critic|date=1 November 2009|access-date=6 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> In October 2010, Fry left Twitter for a few days, with a farewell message of "Bye bye", following press criticism of a quote taken from an interview he had given. After returning, he explained that he had left Twitter to "avoid being sympathised with or told about an article" he "would otherwise never have got wind of".<ref>{{cite web|last=Fry|first=Stephen|title=Silliness|url=http://www.stephenfry.com/2010/11/04/silliness/4/|publisher=The New Adventures of Stephen Fry|access-date=5 November 2010|date=4 November 2010}}</ref> The methods Fry uses on Twitter have been criticised.<ref name="Yiannopoulos_Telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/8137164/My-Twitter-row-with-Stephen-Fry.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/8137164/My-Twitter-row-with-Stephen-Fry.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=16 November 2010|title=My 'Twitter row' with Stephen Fry|last=Yiannopoulos|first= Milo|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=22 May 2012|location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 15 February 2016, Fry deleted his Twitter account after receiving criticism for a tweet commenting on [[Jenny Beavan]]'s outfit choice at that year's BAFTAs where she received an award for costume design.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35577913|title=Stephen Fry 'quits' Twitter over Bafta jibe|date=15 February 2015|access-date=15 February 2016|work=BBC News}}</ref> Fry alluded to this on an April 2016 episode of ''[[The Rubin Report]]'' in which he criticised [[groupthink]] mentality and stated that his return to Twitter was a "maybe".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJQHakkViPo| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/eJQHakkViPo| archive-date=28 October 2021|title=Stephen Fry on political correctness and clear thinking|via=YouTube|date=4 April 2016|access-date=10 April 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/stephen-fry-speaks-about-erosion-of-free-speech-on-student-campuses_uk_570bb53de4b07a35187c5a96|title=Stephen Fry Speaks About Erosion Of 'Free Speech' On Student Campuses in Controversial Rubin Report Interview |website=The Huffington Post UK |date=11 April 2016 |first=George |last=Bowden |access-date=22 November 2016}}</ref> He returned to Twitter in August 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thegayuk.com/stephen-fry-is-back-on-twitter/|title=Stephen Fry is back on Twitter – The Gay UK|date=17 August 2016}}</ref> He left Twitter again in November 2022,<ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.stephenfry.com/contact/ | title=Contact - Official site of Stephen Fry | website=stephenfry.com | date=8 November 2022 | access-date=8 November 2022 | archive-date=8 November 2022 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108193142/https://www.stephenfry.com/contact/}}</ref> joining [[Mastodon (social network)|Mastodon]] that same month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mastodonapp.uk/@stephenfry|title=Stephen Fry's page at Mastodon|date=9 November 2022|access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref>