cybernat

English

WOTD – 18 September 2018

Etymology

Clipping of cybernationalist as a play on cybernaut, said to have been coined by British politician George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock (born 1942): see the 5 July 2012 quotation.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪbənæt/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪbɚnæt/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

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• Hyphenation: cy‧ber‧nat

Noun

cybernat (plural cybernats)

1. (British, informal) A Scottish nationalist who takes part in Internet activism. [from 2000s.]
   • 2009 November 29, “Parties Demand Salmond Holds Blog Smear Inquiry”, in BBC News‎^[1], archived from the original on 2 December 2009:

     He [Iain Gray] added: “Back in May I asked Alex Salmond to get a grip of these ‘cyber nats’ bloggers. At the time they were spreading rumours about me and other politicians as well. I think Alex Salmond has to come to parliament, apologise, and explain just exactly what has gone on.”

   • 2012 July 5, “Cybernats and Cyberbrits: How Do They Affect Mainstream Political Debate?: Scotland Tonight Discusses the Phenomenon of Abusive Online Comments and Attacks”, in STV‎^[2], archived from the original on 27 October 2016:

     The time could not be more crucial, with the referendum on Scottish independence only two years away, and fears emerging that the war of words between so-called ‘cybernats’ and ‘cyberbrits’ could distort or even stifle mainstream political discourse. Labour peer Lord Foulkes claims crediting for coining the term cybernat to describe Nationalists and supporters of independence who conduct rhetorical guerrilla warfare on Twitter, Facebook and the comment threads of newspaper websites. Rather than initiating discussions about policy or ideas, cybernats demonise those opposed to the SNP and independence and dismiss them as, inter alia, cowardly, unpatriotic, and even traitorous.

   • 2015, Jason Dittmer, Fiona McConnell, editors, Diplomatic Cultures and International Politics: Translations, Spaces and Alternatives (Routledge New Diplomacy Studies), Abingdon, Oxon., New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN:

     Currently, he [Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan] openly presents himself as a 'vauntie cybernat, former ambassador, and human rights activist', keeping him in sync with the alternative diplomatic culture he always practised, though he now freely engages in the everyday ambassadorship he once struggled to legitimate among his peers.

   • 2016, Mike Parker, “Caledonia Dreaming: September – December 2014”, in The Greasy Poll: Diary of a Controversial Election, Talybont, Ceredigion, Wales: Y Lolfa, →ISBN:

     The much-vaunted phenomenon of the "cybernat", spraying online vitriol from a dingy bedroom, does indubitably exist, but so does its exact equivalent on the opposite side.

Related terms

• cybernation
• cybernationalism

Translations

Scottish nationalist who takes part in Internet activism

Further reading

• cybernat on Wikipedia.Wikipedia