Jacob Rees-Mogg's 'MoggMentum' hashtag flooded with homoerotica in backlash to gay marriage remarks

MoggMentum: The hashtag supporting him has been swamped by LGBT activists
PA
Chloe Chaplain8 September 2017
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A hashtag intended to boost youth support for Tory leadership hopeful Jacob Rees-Mogg has been swamped with videos of same sex couples kissing after he outlined his opposition to gay marriage.

He said he supported the “clear” teaching of the Catholic Church in relation to gay marriage and outlined he even opposed abortions in cases of rape and incest.

Following the controversial interview, the “MoggMentum” hashtag – intended to spark support for his rumoured leadership bid – has been flooded with tweets supporting LGBTQ relationships.

“MoggMentum”, which is designed to emulate Labour’s strong social media presence, is a grass-roots project to inspire young Tory voters.

Its hashtag trends every time Rees-Mogg speaks in the Commons and celebrates the politician in a similar fashion to the way Ed Miliband’s “Milifandom” craze did.

But yesterday it was hijacked by people who objected to his views on same-sex marriage.

It was sparked when writer Alex Andreou posted a video of two men kissing and wrote: "Wouldn't it be a DREADFUL thing, if homophobic leadership wannabe Jacob Rees-Mogg's hashtag #moggmentum was totally swamped by homoerotica?"

He then joked: "Please understand I'm not IN ANY WAY encouraging you to tweet images of LGBTQ love, but if you choose to, don't forget #moggmentum hashtag."

His posts were retweeted thousands of times, with others quickly catching on.

One person responded: "For the record, I agree w/ @sturdyAlex that it would be *terrible* if the #MoggMentum hashtag was appropriated for all sorts of queer love pic."

And another wrote: "Just adding a photo of my husband and me on our wedding day to homophobe Jacob Rees-Mogg's hashtag #MoggMentum"

In the interview, which aired on Wednesday morning, Rees-Mogg told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that he supported the teaching of the Catholic church and opposed gay marriage, adding: “The teaching of the Catholic Church is completely clear.”

The father-of-six said he opposed gay marriage and abortion
Jacob Rees-Mogg

When asked if his opposition to abortion included in cases of rape and incest, he said: “I’m afraid so. Life is sacrosanct and begins at the point of conception, and I think it is wrong.”

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