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On Sunday the Mail Online published this article: Your starter for ten: Why do so many people hate this girl simply for being clever? At the bottom of this article the negative comments started arriving from Mail Online readers, nothing unusual here. However, Monday's print edition of the Daily Mail run this story on the second page and included quotations from the 'internet' of people hating this girl: 
Now, the page two story already points out that: rather than celebrating Miss Trimble's success, many viewers have subjected her to vicious abuse. Some experts say this behaviour exposes the sinister hostility to brainpower in our dumbed-down, celebrity-obsessed age.
But the Mail goes even further than this in a small editorial despairing at 'anti-intellectualism': 
Now, where would the Mail possibly find some 'internet bloggers'? From the Mail Online comments posted underneath the original Mail article of course! Although these people are not bloggers, and the comments are not even posted on a blog; but the Mail do not normally let facts get in the way of things (and always seem keen to attack bloggers). The first two comments I recognised from the original online article, but these have since been removed, however, the final three remain on the Mail website: 3 - I'm really sorry, Trimble, but I'm one of those people who finds you immensely annoying! Honestly, I don't know what it is but should one person really know that much stuff? How does she do it?! Good on her for being so intelligent but it would be nice to hear someone else answer the questions for once! Poor Manchester, they haven't got a hope in hell of winning tomorrow! - Anon, IOM, 22/2/2009 15:11 4 - Gail Trimble may be clever but she isn't a team player - several times in the semi-final, she completely ignored the correct answers from fellow panellist James Marsden to respond with an incorrect guess of her own.
However, it is good to see real talent being recognised so I hope we have an exciting final on Monday. - Martin, Nottingham, 22/2/2009 16:45 5 - Yes she's intelligent but boy is she irritating. She's supercilious in the way she flicks her hair around and gives a smug look after each correct answer. A little humility wouldn't go a miss. Click to rate Rating 1229
- Ellie, Essex, 22/2/2009 17:26
So I guess the Mail is really berating its own readers for being 'anti-intellectual' and 'dumbed-down', this certainly raises further questions about why these individuals read the Mail website, but strangely enough the Mail doesn't go into this.
Update: Melanie Phillips has now written an article on this ( What the mob really hates about Gail Trimble is her glowing self-confidence), again accusing 'blogs' of 'vilifying Gail' . Melanie actually quotes Anon (above) describing Gail as 'immensely irritating', even though, of course, this comment was not made by a blogger, but posted on the Mail site by a Mail reader. Interesting how accurately the headline reflects the Mail readers who post such comments (especially the word 'mob').
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