Joel Beard
May 18, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
Youâd think that the Conservative government â and indeed, political parties of all colours â would be committed to the idea of making politics accessible to as many people as possible, but one Twitter post from Rishi Sunak on Wednesday would suggest otherwise.
Sharing an image of his cabinet, split up into four smaller rectangular images, the prime minister wrote: âWe are working day-in and day-out to grow the economy.â
Sounds typically tedious, but for anyone needing to access the alt text feature, all four images say the same thing: âWeâre growing the economy.â
And thatâs not how you write alt text.
For those unfamiliar, alt text is a way in which you can make images more accessible to those who are blind or visually impaired - for example - by describing the key details and information contained in a photo or graphic.
As Twitterâs own Help Center article on writing âgreat image descriptionsâ states: âThe goal of writing mage descriptions is to be clear and concise, while giving more context to your tweet.
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âItâs important to capture action, movement, relationships, noteworthiness, visual details, and anything unique.
âNote people, pets, things, their names (if relevant), and their relationship to each other. Depending on topic relevance, mention the race, gender, age, etc. of people.â
Obviously, none of this is contained in the simple description of âweâre growing the economyâ, and Mr Sunakâs misuse of the feature was described by author Adam Kay as âthe worst alt text Iâve ever seenâ.
\u201c@RishiSunak This is the worst alt text I've ever seen.\u201dâ Rishi Sunak (@Rishi Sunak) 1684341781
Other Twitter users â including charities representing blind people such as the Royal National Institute for Blind people (RNIB) â have also criticised the governmentâs approach to the accessibility feature:
\u201cGROSS use of Alt Text. \n\nALT text is used to describe the image for visually impaired users\u2026 \n\nNot to fuel your political agenda.\u201dâ annie-mai (@annie-mai) 1684412560
\u201cHello, Prime Minister - this is how your tweet sounds to blind and partially sighted people who use screen readers. There are 1000 characters available for #AltText, which can help make sure all the information you want to share is communicated.\u201dâ RNIB (@RNIB) 1684401084
\u201cShame on whoever is running the @RishiSunak account. Absolute insult to visually impaired people the way you've abused the alt text field.\u201dâ Rob Armstrong (@Rob Armstrong) 1684406415
\u201cCan someone at N10 spend just 5 minutes to figure out what alt text is for\u201dâ James Taylor (@James Taylor) 1684353181
\u201cPrime Minister using ALT text to promote his political agenda \ud83d\ude2c\u201dâ Matt Navarra (@Matt Navarra) 1684409215
\u201cWhat in the fuck alt text is this supposed to be?! \ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\n\nTalk about insulting\u201dâ Angharad \ud83e\uddae\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\udfcb\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f (@Angharad \ud83e\uddae\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\udfcb\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f) 1684399874
\u201cMaybe delete and repost with correct alt text now?\n\nHow about: The Cabinet sits around a large table, discussing the disproportionate impact of the #CostOfLiving crisis on #Disabled people.\n\nJust a suggestion...\u201dâ Leonard Cheshire (@Leonard Cheshire) 1684412037
\u201cThe award for least accessible use of alt text and image design is a hotly contested category, and yet we have a winner\u201dâ Dr Jo Hartland (they/them) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udda4\ud83e\udddc\ud83c\udffb (@Dr Jo Hartland (they/them) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udda4\ud83e\udddc\ud83c\udffb) 1684398819
\u201c*sigh* can we start using alt text for what it\u2019s actually for please??\u201dâ David Chipakupaku \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddf2 (@David Chipakupaku \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddf2) 1684399462
The post â shared a day before Global Accessibility Awareness Day on Thursday â follows a string of Twitter accounts posting âclick hereâ images and abusing the alt text tool to make jokes, or share other information not contained in the image:
\u201chttps://t.co/tFfAXlO1oY\u201dâ Tweets of Cats (@Tweets of Cats) 1683112858
\u201cclick!!!!\u201dâ chia\ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f (@chia\ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f) 1682703035
\u201chttps://t.co/BRCeLF2JpN\u201dâ FC Barcelona (@FC Barcelona) 1683151695
Thankfully, Specsavers were on hand to explain to other brands why this isnât OK:
\u201chttps://t.co/iS6V1KuU5D\u201dâ Specsavers (@Specsavers) 1683024051
And if you thought the UK governmentâs latest accessibility failure was a one-off, Number 10 continues to not provide an in-person British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter for its televised press conferences, with Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft signing a question about the issue during Prime Ministerâs Questions back in 2021.
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