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Death threats shouldn’t be part of the job.

The nasty underbelly of social media is a “growing dilemma” in the political arena, experts said, a reality underlined in London by two offensive tweets levelled at a city councillor Wednesday night.

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Matt Farrell, who teaches political science at Fanshawe College, said digital platforms have created a new standard for political debate.

“People don’t really have coherent policy beliefs. All they know is that they hate the other team,” he said.

Online conversations on Twitter and elsewhere on social media lend themselves to open dialogue – where community leaders, including politicians, are easy to access and questions can be posed publicly – but there’s also little moderation for comments that stray over the line.

Coun. Jesse Helmer, an ardent bus rapid transit (BRT) supporter, tweeted Wednesday night about his petition calling for an electric bus fleet.