GENEVIEVE CARBERRYexamines how word of yesterday's paper 2 leak spread across the internet and by text message

LEAVING CERT students reacted with disbelief and panic to rumours of the leak of the Leaving Certificate English paper 2 which spread by text message, on discussion boards and via twitter yesterday afternoon.

At around 3.45pm a person posting on Irish discussion forum boards.ie wrote about a text they had received to say the paper had been leaked. “Ye so, friend just send me a text that he got from a friend or something . . . Now I am in no way regarding this as absolute truth but apparently, said person was handed paper 2 by accident and whats coming up was passed on,” the poster wrote, adding that it may be untrue.

Meanwhile, at around 4pm the same rumour was posted on AllHonours.ie – an exam discussion site.

“Apparently a school got paper 2 and deception and appearance versus reality is comin up?” one poster wrote.

Around half an hour later a different person noted it was a rumour started by students in Drogheda which got out of hand.

Students online discussed whether or not this could really be true. They wondered would a replacement paper be ready for the next day. At around 5pm a text message was being forwarded among leaving cert students.

A stream of people on the forums said they received the rumour by text.

“I just got the same text, or at least something very similar – MB question is deception, Cultural Context, Keats, Longley, Walcott.” one person wrote on boards.ie

At 5.23pm a Leaving Cert student called Lorna said she received a text from one of the students who had been handed the paper in the Drogheda school

People still did not know what to believe. At 5.40pm a person on boards.ie wrote that one of their close friends was in the exam hall and had received the paper.

At 5.55pm the text messages were spreading rapidly with one student reporting that they had received three text messages on the leak.

Just before 6pm someone posted that it was true and even named the school.

The rumour also spread via Twitter.com. While one person chose to leak questions to friends using direct messaging, others posted the prediction for all on twitter: “mabeth: deception, bishop, keats, walcot, larkin ”, read one tweet.

As the news was officially confirmed last night the reaction ranged from pure delight to annoyance and worry.

Actual messages on Twitter yesterday

- Everyone doing the leaving apperantly were given the paper 2 by accident; mabeth, deception, bishop, keats, walcot, larkin . . .

- Yo! English Paper 2 got leaked! Unless they change it tomorrow, Look at your DM!!!! . . .

- English paper 2 is canceled tomorrow and will be rescheduled... Grrrr!!! NOT FAIR!! . . .