Log #4

According to this week’s BBC Documentary <Troll Hunter>, Beauty blogger Em Ford  targets online abuse by trying to track down the trolls responsible.

Em Ford was also a victim of online abuse. Over the course of her Youtube, Instagram and Snapchat postings, she has received hundreds of thousands of abusive, harassing and downright disturbing comments just because of her Acne. She chose to fight back and turned hurtful online comments into a positive film that highlights the cyber abuse. This was an inspiring film and I have added it to my resources of this blog.

In this program, with the help of the BBC , Em Ford met victims of trolling abuse and bring them closure by helping them confront the person hiding behind the key board. Due to online anonymity, it was not easy to do so.

Stuart , who has been convicted of a horrific form of cyber abuse ,said he just thought he would try and see what reaction he could get out of people if he started trolling. In 2014, Stuart targeted the family of a local missing person with a series of disturbing Facebook messages. When he started trolling, he thought they would take it as a joke, but they took it as a serious matter. Stuart said he was doing that under the influence of alcohol. He was irrational at that time. But he didn’t think trolling was the biggest crime going,and he didn’t think it was even illegal because he saw many people trolling. This reflects trolling is a phenomenon that has swept across the web in recent years.

Alam , who have been targeting women online, sending female writer Louise Mensch pornographic images for a number of years, When asked why Alam takes pride in his anonymity and hides behind his profile , he said he is like Zorro. Superheroes always wear masks. So he didn’t use real name on Twitter, he used“Cruella180”.His mission is to destroy authority . And when somebody blocks him, he has got to them and his job was done. He will just move to somebody else. Alam’s anger comes from the gap between working class and middle class. And he has blurred the lines between his online persona and his real life. He wants to get attention and followers , and he has no idea about the impact his online abuse has.

This reminds me of my last week’s  reading that presents all bullies think that their behavior is justified. Bullies believe they are teaching someone a lesson; they claim that their victims are, through their own actions or faults, asking for it, and that they need to be called out and corrected.

Resource: 

http://www.acfun.cn/v/ac3223154

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWTRwj9t-vU