Here's What Happened When Twitter Trolls Almost Ruined My Life
6 years ago

Here's What Happened When Twitter Trolls Almost Ruined My Life

Huff Post  

Like so many women in my orbit, I lost my mind during the Senate confirmation hearings on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. My hands shook as I read dozens of comments from people like the Ohio principal who would stop stocking his school’s library with classics from the publisher I work for unless I was terminated. I resisted pointing out that while my Twitter bio noted my employer, it also said, “Opinions all my own.” I hoped things would cool off overnight, but by Sunday morning, they were replying to every single tweet on the publisher’s feed. So many people asked me why I didn’t delete my account when I thought my job might be in jeopardy, but the truth is that doing so never felt like an option.

Social Media Media Social Twitter My Mom My Life Felt Kavanaugh My Company  media  twitter  kavanaugh  trolls  felt  social  life  threats  ruined  heres  didnt  im  situation  week  happened

History of this topic

Searching for the Next Social Media Fix for the Next Trump Era
4 months ago

Searching for the Next Social Media Fix for the Next Trump Era

Wired  

The morning of November 5, hours before I was confronted with the sick realization that the world was again about to get exponentially harder for me and the people I love, I received an email from Kunal Lunawat, CEO and cofounder of Wildr, an app he described to me as a “troll-free, text-only” social media platform. They toss out words …

Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase finally helped these obsessives quit.
1 year, 4 months ago

Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase finally helped these obsessives quit.

Slate  

For years, Twitter had the reputation of being an insulated pocket reality for journalists, wonks, and especially wonky journalists. I’d love for it to fill that role someday.” —Cory Smith, who works in public policy A Few Days After the Sale, When Trolls and Racists Arrived En Masse to See What They Could Get Away With “I joined Twitter around …

Trolls on social media are Ravana of present times
1 year, 4 months ago

Trolls on social media are Ravana of present times

Live Mint  

They have returned like a swarm of locusts. I’m referring to trolls, social media’s “supari killers”. According to Pew Research, if the present rate of migration from West Asia to Europe continues, it might quadruple France’s Muslim population in the next 25-30 years. The hobgoblins of social media are citing the report to claim that refugees were accomplishing what the …

Opinion: Elon Musk accidentally ruined Twitter. He did us all a huge favor
1 year, 8 months ago

Opinion: Elon Musk accidentally ruined Twitter. He did us all a huge favor

LA Times  

The logos for Twitter and its new competitor from Meta, Threads. Mark Zuckerberg released Meta’s Twitter clone Threads last week, with more than 100 million users reportedly signing up within the first seven days. Meta’s opportunity was generated in large part because Twitter is collapsing after spectacularly bad decisions made by its owner, Elon Musk. We should take Twitter’s collapse …

Greta Thunberg’s response to Andrew Tate was a masterclass in dignity
2 years, 2 months ago

Greta Thunberg’s response to Andrew Tate was a masterclass in dignity

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Lest you’re not familiar with the …

It's Not Your Fault You're a Jerk on Twitter
3 years, 1 month ago

It's Not Your Fault You're a Jerk on Twitter

Wired  

I’m used to comics breaking my heart; I’m a Wicked and Divine fan, after all. But I felt the particularly painful crack of an old fissure reopening as I read cartoonist Mallorie Udischas-Trojan’s “Piled On” at The Nib. Many seem to imagine that a greater focus on personal responsibility can detoxify the internet; perhaps Udischas-Trojan’s progressive harassers, her erstwhile friends, …

Bullying on Twitter has become unhinged. It's time to call out the personal, sexist attacks
3 years, 6 months ago

Bullying on Twitter has become unhinged. It's time to call out the personal, sexist attacks

ABC  

To be a political journalist, you have always needed to be able to resist bullying aimed at making you second-guess your work. Last week, my ABC colleague, News Breakfast co-anchor Lisa Millar, de-activated her Twitter account after voluminous daily bullying, including trolling about her late father. Channel Ten journalist and former Q+A host Hamish MacDonald has publicly said that one …

Alexander-Arnold interview: ‘A lot of people offer opinions. I listen to the select few that matter’
3 years, 9 months ago

Alexander-Arnold interview: ‘A lot of people offer opinions. I listen to the select few that matter’

New York Times  

Trent Alexander-Arnold hasn’t been able to avoid the noise. The 20-strong Hope United ‘squad’ will be managed by Rio Ferdinand and Karen Carney, and coached by Eni Aluko and Robbie Savage “When BT told me about the scheme and what it intends to do, it was a no-brainer for me really,” Alexander-Arnold says. It shouldn’t be something that you just …

Hashtags, Abuse, Threats: Are We Even Ready To Evolve?
4 years, 7 months ago

Hashtags, Abuse, Threats: Are We Even Ready To Evolve?

The Quint  

"The best way to maintain your sanity is to stay away from social media," Anurag Kashyap said in a recent interview. What transpired in the wake of Sushant Singh Rajput's death is a slur of accusations on social media, countless conspiracy theories, a formation of unhealthy divides, rape threats being hurled at daughters of Bollywood stars and endless hashtags baying …

Kate O'Halloran made a mistake on Twitter. But admitting it wasn't enough for trolls
5 years, 6 months ago

Kate O'Halloran made a mistake on Twitter. But admitting it wasn't enough for trolls

ABC  

I remember the lead up distinctly. To cut a long story short, I thought I heard AFL commentator Garry Lyon call central umpire Eleni Glouftsis "the lady" during a round 19 match. I wasn't the only one who thought that was what he said, but his colleague Neroli Meadows tweeted me, explaining he had instead mispronounced Eleni's name as "E-lay-ni", …

Twitter, other companies haven't done enough to combat online abuse: Jack Dorsey
6 years, 1 month ago

Twitter, other companies haven't done enough to combat online abuse: Jack Dorsey

Firstpost  

Dorsey says he would give himself a ‘C’ grade when it comes to “tech responsibility.” Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey says that Silicon Valley companies, including his own, have not done enough to protect victims of online abuse, calling it a “huge fail.” Interviewed via Twitter by Kara Swisher, co-founder of the tech news site Recode, Dorsey tweeted that …

Remember, you’re being manipulated on social media: 4 essential reads
6 years, 2 months ago

Remember, you’re being manipulated on social media: 4 essential reads

Salon  

Editor’s note: As we come to the end of the year, Conversation editors take a look back at the stories that — for them — exemplified 2018. Don’t trust social media When 2018 began, I — like many in the U.S. — was worried about the previous year’s revelations about how Facebook data had been used to influence voters in …

Behave responsibly on social media
6 years, 8 months ago

Behave responsibly on social media

Hindustan Times  

“The government can’t make people love me, but it can keep them from lynching me.” While vacationing in Europe’s verdant valleys, one of my friends was reminded of these words by Martin Luther King Junior. A woman mourns the death of her family members killed in a mob attack on Sunday on suspicion of being part of a child-kidnapping gang …

Beware of the deceptive world of social media
6 years, 8 months ago

Beware of the deceptive world of social media

Live Mint  

“The government can’t make people love me, but it can keep them from lynching me.” While vacationing in Europe’s verdant valleys, one of my friends was reminded of these words by Martin Luther King, Jr. Time and again he was asked in a veiled manner whether Indians were a nation of rapists and blood-thirsty people. Law and justice minister Ravi …

How Twitter helped me become an Author
7 years, 4 months ago

How Twitter helped me become an Author

Op India  

“Who reads Hindi nowadays?” “Who will read the Hindi poems?” These weren’t just two sentences, but questions posed to me before I began my journey as an author. I soon started reading various books, online journals and also interacted with many subject experts on twitter. While using Twitter I got a chance to interact with various Sports, Bollywood, TV, Politics …

Alisyn Camerota: Why I’m breaking up with Twitter (opinion)
7 years, 8 months ago

Alisyn Camerota: Why I’m breaking up with Twitter (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Alisyn Camerota is a CNN anchor and co-host on CNN’s morning show “New Day.” The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. Story highlights Alisyn Camerota: I joined Twitter looking to connect with people, do good, share my messages and build community There is valuable dialogue there, but now that the reality of being …

Media trolls oppose suspending account of Twitter troll who celebrated death of CRPF jawans
7 years, 10 months ago

Media trolls oppose suspending account of Twitter troll who celebrated death of CRPF jawans

Op India  

Twitter is a place where abuse remains a big problem, and this abuse comes from people claiming to follow all kinds of ideologies. One of such abusive account was of a Twitter troll, who had earlier openly advocated murders of Hindus in Kerala and had recently celebrated death of 26 CRPF men who were killed by Maoists a week earlier. …

Social media, trolls, dissent: Author Arnab Ray tackles convenient notions at Kolkata Lit Meet
8 years, 1 month ago

Social media, trolls, dissent: Author Arnab Ray tackles convenient notions at Kolkata Lit Meet

Firstpost  

Mainstream media is still the chief influencer but social media is increasingly challenging its hegemony. There have been divergent opinions about the usefulness of social media but almost near total convergence on “trolls” — that social media tools like Facebook or Twitter should find a way to limit their “nuisance”. The columnist and acclaimed author who has been traversing the …

Why does Narendra Modi follow trolls on Twitter, asks author Swati Chaturvedi
8 years, 2 months ago

Why does Narendra Modi follow trolls on Twitter, asks author Swati Chaturvedi

Firstpost  

The book also lists out a few handles, which regularly troll anyone who critiques Modi, with rape and death threats and says that Modi follows these handles. Every investigation has a luck factor,” said Swati, “And for me that was Sadhvi Khosla.” Sadhvi is a former volunteer at the BJP social media cell. Sadhvi told Swati that after Aamir Khan’s …

Twitter accused by far-right of purge after suspending swathes of racist troll accounts
8 years, 4 months ago

Twitter accused by far-right of purge after suspending swathes of racist troll accounts

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Southern Poverty Law Centre has described the …

The case for turning our backs on Twitter
8 years, 7 months ago

The case for turning our backs on Twitter

Raw Story  

A few weeks ago I came to the realization that Twitter was more of a burden than a tool in my professional and personal life. As Buzzfeed News reporter Charlie Warzel perfectly stated, “For nearly its entire existence, Twitter has not just tolerated abuse and hate speech, it’s virtually been optimized to accommodate it.” I’ve dealt with the hate on …

Twitter's anti-abuse policy seems like a much-needed remedy for the sick world of online trolls
9 years, 10 months ago

Twitter's anti-abuse policy seems like a much-needed remedy for the sick world of online trolls

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Since the dawn of the digital age he has lumbered tragically through the online world's green pastures, …

Twitter Targets Trolls With New Rules On Abuse
10 years, 3 months ago

Twitter Targets Trolls With New Rules On Abuse

NPR  

Twitter Targets Trolls With New Rules On Abuse Enlarge this image toggle caption Twitter Twitter Saying it wants to build "a safer Twitter," the company is announcing changes to two areas: how it handles harassment and the tools that let users block people who've sent abusive messages. Twitter announced the changes in a blog post Tuesday, which reads in part: …

Twitter is broken: GamerGate proves it.
10 years, 5 months ago

Twitter is broken: GamerGate proves it.

Slate  

From mere faux pas to outright harassment, Twitter increasingly acts as a pressure cooker for the worst of humanity. Alexander’s Twitter stream is arguably even less temperate, with remarks such as “it’s funny how dudes who are ‘aspiring games journalists’ tweet bullshit at me as if I cannot instantly kill all their dreams” and “maybe mean of me to burn …

Tackling trolls in our imperfect system
10 years, 7 months ago

Tackling trolls in our imperfect system

ABC  

The "trolling" of Zelda Williams revealed the nasty side of social media and the difficulty in preventing it. Following the tragic death of Robin Williams earlier this week, we have once again seen the unfortunate and complex duality in how people use social media. These trolls are people who take to social media to intentionally cause distress by posting inflammatory …

Trolls invade social media : activists
11 years, 8 months ago

Trolls invade social media : activists

The Hindu  

On one hand, it expanded the scope for debate, otherwise impossible in mainstream media, on any subject under the sun. While appreciating criticism of his political leanings and ideology, he says slander or harsh remarks about his physical disabilities were nothing but “blackmail journalism.” “Critics have opened an account in the name of Sompadi Chitthar dedicated to vilify me. The …

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