The continued presence of a UK Far Right activist on YouTube’s platform has been raised by the deputy leader of the official opposition during ministerial questions in the House of Commons today. Labour’s Tom Watson put questions to the secretary of state for digital, Jeremy Wright, regarding Stephen Yaxley-Lennon’s use of social media for targeted […]
View More YouTube under pressure to ban UK Far Right activist after livestreamed intimidationCategory: Online Harassment
2018 really was more of a dumpster fire for online hate and harassment, ADL study finds
Around 37 percent of Americans were subjected to severe hate and harassment online in 2018, according to a new study by the Anti-Defamation League, up from about 18 percent in 2017. And over half of all Americans experienced some form of harassment according to the ADL study. Facebook users bore the brunt of online harassment […]
View More 2018 really was more of a dumpster fire for online hate and harassment, ADL study findsA survival guide for being a woman on the internet
This piece is part of an ongoing series exploring what it means to be a woman on the internet.
Once upon a time, in the foggy kingdom of San Francisco, I was in an Uber checking my notifications. Suddenly, I discovered a man I have never met who lived in the far away kingdom of North Carolina posted a photo of me on Instagram, claiming I was stalking him.
The Instagram post went viral, and people started digging into this man’s (or, perhaps troll’s) online history. Soon, the Twitter kingdom would discover virtually all his social media posts were a lie. From photoshopping images of women he had never met to claims of fake career accomplishments to describing fake accidents, the distorted reality he had built for himself over the course of five years was as impressive as it was creepy. Even Seth Rogen chimed in on how he hadn’t, in fact, met this fellow at a charity golf tournament. (Surprise: The photo he shared of Rogen was actually that of a wax statue Read more…
More about Internet, Feminism, Online Harassment, Social Good, and Work Life
View More A survival guide for being a woman on the internetHow Google’s Jigsaw is trying to detoxify the internet
The internet can feel like a toxic place. Trolls descend on comment sections and social media threads to hurl hate speech and harassment, turning potentially enlightening discussions into ad hominem attacks and group pile-ons. Expressing an opinion online often doesn’t seem worth the resulting vitriol.
Massive social platforms—including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—admit they can’t adequately police these issues. They’re in an arms race with bots, trolls, and every other undesirable who slips through content filters. Humans are not physically capable of reading every single comment on the web; those who try often regret it. Read more…
More about Google, Online Harassment, Google Jigsaw, Tech, and Cybersecurity
View More How Google’s Jigsaw is trying to detoxify the internetPrince William thinks social media companies have ‘a great deal’ to learn about responsibility
The Duke of Cambridge thinks social media companies should be owning up to the responsibilities that come with the massive impact they have on our lives.
Speaking at the BBC on Thursday, Prince William first praised social media companies for t…
Tall Poppy aims to make online harassment protection an employee benefit
For the nearly 20% percent of Americans who experience severe online harassment, there’s a new company launching in the latest batch of Y Combinator called Tall Poppy that’s giving them the tools to fight back. Co-founded by Leigh Honeywell and Logan Dean, Tall Poppy grew out of the work that Honeywell, a security specialist, had […]
View More Tall Poppy aims to make online harassment protection an employee benefitTwitter acquires anti-abuse technology provider Smyte
Twitter this morning announced it has agreed to buy San Francisco-based technology company Smyte, which describes itself as “trust and safety as a service.” Founded in 2014 by former Google and Instagram engineers, Smyte offers tools to stop online abuse, harassment, and spam, and protect user accounts. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this […]
View More Twitter acquires anti-abuse technology provider SmyteA new study reveals how Russian trolls manipulated our Twitter conversations
Over the weekend, Twitter told 677,775 people via email that they interacted with Russian propaganda during the 2016 presidential election. But according to Kate Starbird, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, that’s far from enough…
View More A new study reveals how Russian trolls manipulated our Twitter conversationsThe ‘Twitter Purge’ Nazi reckoning has begun. Here are the rules.
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Twitter has a list. They’re checking it twice.
Well, no, actually, it’s much more complex than that. For the past two years, Twitter has been working with its Trust & Safety Council — a body of experts in online safety — to balance running a platform for free speech with curbing violence and harassment.
On Monday, Twitter put into effect new rules that are, in part, a result of many of those conversations. The rules are a major shift in the company’s policies, which for years erred on the side of letting users post all sorts of vile content. Now, Twitter will take into account user behavior “on and off the platform” as it relates to affiliation with violent organizations. Read more…
More about Twitter, Twitter Abuse, Online Harassment, Alt Right, and Twitter Trolls
Twitter gives neo-Nazis, racists Dec. 18 deadline—and could then kick them out entirely
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Twitter is cracking down on hate speech and not just by looking at its own site.
In what amounts to a major shift in Twitter policy, the company announced on Friday that it will be monitoring user’s behavior “on and off the platform” and will suspend a user’s account if they affiliate with violent organizations, according to an update to Twitter’s Help Center on Friday.
“You also may not affiliate with organizations that — whether by their own statements or activity both on and off the platform — use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes,” the update reads. Read more…
More about Twitter, Jack Dorsey, Online Harassment, Richard Spencer, and Charlottesville
Inside the reckoning of the alt-right on Twitter
Twitter gave Jason Kessler a blue checkmark last week.
That might not sound noteworthy to someone removed from the daily drama of Twitter, but that single decision reinvigorated one of Twitter’s oldest controversies: that neo-Nazis, white supremacist…
Twitter bans alt-right troll Baked Alaska
Twitter banned Tim “Treadstone” Gionet, more widely known as Baked Alaska, on Wednesday as it continues to rid its site of abuse and harassment.
A Twitter spokesperson told Mashable the company does not comment on individual comments (as is kno…