Read on Twitter
I know it’s satisfying to make big public tweet saying “I can’t believe I have to say this, but don’t do X cruel thing” (I’ve made this kind of tweet a lot!) but lately I’ve been thinking about how much that kind of tweet actually helps, vs. how much it’s just amplifying cruelty.
I don’t know the answer. But I want to offer a few other ways you can support & defend people being harassed.
Report the harassers.
Twitter does eventually deal with people who have very clearly violated the TOS! It only takes a moment to report, say, a death threat.
Report the harassers. Twitter does eventually deal with people who have very clearly violated the TOS! It only takes a moment to report, say, a death threat.
Make positive, support tweets unrelated to the harassmentHarassment can take over your notifications and feel endless. Make your own tweet about how much you love & support the harassed (without mentioning their harassment!) and reply to their own tweets with positivity.
Hold peers accountable. Private spaces are often where harassment festers and spreads, as people talk each other into stronger and stronger feelings. Similarly, private conversations are less likely to make someone defensive. If you see a friend harassing someone, step up.
Be a listening ear. If the harassed is someone you know personally, showing them that you’re there to listen can be very meaningful. Harassment isolates victims, and publicly talking about your own harassment can increase it. Let them vent to you safely and privately.
Above all, 
Do not escalate.
Standing up for them does NOT mean engaging in long twitter battles with their harassers. Engaging with them serves the algorithm and allows them to reach more people, extends and fuels the harassment campaign, and (especially if you don’t untag—
Do not escalate.Standing up for them does NOT mean engaging in long twitter battles with their harassers. Engaging with them serves the algorithm and allows them to reach more people, extends and fuels the harassment campaign, and (especially if you don’t untag—
—the victim) just puts more and more harassment into the victim’s mentions.
Before you make any post or reply, ask yourself seriously if it’s supportive or if it’s just noise designed to make you feel & look like you’re on the “right” side. Is it ego or are you actually helping?
Before you make any post or reply, ask yourself seriously if it’s supportive or if it’s just noise designed to make you feel & look like you’re on the “right” side. Is it ego or are you actually helping?
