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we’re always talking about how to avoid being targeted by harassment campaigns and how to start them but no one ever talks about what to do if your friend gets caught in one of them so i’m going to do that right now. what to do if your friend is getting dogpiled: a thread
so here’s the thing. when people lead a harassment campaign, their goal isn’t to make the world a better place. it’s to isolate their target from their circle and make them feel like complete horseshit. you’ve probably seen this happen before. once someone gets branded as ‘evil’
all their friends are guilty by association. suddenly people are hunting down their mutuals and spamming their mentions with demands for ‘a public statement’ (Denouncement of Friend). being dogpiled is like being a contagious virus. everyone who associates with you gets infected
your friend probably feels 30 times shittier than you think they do and they probably feel like some kind of superb fucking burden to everyone who knows them because harassment campaign warriors are vicious and soulless clowns from annabelle 2’s backing cast, so
1) Reach Out. send them a dm saying you give a shit about them and you hope they’re hanging tight, send them frogs, send them a club penguin invite, do whatever to let them know that they’re not alone. check in on them. are they doing all right? do they need someone to talk to?
2) report abusive tweets. your friend, the target, is going to have the hardest time confronting these since it’s All About Them so if possible, shield them from the worst of it. report what you can. get them suspended. show people that abuse is abuse and won’t be tolerated
3) finally, if you feel like you can handle the heat, make a public show of support. it can be something as small as tweeting “___ is the coolest motherfucker” or “this is a __ appreciation account”. you have no idea how isolating harassment is. a little can go a long fucking way
if, at a time when it feels like everyone is running in the opposite direction to avoid getting branded as ‘infected’, you can stand up and yell back into the void of qrts and subtweets and callouts, it will mean the whole damn world to that person. it will mean everything
we spend a lot of time spectating on takedowns and cancelations and fallouts on this website and it all feels like watching a clown act at a circus, but the clowns are closer than you think. that could be your friend on the guillotine next. that could be you
so be wary, be kind, and support the shit out of people you know if they get sniped because good god getting dogpiled is a fucking trainwreck and they need every ounce of support they can get
addendum
1) please don't send the ugly tweets to your friend. if they know they're being targeted, that's all they need to know, unless they ask (they probably won't)
2) this goes without saying but if you've ever participated in any form of harassment campaign fuck you politely
1) please don't send the ugly tweets to your friend. if they know they're being targeted, that's all they need to know, unless they ask (they probably won't)
2) this goes without saying but if you've ever participated in any form of harassment campaign fuck you politely
oh also watch this please and realize that what we as a website inflict on people each week is fucking horrendous and reconsider the next time you want to send someone a death threat
