Marvel and DC Show Solidarity Against Online Trolls; Comic Book Resources, August 1, 2017

Albert Ching, Comic Book Resources; Marvel and DC Show Solidarity Against Online Trolls

"DC Comics made a rare and overt reference to Marvel on its Twitter account on Tuesday, sharing a group photo of its female employees along with the words, “Cheers @Marvel ladies! #MakeMineMilkshake.” Marvel quickly responded with an image of a milkshake with two straws, encouraging the solidarity between the two companies...

Archie Comics has also showed support, responding to Marvel and DC on Twitter with an image of a milkshake with three straws (both representing the three publishers, and a common image to Archie fans evoking Archie, Betty and Veronica sharing a shake)."

Can words kill people?; Washington Post, June 20, 2017

Kathleen Parker, Washington Post; Can words kill people?

"Too much free speech is better than too little, the courts have decided.

But what rules apply when a teenager allegedly persuades her boyfriend to kill himself? Aren’t we free to say whatever we choose in a private conversation with another person?..

Carter may have been despicable for her damning encouragement, but we should be very clear: She didn’t kill anyone. Words do matter, but they’re not lethal."

"Ripple Effect"; Bizarro, Go Comics, June 19, 2017

Dan Piraro, Bizarro, Go Comics; "Ripple Effect"

Michelle Carter Didn’t Kill With a Text; New York Times, June 16, 2017

Robby Soave, New York Times; Michelle Carter Didn’t Kill With a Text

"Can malicious speech constitute violence? No. But Friday’s shocking court decision — which found Michelle Carter guilty of sending lethal text messages — is bound to confuse the issue."

The Rise and Fall of Yik Yak, the Anonymous Messaging App; New York Times, May 27, 2017

Valeriya Safronova, New York Times; The Rise and Fall of Yik Yak, the Anonymous Messaging App

"At the end of that year, Mr. Droll and Mr. Buffington laid off 60 percent of their employees, and last month, they shut down the operation, selling off intellectual property and employee contracts to Square Inc., a mobile payment company, for $1 million. A few months earlier, Hive, a college-based chat app with a similar color scheme to Yik Yak’s, popped up in the iTunes and Google Play stores, with Mr. Buffington in one of the screenshots. Whether it was an attempt at reinvention under the Yik Yak umbrella or a side project is unclear, but it is no longer available...

Morgan Hines, who will start her fourth year at Northeastern University in Boston this fall, never encountered nastiness on Yik Yak. “I thought it was funny,” she said. “It formed a lot of camaraderie between students. There would be random shout-outs to things happening on campus, like people who are attractive or being annoying in the library, or a fire alarm going off at 4 a.m.”

But Ms. Hines criticized Yik Yak’s hyper-localization. “Yik Yak was for pockets of people on campus,” she said. “If the fire alarm went off at 4 a.m., it only went off at your building, so no one else will give it a thumbs-up.”

That hyper-localization is also what made the cases of harassment particularly galling. Ms. Musick, one of the plaintiffs, said, “With Yik Yak, in the back of your mind, you know they’re not from around the world or other parts of the state, they’re right there in your classroom, in your dining hall. On a campus with 4,500 students, that’s a pretty small group of people. This isn’t some creepy guy in his mom’s basement in Indiana.”"

Monica Lewinsky: Roger Ailes’s Dream Was My Nightmare; New York Times, May 22, 2017

Monica Lewinsky, New York Times; 

Monica Lewinsky: Roger Ailes’s Dream Was My Nightmare

"Our world — of cyberbullying and chyrons, trolls and tweets — was forged in 1998. It is, as the historian Nicolaus Mills has put it, a “culture of humiliation,” in which those who prey on the vulnerable in the service of clicks and ratings are handsomely rewarded.

As the past year has revealed, thanks to brave women like Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly, it is clear that at Fox, this culture of exploitation wasn’t limited to the screen. The irony of Mr. Ailes’s career at Fox — that he harnessed a sex scandal to build a cable juggernaut and then was brought down by his own — was not lost on anyone who has been paying attention...

None of this is to say that we shouldn’t have a credible conservative point of view in our media — quite the opposite. If we’ve learned nothing else from the 2016 presidential election, it’s that we must find a way to foster robust and healthy discussion and debate. Our news channels should be just such places.

So, farewell to the age of Ailes. The late Fox chief pledged Americans fair and balanced news. Maybe now we’ll get it."

Bark app helps protect kids from cyberbullying and suicide, while safeguarding their privacy; CNBC, May 13, 2017

Deborah Findling, CNBC; 

Bark app helps protect kids from cyberbullying and suicide, while safeguarding their privacy

"Bark, a mobile safety app created by a startup founded by a Twitter alumnus, is hoping to do just that. The software employs machine learning to detect signs of negative behavior on a teen's phone, including cyberbullying, sexting, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Parents initially sign up through Bark's website, then get their children to connect their social media accounts. The software will read the accounts, but will not store or share any of the data.

Founder and CEO Brian Bason got the idea for Bark while still working for Twitter, which had acquired his previous start-up called Niche. With two kids just old enough to have phones, he felt that even though he worked in technology, he didn't know how to keep track of them online.

"Our view is that there are a lot of tools out there that just expose all of the kids' activity," Bason told CNBC. "This preserves the child's privacy and builds trust."

Sandy Hook father Lenny Pozner on death threats: ‘I never imagined I’d have to fight for my child’s legacy’; Guardian, May 2, 2017

Hadley Freeman, Guardian; 

Sandy Hook father Lenny Pozner on death threats: ‘I never imagined I’d have to fight for my child’s legacy’

"Pozner realised quickly that there was no point in arguing with these hoaxers, so instead he attacks through copyright law. Every day, he Googles Noah’s name to see if anyone has put up a photo or video of his son without his permission and, if so, he files copyright claims. Thanks to Pozner’s dedication and experience as an IT consultant, he has scrubbed Noah’s search results of toxic-hoaxer content. He has sued other hoaxers for invasion of privacy, and successfully petitioned a Florida university to fire a professor, James Tracy, for hoaxing. (Tracy has sued for wrongful termination.) He also founded the HONR Network, which helps grieving families deal with online abuse, and it lobbies YouTube, Google and Facebook to stop hosting such abuse. "

Can any good come from engaging with internet trolls?; Guardian, April 5, 2017

Emma Brockes, Guardian; 

Can any good come from engaging with internet trolls?

"Q: Should I ever engage with my trolls?

A: Firstly, let’s settle on a definition of “troll”. A troll is not someone who makes you feel bad. It’s not someone whose opinion you find offensive, or a “devil’s advocate” who assumes a position contrary to your own with the intention of stirring up trouble. That person, while annoying, is called an opinion writer and can still be usefully engaged with. A troll, on the other hand, is someone whose gratification is vested in an intent to cause harm. Why on earth would you engage with that?"

There’s no good way to deal with trolls, so you might as well tattle to their moms; Washington Post, 1/2/17

Jessica Contrera, Washington Post; There’s no good way to deal with trolls, so you might as well tattle to their moms:

"People being harassed can alert the police, but law enforcement has struggled to identify and prosecute anonymous online harassers. Of the millions of people who were stalked and harassed online between 2010 and 2013, only 10 cyberstalking cases were filed in federal courts during that time, according to a review by “Hate Crimes in Cyberspace” author Danielle Citron. These situations nearly always involve not just one harasser, but dozens or even thousands threatening or spreading a false rumor about their victim.

“Every single individual who promotes [the rumor] is part of the problem, but none of them are actually criminally responsible,” explained Mary Anne Franks, the legislative policy director at the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, which advocates for laws to protect online victims.

Franks said there is no “one size fits all” approach for dealing with trolls, but she doesn’t recommend trying to reason with them.

“There is nothing you can say to them that won’t give them more to work with,” Franks said."

‘We’re going to put a bullet in your head’: #PizzaGate threats terrorize D.C. shop owners; Washington Post, 12/6/16

John Woodrow Cox, Washington Post; ‘We’re going to put a bullet in your head’: #PizzaGate threats terrorize D.C. shop owners:

"Ousmaal first reported the harassment of her restaurant to D.C. police two weeks ago, but in emails she shared with The Post, an officer told her they couldn’t do anything to prevent free speech. He suggested she file a lawsuit.

She understands freedom of speech, Ousmaal replied in an email, but “derogatory libelous and hateful blogs and emails should not and cannot qualify.”"

"Actual Troll Afraid To Post"; Frank & Ernest Comic Strip, GoComics, 12/7/16

Frank & Ernest Comic Strip, GoComics; "Actual Troll Afraid To Post"

In Trump’s America, ‘pizzagate’ could be the new normal; Washington Post, 12/5/16

Dana Milbank, Washington Post; In Trump’s America, ‘pizzagate’ could be the new normal:

"This would appear to be the new normal: Not only disagreeing with your opponent but accusing her of running a pedophilia ring, provoking such fury that somebody takes it upon himself to start shooting. Not only chafing when criticized in the press but stoking anti-media hysteria that leads some supporters to threaten to kill journalists.

After The Washington Post reported Sunday about the Comet gunman and the nonsense conspiracy theory that motivated him, the reporters received emails and tweets saying “I hope the next shooter targets you lying sacks of s--- in the media,” “God has a plan better than death,” and “it would also be a shame if someone took a gun to” The Post.

Trump is not directly responsible for every violent word or action of his followers. But he foments violence. As The Post’s executive editor, Marty Baron, has noted, when Trump refers to journalists as “the lowest form of life,” “scum” and the enemy, “it is no wonder that some members of our staff [at The Post] and at other news organizations received vile insults and threats of personal harm so worrisome that extra security was required.”"

A Republican Candidate Said He Hoped I Got Raped; Daily Beast, 9/6/16

[Graphic Language] Olivia Nuzzi, Daily Beast; A Republican Candidate Said He Hoped I Got Raped:

"In an additional statement to The Daily Beast, the West Deptford Executive Board said, “We have been informed he is resigning.” But the fate of political discourse in America is less certain.

News publications (including this one) have made a big show of eliminating comments sections in recent years, arguing, correctly, that they are little more than safe spaces for bullies. But increasingly every other public forum is becoming like that, too.

And in the age of Trump, bullying has been rebranded as telling it like it is.

Using obscene or threatening language is a point of pride, proof that you’re beholden to nothing but the truth. And anyone who can’t handle that? Well, they’re just a politically correct loser."

A Cyber-Psychologist Explains How Human Behavior Changes Online; Diane Rehm Show, 8/25/16

[Podcast] Diane Rehm Show; A Cyber-Psychologist Explains How Human Behavior Changes Online:

"If you’ve watched the TV show “CSI: Cyber” then you know a little bit about Mary Aiken. She’s a forensic cyber psychologist, and the fictional television program was inspired by her real life work advising law enforcement on virtual crime. Aiken says people take risks online they never would in the “real world”, a phenomenon that puts vulnerable populations at risk, particularly the young. In a new book, “The Cyber Effect”, Aiken explains how the act of going online changes our behavior in fundamental ways. From what happens in the “dark web”, to issues raised by digital selfies, to the growing problem of “cyberchondria” Aiken introduces us to some of the many ways our behavior changes online.

Guests

Mary Aiken author, "The Cyber Effect"; forensic cyberpsychologist and director of the CyberPsychology Reserach Network"

Black woman inundated with racist abuse while tweeting for @Ireland; Guardian, 8/22/16

Bonnie Malkin, Guardian; Black woman inundated with racist abuse while tweeting for @Ireland:

"A black British woman who was chosen to tweet from the @ireland account for a week has been subjected to a barrage of racist abuse, forcing her to take a break from Twitter.

Michelle Marie took over the account – which is curated by a different Twitter user in Ireland each week – on Monday. She introduced herself as a mother, blogger and plus-size model.

Originally from Oxford in England, she wrote she had settled in Ireland and “it has my heart”.

However, just hours after taking over the profile – which is followed by nearly 40,000 people – the abuse began."

Cincinnati zoo deletes Twitter and Facebook accounts over Harambe jokes; Guardian, 8/23/16

Elena Cresci, Guardian; Cincinnati zoo deletes Twitter and Facebook accounts over Harambe jokes:

"Cincinnati zoo has deactivated its social accounts after it asked the public to stop making memes about Harambe the gorilla.

The animal was shot dead this year after a three-year-old child climbed into his enclosure. Since then, Harambe has turned into a source of humorous content online.

Jokes about his memory have spread on all corners of the internet – including the mentions of Cincinnati’s zoo official social media accounts."

"Effective Tweeting"; Bizarro, 8/9/16

Dan Piraro, Bizarro:

"Effective Tweeting"

How to Crack Down on Social Media Threats; New York Times, 8/3/16

Room for Debate, New York Times; How to Crack Down on Social Media Threats:

"Last week, a prominent feminist writer abandoned social media after a rape and death threat was directed at her 5-year-old daughter. Online violent threats are not uncommon, especially for women and minorities, but when they are reported, police are often not responsive.

How can law enforcement crack down on threats of violence made on social media?"

South Korea Is Contending With A 'Gamergate' Of Its Own — Over A T-Shirt; All Tech Considered, NPR, 7/29/16

Mark H. Kim, All Tech Considered, NPR; South Korea Is Contending With A 'Gamergate' Of Its Own — Over A T-Shirt:

"An online controversy over a South Korean voice actress's tweeted image of a T-shirt has escalated into what is now being called East Asia's version of Gamergate — a reference to the vitriolic controversy that pitted gamers, largely men, against women in tech."