The Rise of Righteous Online Bullies | Opinion
Bullies don't just hang around playgrounds. Nowadays, their preferred stomping grounds are the hallowed halls of social media. Conveniently, once they release their electronic venom, it quickly spreads for thousands—if not millions—to witness.
Whether it's true or not matters very little once released into the wild abyss of the internet—becoming nearly impossible to correct. This behavior shuts down conversation, pushes us further apart, alienates and prevents us from solving issues if we were willing to engage in open and honest dialogue.
For five years, I and several others volunteered a considerable amount of time maintaining a private Facebook group of 30,000 members. I created this group to offer employment opportunities within the media to women and gender non-conforming individuals. For a time, I even managed a mentorship program and curated various resources for members that included interview and pitching guidelines.
When someone posted a job opportunity at Fox News last month, chaos ensued. Initially, a few people asked about aspects of working there, but soon after, someone condemned her for posting the job—completely transforming the tone of the discussion into a fever pitch. The thread devolved into personal attacks, name-calling and outrage. Fox was described by at least one individual as a "fascist racist regime" that has actually "gotten people killed via its reporting." To some, sharing a job opportunity at Fox was actual harm and "violence."
