Trolls

OneVoice Never Silenced, the home for all be you man, woman or child. Here to cocoon, serve and protect. #SAFE

TROLLS

I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately about what makes you tick.....

Trolls – “faceless keyboard warriors” they say yet when I think of trolls all I see are the little plastic dolls with a Mohican of neon green or pink and big brown eyes. I remember frantically running around the house as I tidied up the girls toys before their father got home, not a thing had to be out of place, thinking as I placed them neatly away how cute they were.

And so back to thinking.......

I prefer to call trolls what they are – abusers but will stick to troll for ease of reading.

What makes a troll tick? What has happened to the person behind that account who ruthlessly and obsessively targets another in a campaign of abuse on social media?

One answer that springs straight to mind is abuse – every victim of domestic violence, child abuse, rape etc could pull that one out of the bag but I am sorry there are NO excuses.

Trolls, if you have been abused then you know how it feels, you have felt the pain and distress that you are causing another with your harsh words and threats, your accusations and slurs. Shed the chains of your past and seek help, professional help and become a survivor and thriver. Whilst you abuse because of abuse you are letting it win.

I have witnessed many troll attacks on social media and have followers on Twitter who have been victims of trolling – I see and have experienced the anguish and fear that trolls inflict with some victims having to move out of the country in the hope of finding some peace – that is wrong, so very wrong. A trolls behaviour is obsessive, threatening, unhealthy, unbalanced and abusive and frankly mental health problems are very clearly evident. The law as it stands is not strong enough to protect victims of cyber attacks and the Police are so far behind when it comes to social media (I’m not having a pop, technology is moving swiftly, the Police’s job is demanding and stressful enough as it is without the added pressure of having to educate themselves on the workings of social media) – this needs to change.

Twitter CAN do more:

Celebrities are often the targets for trolls and these stories hit the media but I am seeing more and more campaigners being targeted too – Denise- Jamie’s mum, Dr Sara Payne, Shy Keenan, Kevin Healey to name but a few. Kevin has been communicating with Twitter regarding his account being validated after repeat attacks and impersonations – cruel impersonations including an attack on Katie Price’s son Harvey. Twitter have refused to help Kevin who campaigns tirelessly raising awareness for autism, all it takes is a little blue tick, he has been forbidden to contact twitter now, they have effectively silenced him.

In this weeks Sun Newspaper there was an article about Dr Sara Payne – sending strength & smiles. X

Sara is a good woman who promised to stand up and shout very loudly if I was imprisoned last year for withholding my #SAFE address.

Sara has been targeted by “internet troll Nigel Oldfield who branded victims of abuse as “liar.” – Now I have first hand experience of Oldfield who has threatened me saying and I quote –

“Not a CP – you dangerous buffoon – we ever meet, you are going to eat those words”

I asked Oldfield if it was a threat, his reply

“yes – in fact, it is a guarantee- heed it well.”

Oldfield has been after my #SAFE address for some time now and states this publicly on his blog. Oldfield has also stated that a member of the OneVoice Never Silenced Board is a “liar” and has tweeted that “he took a lover,” Ian - a child abuse thriver, a survivor of Caldicott Prep School who managed to get his abusers, the men that raped him repeatedly as a child into court. This has been placed in the Police’s hands and as stated I will support the Police fully in their investigations.

What can twitter do?

Digital detectives and block should mean block like on Facebook. It is everyone’s right to live a life free from abuse – a block button that totally blacks out the account and their access to your account would solve so many problems, I do not understand why Twitter haven’t done.

Twitter also should be banning the IP address of Nigel Oldfield, twice convicted paedophile, a child predator and self confessed MAP – Minor Attracted Person. He is using social media to harass, stalk, threaten and intimidate – he is on the Sex Offenders Register – he should NOT be allowed to continue with this behaviour. Yes he has a right to his voice and the use unfortunately of social media – I say unfortunately because that means he has access to the internet – a very dangerous place for Oldfield in my opinion.

If you are a troll and reading this then I am sorry, I am sorry that your life is so wrong that you have to resort to abuse. You may be sat laughing right now thinking “there’s nothing wrong with me whats she going on about” – let me tell you there is –

It is NOT “normal” to abuse another

It is not “normal” to want to hurt someone with words and actions

but most of all

It is NOT “normal” to think it is funny – STOP – SEEK HELP

#SAFE

REMEMBER

If you have an ongoing investigation or complaint with the Police it is advisable not to discuss on social media – this could seriously jeopordise YOUR case.

Who is behind that account that you have been communicating with on social media? A profile picture & some carefully selected words on a bio mean nothing – Be mindful of what information you are sharing both on your TL and by private/direct message.

A high amount of followers on Twitter means nothing – you can buy followers & those followers can be shifted around between multiple accounts!

You can change the name & identity of a Twitter Account BUT you cannot change the original identification that follows that account from inception

REMEMBER – tweets can be deleted so SCREENSHOT any abuse/harassment/threats etc

Twitter is marvellous, I have met some truly awesome folk but ALWAYS REMEMBER the internet has a dark side and not everyone is quite as they first may appear. Do the research, ask the questions

BE PROACTIVE

YOUR safety is YOUR responsibility

BE #SAFE

I highly recommend visiting the Ineqe Safe & Secure website and following them on Twitter