Cyberbullying and Fandom

Cyberbullying is an extreme form of trolling in which a particular member of a community is targeted and abused by others. It negatively affects a person in much the same way as real life bullying, leading to depression, anxiety and feelings of isolation. It is a growing problem among teenagers who know each other in real life, with phones and social media being used to abuse a victim even while they are physically away from their tormentors.
Cyberbullying is also a problem when the involved parties have no real life contact. In fact, anonymity and lack of consequences may only encourage the bullies. Certain sites, such as 4chan, are well known for actively encouraging vulnerable members of the community to hurt themselves. In recent years, a growing number of suicides caused by cyberbulling have caught the attention of the mainstream media.
==Forms of Cyberbullying in Fandom==
In fandom, cyberbullying may take such forms as doxing a user (publishing of private information like the real name, address, employer, e-mail addresses or other Social Media profiles that contain private information like Facebook or LinkedIn); TOSing of websites, blogs, and Fanvids; sending anonymous hate messages or death threads or wishing someone to die via anon functions on micro-blogging services like tumblr or curious cat; as well as posting personal chats or messages that were obtained by sneaking in private discussions via sock puppeting in private chat rooms or group chats or Friendslocked entries. 
Ganging up to organized dislike videos on youtube or leaving numerous negative feed back or comments on fanwork of the same creator is also a from of cyber bullying.
Cyberbullying is like its offline counter part not trivial and prosecutable by law in most European countries and in some US states.
A recent form of cyberbullying on Tumblr is for aggressors to tell their victims to kill themselves, or to wish death or other forms of severe physical harm on them. This has inspired a wave of backlash and anger from other users, especially when these comments and threats are made towards someone whose "crime" was as minor as shipping a pairing the aggressor didn't approve of.
===Harassment of Powers That Be===
A rare type of bullying involves the harassing of people of TPTB most common in video gaming fandom. 
The Fan Harassment of Jennifer Hepler as well as of ex-Silent Hill game developer Tomm Hulett is a prominent cases:
===In the animation community===
It has become very popular for fans of animated shows to harass the staff on social media, mainly over shipping concerns. Voltron: Legendary Defender is the worst in this regard, including angry fans leaving harassing, accusatory messages to Lauren Montgomery on Instagram or Twitter.
Steven Universe artist Jesse Zuke was bullied off of Twitter for drawing Lapis Lazuli with Peridot, with accusations of "queerbaiting" from Amethyst/Peridot shippers.
==Famous Cases of Cyberbullying==
*The Unforgettable Amanda Todd Story
*Gamergate (death threats against Anita Sarkeesian)
*Organized cyberbullying and "massive threads" by BTSARMY against radio host Matthias 'Matuschke' Matuschik and his family
==Cases in Fandom==
*Dogpiling and Fandom
**X-Files RPF: History of Dogpiling, Shaming and Cyberbullying of Gillovny posters by Gorgan supporters
*Godawful Fan Fiction - a controversial website devoted to mocking badfic and their authors
*Minors in Fandom
*What happened with hivliving
*Zamii070 Harassment Controversy
*RaceFail '09
*Victoria Bitter
*Msscribe
*Puppygate
*Winterfox' activities
*Dreaming Goddess controversy
*"Tasha" in the Total Drama fandom
*"Gwanon" in the Total Drama fandom
*Chuugly anon in the BSD fandom
*Valechan in the Haikyuu fandom
*Xiyao troll in the MDZS fandom
*g.o.d in the Naruto fandom
*Freehoun vs Freemance Half-Life fandom ship war circa. 2020.
==Examples of Suicides Attributed to Cyberbullying==
===Sam Leeson===
In 2008, Sam Leeson, a fan of Emo fashion and music, died by hanging himself after being bullied "because of his style" according to his friends. His classmates and relatives said that he was targeted then bullied online on his Bebo webpage with offensive ridicule and name-calling. 
Sam often wore black skinny jeans, showing off his love for Emo. His mother, Sally Cope, commented that he was "quiet and thoughtful with a lot of friends." Leeson's headteacher also commented that "Sam was a popular student and one who was wonderfully creative in his writing and his work." Many of his classmates wore black ties in his memory the week he died.
===Adam Smith===
Adam Smith was a "teenager who was bullied by online trolls [then] posted a heartbreaking video on YouTube before killing himself" in 2014. People online bombarded Adam Smith, a young teen with learning difficulties, with harassment and accused him of plagiarizing a short story he put on a website. In response to this harassment, he posted a video to YouTube titled "I'm sorry" where he apologized, but was met with mockery for his speech problems. Then, "days later he was seen crying as he walked to a railway line near his home, where he was hit by a two-carriage train."
Adam was attending collage at the time. Online, he wrote fanfiction for the My Little Pony fandom. He had hopes to own a cafe later on in life.
===Miraculous Ladybug Fan===
A Spanish-speaking Miraculous Ladybug Fan was bullied and harassed by the fandom for liking the character Lila Rossi. When she committed suicide, her fiance posted on social media saying:
==Further Reading/Meta==
*The Three Laws of Fandom
*Storming the Battlements: or, Why the Culture of Mary Sue Shaming Is Bully Culture
*Fandom as a Safe Space
*Thirteen Reasons Why
*A Report on Damage Done by One Individual Under Several Names
* What Does It Mean to Be a Bad Fan on Social Media?
==Links==
*What Is Cyberbullying
== References ==
Category:Discussion
Category:Fandom Wars