The Rise of Righteous Online Bullies | Opinion

First published in Newsweek on May 24

View original story at:
https://www.newsweek.com/rise-righteous-online-bullies-opinion-1593704

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 int…