HER DAY IS DONE AND SHE’S GOING TO TAKE ALL THE OTHER TROLLS WITH HER…
By now you will have probably read that Katie Hopkins lost a court battle last week and here is why I think it’s a very big deal indeed….
Katie sent an abusive (and completely ignorant) tweet to poverty campaigner and food blogger Jack Monroe a while back, and whilst it was pretty tame compared to some of the vileness she spouts on twitter – Jack didn’t take it lying down. Jack replied asking Katie to apologise and give £5k to a charity to make peace and when that didn’t happen she took Katie to court – and won….
Jack was awarded £24k in damages and Katie will of course have to cover court costs which are pretty impressively extensive (I heard 300k) and this is such great news in the scheme of things because a precedence has been set. Katie will hopefully be very very wary now of attacking people just to raise her profile – she surely can’t afford to keep paying out and let’s face it everyone she rips now will definitely take her up on it!
Jack Monroe. Source
So… this (in my opinion) is the point at which things start to turn around on social media – and those keyboard warriors (or trolls as we have come to know them), will perhaps think twice too before they satisfy their own insecurities by trying to humiliate and hurt anyone having a go at doing something in this life.
I truly believe the internet will become a bit of a nicer place from here on in and so Katie, who makes a living out of negativity, has inadvertently done something positive for us all…. I wonder if she even realises that!?
A statement made by Monroe’s lawyer summed it up perfectly for me…
The statement added: “Hopkins claimed that Twitter was just the Wild West where anything goes. The Judge has shown that there is no such thing as a Twitter outlaw.”
So there we have it. Troll if you must but don’t expect to get away with it anymore.
Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead….
Read the lovely Jack’s blog here – this girl has done us all a big favour!
I think I have been living under a rock. I didn’t realize this had even happened.
Once something is on the internet it’s hard to erase so it’s important to think before you tweet. Or just deal with the consequences.
This is so amazing and inspiring. I hate that people have gotten away with so much hate and bullying done over the internet.
People can be so horrible online. I’m glad they made an example of her, and hopefully it deters others from doing the same!
I absolutely hate negativity online, especially on social media. Like seriously, it bothers me when people think it’s okay to spit out their negativity. If you don’t have nothing nice to say, why bother saying it in the first place? Sighs.
Couldn’t agree more!
Trolls don’t have the right to judge or treat people in a wrong way, especially through this medium. If they don’t have anything kind words to say, better keep their mouth shut.
I hope she has learned her lesson. It’s good to engage in arguments online but it’s also not healthy to personally attack people. I hope a lot of other trolls get the chance to learn from this experience as well.
This is something that people should pay attention to. It’s never okay to troll people online. We should always watch what we type and think before we type it.
Mmm I don’t love people who speaks to share negativities like her…!
This is really interesting to me. I will probably go and look up more about the case, because I had never heard of this until today. I am a paralegal with an interest in going to law school, so anything legal and groundbreaking I find I want to know more about.
So troll on Katie. It will cost you and sooner or later you will receive the sack you deserve.
By now am studying how to cash in from trolls online. Anyway its still a publicity and an exposure. But needs a full armor to shield just in case it goes sideways.
Oh that is interesting!
I am always scared of trolls and i don’t like them either. I never heard about this but what all is happend is for good
Definitely!
This is powerful! What a strong warning to internet bullies! Say no to Trolls! 😀
Absolutely!
I hadn’t read about this until now. Thank god someone did something for all of us who make a living through the internet. Being trolled is one of the worst feelings in the world and some people don’t understand that their actions have consequences.
You are bang on there Krysten!
I still don’t understand people’s thinking, if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I am glad that she is getting heat for her negativity.
I agree, move on and so something else if you don’t like something or someone!
Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve heard of this scandal yet. It’s a good lesson though anyway. Harsh words always come with consequence. And if not directly, there’s always bad karma.
Yip!
I certainly can appreciate that a troll has ended up getting the worse for it. I would have liked to know what the tweet was that cost that much money. I am curious as to whether her celebrity affected the ruling, the amount, and whether it will be applied to other trollers or whether there was something particularly bad about this one.
I think the bottom line was that she wrongly directed the tweet and the blogger in question was able to show it defamed her character. It wasn’t as bad as many many of the things he has said in the past!
Its weird because where I work on the weekends she came along and was nothing but nice to me. But I don’t condone her awful online presence and she needs to think about spreading positivity rather than hatred!
This is my worry – that she is vile simply to create a character and make a career. The worry with that is others following her lead and it becomes a negative trend!
Sadly, I don’t think this is a turning point. It might be the end of people trolling in their own name, but it’s not the end of anonymous trolling, which can be hard to pin to a specific person. It might however be the start of greater litigation There are few people who can afford the risk of a court case such as this, and there is a real chance that the wealthy will offer the cheaper option of a donation in lieu of an expensive case whether they be defendant or accuser. Charities might benefit, but justice doesn’t. At least we can be glad that justice has been served in this case, but it very nearly wasn’t.
Good point well made – I am looking on the (very) bright side ha!
About time! Trolls, you have been warned! We will not take your hateful abuse lying down !
YES JILL!