An upstander takes control of an online situation by telling a person being bullied to stay out of it while calling out the bullies and inviting other upstanders into the conflict for strength in numbers

An upstander is someone who does everything they can to avoid upsetting anyone online such as having political opinions or even supporting specific sports teams

An upstander is someone who chooses to take action when they feel somebody needs extra support or when an injustice is taking place

Only the most resilient and experienced internet users should try to upstand because it always leads to conflict

Only adults with social care experience should upstand due to the serious nature of cyberbullying and online abuse

Anyone can choose to transition from bystander to upstander if they are comfortable doing so

It is only appropriate to upstand if someone makes a credible threat towards someone or something - anything else should be ignored

It is only appropriate to upstand if somebody directly asks for you to intervene on their behalf

Upstanding is appropriate in situations when you see someone being targeted with bullying or abuse online, if you think someone is being treated unfairly or discriminated against, or if you think someone needs crisis support

1. Open a special anonymous account and then you are free to do what you like without any repercussions or accountability
2. Dox all people involved so you have lots of personal info to use against them if things turn ugly
3. Ask the person targeted to prove they didn’t start the argument so that you know they are a genuine person being bullied and not some kind of bully or attention seeker
4. Use aggressive and hostile language when dealing with online haters, it’s the only language they understand and will let them know you mean business

1. Make sure you have lots of friends who can join in before you engage so that you can out-number any toxic users who may gang-up on you or the person targeted
2. Post screenshots of the conversation across the internet asking people to contribute to the argument
3. Contact friends and followers of the intended target and ask them to spread word of the situation so their friends can join in too, the more the better
4. Tell the person targeted to stand-by as they probably won’t be able to handle how heavy it is about to get

1. Self-assess whether you feel comfortable with the potential for conflict. Even the person you are trying to help could become combative
2. Check that you are comfortable with the amount of personal information available in your bio and social feed. Employers, family members and friends can all be targeted if things escalate
3. If possible, try to check privately with the person being targeted before upstanding publicly
4. Don’t feed the trolls. There is no point trying to have meaningful dialogue with someone intent on getting blocked – block them early and save the time and energy
5. Look out for yourself too! Conflict or even potential conflict can be emotional and exhausting. Reach out for help if you don’t feel right

If you want to make a real difference, you will have to take over the conversation completely to protect the victim. Assuming the person can’t take care of this situation and needs speaking-for is the best way to help them avoid any trauma

Find out who the main trolls are so you can target all their friends. If they have a job, you should target their employers as well

Address the behavior and not the person doing it. Calling out flawed logic, hypocrisy and ill-informed judgements is not the same as attacking a person and can lead to meaningful discussion instead of unhelpful like-for-like abuse. Normalize blocking those who choose abuse over reason

Try to imagine the person being attacked as an avatar or not a real person with feelings. This way you can avoid having any emotions and guilt about ‘doing the right thing’

Avoiding the situation completely is definitely the best option if you want to avoid any negative feelings. Just move on if you feel uncomfortable, someone will step in at some point anyway

Most people feel obligated to act or feel guilty if they don’t act when they see someone going through a tough or traumatic time online. For some, fear, apprehension and anxiety can conflict with a person’s ability to ‘do the right thing’

You can’t. It is impossible to know how people feel in real life just going by what they say online

If someone was experiencing a true crisis, they would say that they are feeling that way. Feelings that extreme can’t be masked by pretending they are ok on social media

When someone’s talking about harming themselves, harming someone else or using phrases that suggest they are becoming overwhelmed by a situation are all common signs that someone is struggling and might be in crisis

1. Post a public comment to let other users know how vulnerable they are
2. Message them and ask for their personal details so you can call emergency services
3. If they are uncomfortable sharing their name and address with you, tell them to stop attention seeking and that if they wanted help, they would offer their details 4. Message them to say that online life is tough so maybe they shouldn’t use social media until they can cope with the realities of life online

1. Tell them they need to toughen up, everyone has issues and crying about them and attention seeking is not the answer
2. DM them self-help content to get them in a positive frame of mind
3. Ask others online to join in the conversation and offer their opinions about how they feel
4. Put them at ease by letting them know you are in control and can help to fix them as long as they do everything you say

1. Reach out to the person privately and let them know that you are there for them if they need you
2. Report your concerns to the social media platform using the available reporting tools
3. Remind them that people care about their wellbeing and that there is lots of help available if they would like it
4. Refer them to the social media platform’s safety resources and suggest they contact crisis support organizations or medical professionals local to them

Empathy and being empathetic are unimportant because emotions and feelings just get in the way of fixing the problem in a pragmatic way. Why complicate matters?

Empathy and being empathetic to other users online isn’t important because online life isn’t real life

Understanding the situation from other people’s perspectives, or putting yourself ‘in their shoes’ can help us to develop a sensitive and understanding approach