All of these words mean exactly the same thing

Bystander, upstander and ally have some tiny differences but essentially are all the same

Each of these means something completely different

A bystander is someone who creates conflict online and then disappears when the situation begins to escalate

A bystander is someone who sees something bad happening but does nothing because they don’t care about anyone else but themselves

A bystander is an individual who experiences an event or incident as an onlooker or witness and does not act or intervene

Upstanding on social media is about calling out everything you don’t agree with and shouting down all opposition to your opinion

An upstander will take your side in an argument and encourage others to pile on

An upstander is someone who chooses to intervene if someone is being bullied, harassed or abused online

Not really. Any risk is justifiable so long as the bullies are called out and other people bully them back to show them how it feels

No risk at all. Your might is when you’re right

Yes, there are risks both to the initial target and to the upstander

1. Take control of the situation by telling the person being targeted that you’ll take over the problem from here and start speaking on behalf of them
2. Retaliate with like-for-like abuse to show you are serious and willing to give as good as you get
3. Encourage others to pile-on by tagging in more people until the person behaving as a bully publicly apologises
4. Share the name and personal details of the person behaving as a bully to let everyone know that they are a bully

1. Fight fire with fire by tagging in your friends to make sure you win the online argument at all costs
2. Tell the initial target of the bullying behavior to stay out of it if they don’t like arguing because things are going to get rough
3. Explain to the person targeted that they need to toughen up or they shouldn’t be using social media
4. Follow the account displaying the bullying behavior on social media and let them know you’ll be watching them from now on

1. If possible, check with the person being targeted before you intervene publicly. A simple DM to ask them if they are comfortable can help someone feel in control of the situation
2. Try to intervene in a reasoned and rational way. Emotional interventions often lead to the problem escalating further
3. Challenge the conversation and not the person. Personal attacks will result in further conflict 4. Direct anybody requiring extra help to the platform safety center or support organization 5. Report abusive posts and users who might be displaying signs of crisis directly to the platform

Upstanding is great, it helps you get more followers on social media and people think that you are a really good person

Upstanding on social media is a great way of making activist friends who enjoy conflict and a bit of trolling

Being able to help and support people who are bullied, harassed or treated unfairly can change and even save lives

An ally is someone who regularly mentions their commitment to social justice on their social media platforms and encourages their followers to promote their own activities

Being an ally on social media means intervening when someone is being targeted with bullying or abuse online

An ally is a person who engages with minority or marginalized groups and individuals in an effort to learn more about their experiences and to understand how to stand in solidarity with them online in an appropriate and effective way

The only risk is abuse from people that don’t agree with the cause or message but that doesn’t matter anyway!

There are no risks associated with allyship on social media if you make sure you support lots of different groups so that you can keep everyone happy

Yes, to both the individual and the cause. If not done in an informed, meaningful and appropriate way, allyship can be seen as performative, superficial or virtue signalling

Being able to speak for others and receive recognition for it will help you to feel better about yourself, which is good for self-esteem and great if you want to build your online community

Being an ally is a great way of showing the world that you are a good person and not happy with the current government

Personal growth and development while pro-actively making a positive difference in the world