Cyberbullying: Facebook Partners with GLAAD to End Anti-Gay Cyberbullying

Facebook has joined forces with The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) in an effort to stop anti-gay cyberbullying. The announcement comes after several “bullycide” (suicide as a result of bullying) cases made national news, including the shocking Rutgers case in which freshman Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after being videotaped during a sexual encounter with another man by two classmates who streamed the video online.

"Educating people about the lasting and damaging impacts of ignorant and hateful comments is a responsibility shared by parents, educators, organizations like GLAAD, and services like Facebook," said Facebook spokesperson Andrew Noyes.

Facebook has also agreed to remove any hate speech that violates the site’s Terms of Service. The news is a positive step for the social networking giant, as cyberbullying continues to pose serious problems for both teens and children. Just this week, WJBK News in Detroit uncovered an astonishing cyberbullying case in which a terminally ill 7-year-old girl named Kathleen Edward was bullied by her 33-year-old neighbor who posted a photograph on Facebook of Edward’s face as part of a skull with crossbones.

Sadly, online harassment often outlives the cyberbullying victims themselves because cruel messages are sometimes posted on victims' Facebook memorial pages, as we’ve seen in the cases of Clementi, Phoebe Prince, and others. Now, Facebook users can feel more protected and report any form of cyberbullying or harassment via the site’s Help Centre.

To download a FREE cyberbullying poster for your community or school and help promote cyberbullying awareness and prevention, click here.

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