Survivors of terror attacks are facing a “tsunami of trolling, abuse and harm” on social media, according to a major new report from SAT, which calls for urgent action from Ministers, Ofcom, tech giants and the public.
The research paints a stark picture of the online fallout that follows terror incidents. Two-thirds (67%) of survivors surveyed encountered social media content about the attack they lived through — and almost all of them (97%) described that content as harmful or distressing.
Many survivors found themselves directly targeted. Nearly half (45%) reported their personal photos or videos being lifted from their accounts, while more than a third (35%) said their experiences had been twisted into conspiracy theories. A quarter saw their images manipulated and spread online.
The impact extended to loved ones: 52% saw friends or family contacted or targeted, and 41% witnessed other survivors coming under attack. Most shocking of all, one in six survivors received malicious messages including hate speech, death threats and even images of deceased loved ones.
These experiences are leaving deep scars. Survivors reported significant changes in trust (93%) and day-to-day behaviour (89%), with many describing the online abuse as traumatic or re-traumatising.
The report urges the Government to strengthen the Online Safety Act with tougher standards for platform Terms of Service, and calls on Ofcom to enforce the law far more robustly. It also demands that social media companies take responsibility for harmful content, particularly extremist material circulated after attacks. The public, it adds, can play their part by reporting abuse and avoiding engagement with toxic content.
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Read the full report here