Last week I reported on Taylor Winterstein and a product called Enzacta PXP. Following the story I received a barrage of hate mail on social media.

"You are one ridiculous stupid journalist! I hope your mother was disgusted. You should be disgusted in yourself you loser," one said.

"Dog," someone wrote.

Reporter Lauren Golman has covered a wide range of stories for A Current Affair. (A Current Affair)

"Uneducated fool. Sleeping with your boss probably you foul piggy," wrote another.

Whether you choose to vaccinate or not, whether you're a fan of Taylor Winterstein or not, and whether you liked the story or not, it was completely factual.

It is our job as journalists at A Current Affair to report stories. We received a number of complaints from concerned viewers about Taylor Winsterstein so we began to investigate.

Taylor Winterstein is a mother, the wife of NRL player Frank Winterstein, and an "ex-vaxxer" who runs a self-proclaimed health and wellness website. Enzacta PXP is a purple powder made of 100 per cent ground purple rice.

Golman received a spray of vicious online abuse for her story. (A Current Affair)

Taylor sells the product in two sizes, a smaller version for $150 and a larger version for $275, and she posts about the health benefits of the product on her social media pages and her websites. She also re-posts testimonials from her followers who say the powder is working wonders on conditions like autism, arthritis and eczema.

But experts are concerned the powder is giving false hope to the ill, and we reported on those concerns.

"You're paying a lot of money for ground rice and it's not going to treat any condition whatsoever," surgeon John Cunningham told A Current Affair .

Mrs Winterstein is an online influencer. (A Current Affair)

"Every doctor has a duty to look after the health of the public, and it's not just our right to tell people that stuff like PXP is just rubbish."

For the record, A Current Affair requested an interview with Taylor Winterstein but the request went unanswered. I also ordered three containers of Enzacta PXP delivered to A Current Affair at the Nine Network, which I paid for by transferring money to Taylor’s bank account in my own name.

But this story opened the doors to hundreds of personal attacks on social media.

"Dumb ass. Uneducated fool. Hopefully you go to church and ask for forgiveness," one woman wrote in a private message.

"You're a germ," another person wrote.

"You’re nothing more than another pharma whore,” someone said.

As reporters we are often subject to nasty comments online, and we're told to ignore them, but I have never experienced anything like this before.

"I hope karma shows you mercy," another read.

"Careful where you're stepping... Next time it might not end so well for ya," someone privately messaged me.

"Piece of s---," another said.

Golman said she would not respond to messages of personal hate. (A Current Affair)

"If I was there, she would be reporting in the hospital with no teeth," someone wrote.

Most of these messages were sent to me after Taylor Winterstein posted a photo of me on her Instagram page, where she has close to 20,000 followers.

Everybody is entitled to their own opinions and I understand not everybody is going to like or agree with every story that airs on our program, but personal messages of hate and violent threats are not the answer.

Golman said the effects of cyberbullying on young people were a reminder to act more politely online. (A Current Affair)

While social media can be used to empower individuals, to share memories, to meet people and stay connected, it's come to my attention just how easy it is to use the platform for all the wrong reasons. There is an innate toxicity that exists in the world of social media, a space where anybody can say anything to anyone and quite often not be held accountable.

Teens are constantly being bullied on Facebook and Instagram, and these channels provide a uniquely powerful set of tools to do so. Generation Z spends a lot of time on social media and this sort of behaviour is setting the wrong example. We can do better.

Working at A Current Affair , I have seen the effects cyber-bullying can have on victims and their families. Words hurt, and I encourage anyone to think before they send.