It’s easy to feel anonymous online. Unfortunately, there are those who use this perceived blanket of anonymity to make racist, misogynistic or violent comments without fear of real-life repercussions.

Now, Australian columnist Clementine Ford is exposing the hateful words of her so-called “trolls” — and showing them that abusive online behaviour can have serious consequences in the real world.

Ford is a columnist for Fairfax Media and writes regularly about feminist issues, an activity that any strong lady writer of the Internet knows will turn you into enemy number one among angry dudes online. On Nov. 25, in honour of White Ribbon Day — which in Australia highlights the prevention of male violence against women — Ford posted a very thoughtful essay about the daily online abuse she receives, along with dozens of screenshots of these messages.

One Facebook user, a man from Sydney named Mike Nolan, responded to one her reposts with a one-word comment: “Slut.”



Ford clicked on Nolan’s Facebook page and discovered that he was a supervisor at Meriton Apartments, and that he had posted several other offensive jokes. Then she tagged the Meriton Group and asked them if they knew about what Nolan was up to online.



The Meriton Group responded by sending Ford the following statement:

“Meriton Group does not condone this type of behaviour. Michael Nolan was removed from the Meriton site on Saturday 28th November pending an investigation, and as of 2:30pm today 30th November 2015, he no longer works for the Meriton Group.”

Ford applauded the Meriton Group’s decision to fire Nolan for his online actions.

“These men have rarely ever faced consequences for their actions, but that’s starting to change,“ she said on Facebook. "To anyone who suggests I have caused a man to lose his job, I’d like to say this: No. He is responsible for his actions. He is responsible for the things he writes and the attitudes he holds.”

Ford is not alone in her valiant efforts to stand up to online abuse. Writer Lindy West has written often about the near constant abuse she receives from trolls. One particularly cruel encounter — the troller was posing as her dead father — was chronicled on the radio program This American Life. West was able to resolve the conflict by writing openly about the pain her troll had caused. He ended up responding and repenting for what he had done.

“I think my anger towards you stems from your happiness with your own being,” he wrote to West in an email. “It offended me because it served to highlight my unhappiness with my own self.”

Of course, retaliation or making contact with abusers carries with it risks. Ford has seen a barrage of online abuse since news of Nolan’s firing started making the rounds, and West usually adheres to a “Don’t feed the trolls” policy.

In Brazil, activist group Criola has started a campaign that publishes racist social media posts and tweets on huge billboards outside of the homes of those who post them, reports Notable.ca. They find the posters using geolocation and then mercifully blur their images and any identifying text to make sure that their targets don’t become the victims of vigilante justice.

“Those people think they can sit in the comfort of their homes and do whatever they want on the internet,” says Criola founder Jurema Werneck. “We don’t let that happen. They can’t hide from us, we will find them.”