In the past week on Twitter the staff of GQ have been threatened with kidnapping, bombing, burning, several types of stabbing, and, more than once, being forcibly penetrated with a cactus. But let's be clear: a few overzealous reactions to our One Direction covers is a different issue from the horrendous abuse and threats of violence currently being suffered by women online every day. Inspirational women - from Stella Creasy MP to The Times' Caitlin Moran and historian Mary Beard - have been the subject of particularly high-profile spate of threats recently, including messages of sexual violence and bomb threats so chilling that the police had to get involved.
The response, sparked by a tweet from Moran, was #TwitterSilence - a 24-hour Twitter walkout in protest yesterday, as some of Twitter's most influential and prolific tweeters went missing from the service. The problem is, as many suggested, it didn't really work; tweets - about Doctor Who, Gareth Bale and all of the conspicuously uniform mundanities of modern life - still spilled forth in their millions. By now it's clear: staying silent, though for a good cause, is not the answer. Go silent and the trolls win. Something else needs to be done.
Troll hunting is a process fraught with difficulty. Many have requested that Twitter install a report button (which it already has on its mobile apps). But such measures are often ineffective: there are simply not enough people in the world to monitor all these tweets, and automated processes result in misuse and innocent casualties. (Some upset Harry Styles fans, for example, attempted to report @BritishGQ regarding the cover lines to the One Direction issue.) Similarly, a language filter to ban offensive words is an unnecessary strain on the freedom of the foul-mouthed-but-innocent; imagine silencing the joyously profane reactions to Peter Capaldi's announcement as Doctor Who, for example.
Perhaps a better response would be to take away the veil of anonymity. "This #Twittersilence thing is pointless," wrote experienced troll-baiter Piers Morgan yesterday. "Only way to deal with trolls is public exposure." Slightly obsessed teens threatening to kill people with their poor grammar are clearly not worth wasting police time over, but being quoted did cause many to apologise and delete their abusive messages. Naming-and-shaming might seem unfair to some, but it works. Nothing kills a troll like direct sunlight. As such, Twitter could install a form of identity verification, like a Facebook account or mobile number; this could be done behind-the-scenes to allow for anonymous accounts to remain anonymous, while allowing the legal system to charge the worst abusers. There would need to be air-tight security, but it's worth debating.
There will always be people who use the internet to abuse people. (If you think Twitter is bad, try venturing into the cesspit of vileness and cat GIFs that is 4Chan.)
But let's be clear: pop fans aside, the worst trolls, the ones threatening women with rape and violence every day, are almost exclusively men.
There is something worryingly wrong with our gender when these men - cowards using the internet as a mask to hide behind - are targeting talented women for nothing more than having an opinion. Twitter isn't the problem; misogyny is. We need to have that discussion - and for that to happen, we can't stay silent.
cr: gq magazine