First Aid
What do we know about helping out when friends and allies are attacked on Facebook and Twitter?
There’s a ton of research literature out there that, as we have seen, usefully identifies people who are especially vulnerable to bullies. We have technology that automatically flags people for the possible sexual interests or political sentiments. We have tools that help coordinate mobs of attackers — the 21st-century brownshirts.
But what is known about effective ways to help when you see the brownshirts marching down the virtual street, bricks and broken bottles in hand?