Guide to Managing Online Harassment

In recent years, incidents of online harassment targeting the academic community have increased. Although these occurrences are not widespread, faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate students and other members of our research community may become targets due to their involvement in research, teaching, or scholarship at Boston University.

Online harassment can take on different forms:

• “Trolling” occurs when individuals deliberately follow and provoke others online, often with offensive content. Trolling can be a nuisance, and it can escalate to threats or coordinated harassment of people and organizations.
• “Doxing” is when private identifying information that is not otherwise publicly available is published online. This information can include sharing an individual’s private email, personal phone number, home address, etc. on various platforms to frighten the individual and encourage additional harassment.
• “Cyberbullying” is the willful and repeated harm inflicted using computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.

These situations can be very intense, alarming, and disruptive, and can have real consequences for livelihoods and careers. We’re providing the information on this page as a resource for members of the BU research community who have been targeted for online harassment. While most of these incidents may involve third parties outside of the BU community, discrimination and harassment involving members of the BU community is addressed under the Interim Equal Opportunity and Title IX Policy, and individuals are encouraged to contact the Equal Opportunity Office for assistance.

If you have questions about how to access the resources described on this page, reach out to the Office of Research at research@bu.edu.

What Actions Can I Take If I Am the Target of Online Harassment?

1. Assess the Threat.

Call the police. If you are in imminent danger or there has been a direct threat of physical violence, call 911 immediately. If you receive threats that you feel are serious but not imminent, call 617-353-2121 (3-2121 on a campus phone) if you are on the Charles River or Fenway Campus to reach BU Police or 617-358-4444 (8-4444 on a campus phone) if you are on the Medical Campus to reach BU Public Safety.

2. Gather Evidence.

Document everything: Save screenshots and other evidence of any threats on social media.

• Take screenshots of captions and comments with dates and time stamps in case the posts are deleted later.
• Save any emails, voicemails, or text messages that you receive generated from behavior originating online.
• Save full email header information. Open the email, click on file tab, click on properties – the internet headers window will display the full email header.

This information could be useful to those who are assisting you and could be used as evidence.

3. Get Support.

If you are experiencing online harassment, it’s important to seek support as soon as possible. Prompt action can help mitigate the impact of harassment and provide the support you need to address the situation effectively.

Contact the Equal Opportunity Office for assistance. Supportive measures and other options may be available to you under the Interim Equal Opportunity and Title IX Policy which prohibits all forms of discriminatory and harassing behavior towards BU community members, under BU policies and applicable laws. Note that cyber stalking is a crime under Massachusetts law.

For faculty members, reach out to your administrative leader— whether that’s your department chair, program director, or someone in the dean’s office.

For staff, postdocs, and graduate students, notify your immediate supervisor or advisor right away, as they can help you navigate the situation and connect you with appropriate resources.

Ask for your personal information to be temporarily removed from the campus directory and BU webpages and set email filters. You can ask for your contact information to be temporarily removed from the campus directory and BU webpages. You can also set filters on your University email account to block certain senders or subject matters. Contact IS&T (ithelp@bu.edu or 617-353-4357 (HELP)) for assistance.

If you’re concerned that someone else has access to your BU account, contact IS&T (ithelp@bu.edu or 617-353-4357 (HELP)) for assistance.

Ask for help before responding to media. If you get contacted by media, you are not obligated to return the call. Reach out to Public Relations (pr@bu.edu and 617-353-2240) who will guide you through the next steps.

4. Secure and Manage Your Social Media Accounts

Secure Accounts: Use two-factor authentication and strong passwords. Change your password if your account has been compromised.

Disable or Privatize Accounts: Temporarily disable your account or switch your profile to private to minimize incoming messages and communicate only with approved followers.

Block or Mute Individuals: Several platforms allow you to block or mute individuals. Public Relations can guide you through these options.

Report Violations: Many social media platforms have community guidelines. Report violations to the individual platforms, which may result in temporary suspension or banning of the offending account. Public Relations can assist with this process.

Avoid Engaging: Harassers often seek a reaction. Responding, even with an attempt to explain yourself or argue, can escalate the situation. In most cases, ignoring the harassment is the best approach.

Review Your Holistic Online Presence: Online harassment can move across different platforms and communication streams, such as email. Consider taking actions across your entire online presence.

Proactive Measures: Take proactive steps, especially if you anticipate a critical moment (e.g., new research publication, controversial media interview). You can reach out to Public Relations in advance for their monitoring assistance and guidance.

Monitoring Support: Public Relations can also help monitor your accounts via specialized social media software. Please reach out to us for assistance.

5. Take Care of Yourself.

Facing online harassment can be overwhelming and distressing. If you’re seeking support for your mental health and well-being, here are some resources that can assist you.

For faculty and staff, the Faculty and Staff Assistance Office (617-353-5381) offers free and confidential short-term counseling and referral services. Well Connection telehealth mental health service is also covered by the BU Health Plans.

For graduate students, resources are available at Student Health Services: SARP for crisis support and survivor advocacy and Behavioral Medicine for counseling and psychiatric services.