Vas J Morgan has admitted that he has received “intense” death threats, as he petitions to ban anonymous social media accounts.
The former TOWIE star launched the petition after being trolled online by anonymous accounts, including “racial-induced abuse and homophobic comments”.
Speaking about his experience with trolls and the aim of his campaign, Vas told new magazine: “It takes two seconds to ask for identification and it can stop so many things, not just trolling.
“The internet would be a safer space in general.”
“All these dangerous activities that thrive online, like sex trafficking and paedophilia, would essentially be prevented if social media platforms identified their users.
“The more vocal I’ve been, the worse it’s got,” he said of the trolling.
“People might think it’s just a bunch of celebrities moaning, but what about Jill from Manchester who’s a schoolteacher being abused on Facebook?
“You don’t hear about those people until it’s too late and there’s an article saying a girl committed suicide because of internet abuse.”
“My initial response was to switch off my social media because it was getting so intense. Then I realised it wasn’t my responsibility to monitor what I see, which is why I started the petition.
“Most of the comments are from anonymous profiles. If people had to verify their accounts, they’d be more responsible as to what they’re putting out into the universe.
“It’s easy to abuse someone when you’re hidden behind a fake profile,” Vas pointed out.
When asked about the types of messages he has received, Vas told the publication: “Really intense, racial-induced abuse and homophobic comments. The standard, “Go back to your country.” A lot of death threats. The craziest things you can possibly think of.”
“You assume it’s just celebrities who have to deal with trolling, but there are kids committing suicide because they’re being outed on Facebook or ridiculed for the way they look.
“This isn’t right. Social media platforms should take responsibility for their users.
“No one signs up for being abused,” he said of fame and trolling coming hand-in-hand, “All they signed up for was being themselves on a TV show.”
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The celebrity MUA opens up about the ups and downs of living through the pandemic, and how her makeup range saved her.
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