0:00:02 > 0:00:03The target - go, go, go, go, go.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06This programme contains some strong language
0:00:06 > 0:00:10and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14He's parking. He's parking.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Oh, my God!
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Are we ready?
0:00:32 > 0:00:37I'm Em Ford and I'm a beauty blogger, YouTuber and film-maker.
0:00:37 > 0:00:43I have around 1.5 million followers on Instagram,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46YouTube and Twitter and Snapchat combined.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51I'm used to criticism, but after posting make-up tutorials
0:00:51 > 0:00:54for others, who, like me, suffer from acne,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58nothing prepared me for the onslaught of abuse I faced.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00It's the ones that want to send you messages
0:01:00 > 0:01:02saying you're so ugly, you're so disgusting,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05you look revolting, you make me feel sick.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09So six months ago, I decided to fight back.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20I turned hurtful online comments into a positive film
0:01:20 > 0:01:22highlighting cyber abuse.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27It got ten million views in the first week alone
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and I knew I was tapping into something
0:01:30 > 0:01:32that's much bigger than just me.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41You Look Disgusting, to me, was my armour and it was empowering
0:01:41 > 0:01:44and the film literally changed my life.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Online abuse is everywhere
0:01:51 > 0:01:54and the trolls behind it are nowhere.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05Anonymous...hidden in the masses.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10Internet harassment and cyber bullying is on the rise.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13All you ever see is people saying, "This is bad,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16"you shouldn't say mean things to people"
0:02:16 > 0:02:18but they don't do anything about it.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22I want to meet victims of trolling abuse and bring them closure
0:02:22 > 0:02:26by trying to help them confront the person hiding behind the keyboard.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29I don't really know who I'm going to come up against.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33I'm hoping that by meeting the people that do this,
0:02:33 > 0:02:37I will start to understand why.
0:02:39 > 0:02:45Facebook has recently surpassed 1.5 billion global monthly users
0:02:45 > 0:02:49and there are 15 million Twitter accounts in the UK alone.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52There's many benefits to greater connectivity,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56but with it, the scope for online hate is on an alarming rise.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02If I'm going to track down even one troll, I need help.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05I've arranged to meet tech journalist and digital detective
0:03:05 > 0:03:06David McClelland.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09- Hey! David.- Hi.- Nice to meet you.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12- How are you?- Good, good, how are you?- All right, thanks.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17I'm hoping that you can help me in just finding out the ways
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- that different people hide themselves online.- OK.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Or just different ways of trying to track down these people.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28So what you want to do is to try and identify who they are?
0:03:28 > 0:03:32I think I'd like to meet one, just to get a better understanding
0:03:32 > 0:03:36of why people think that it's OK to act this way online.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39I deal with a lot of cyber crime, a lot of scammers,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42a lot of people who try to hide themselves online.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Trolling, social media, that's part of that.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Everything we do online, you leave some sort of footprint -
0:03:48 > 0:03:50digital breadcrumbs, if you like.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53I will use whatever tools and contacts I've got
0:03:53 > 0:03:55so you can try and find the answers to your questions.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06I want to go after online abusers
0:04:06 > 0:04:09who hide their hate behind anonymity.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11I've found a story of a leading model
0:04:11 > 0:04:14who frequently gets trolled.
0:04:14 > 0:04:1820-year-old Neelam Gill is taking the fashion industry by storm.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21She leads high-profile campaigns for Dior,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Abercrombie and Fitch
0:04:23 > 0:04:27and was the first Indian model for Burberry.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30You'd think she'd have the world at her feet,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32but with her fame comes consequences.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Neelam receives regular racist abuse online.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42She's agreed to meet David and myself at her London home
0:04:42 > 0:04:44to tell us about the extent of her abuse.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46- Hi, I'm Neelam.- Hi!- I'm David.
0:04:46 > 0:04:47Nice to meet you.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50When did you first start to notice negativity
0:04:50 > 0:04:52directed towards you online?
0:04:52 > 0:04:54When I first entered the modelling world -
0:04:54 > 0:04:56that was, like, two years ago,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I got a lot of racism.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Er, and that was, like, something I suffered with
0:05:02 > 0:05:04from the start, really.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08I feel like now I'm more in the public eye,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11people think they can just say whatever they want to say.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14These people that say it behind computer screens,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16I'm like, "What if people outside think that of me?"
0:05:16 > 0:05:18I get really paranoid.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21When I get in those zones, I'm like, I don't want to leave my flat,
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I don't want to go to the gym.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25I don't want to even go food shopping.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28I don't want anyone to see me because I get scared.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33One profile, DavidClarke00, is the most prolific.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37"You're just an ugly, annoying curry slurper."
0:05:37 > 0:05:40He said, "You know nothing" and then called me the N-word.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I'm not even going to say that word.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- Every single tweet on that profile...- Yeah.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48- ..is a troll comment.- Yeah.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52If I was to find one of these kind of like keyboard warriors
0:05:52 > 0:05:56that talk about me all day online, I would just want to know why.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Is it because they're insecure as a person? Is it because they
0:05:59 > 0:06:03don't have a job? Is it because they really dislike me?
0:06:03 > 0:06:05And I'd want to know what they dislike about me.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07It's hard because a lot of people think, "Why do you care?"
0:06:07 > 0:06:11But when it's such a big part of your life, you can't help but be affected by it.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Neelam has asked for our help finding DavidClarke00.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22However, his identity and location are completely unknown.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27What we do know is he likes to send vicious, racist abuse.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33She is ready to face them off if we can unmask their true identity.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Many of these racist comments come from private profiles,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41ones which are not following anyone, have zero pictures,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44zero friends, anything.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47And it's as if these profiles have been set up
0:06:47 > 0:06:50purely just for hate reasons.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54But I'm determined to help her out on this.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58And I'm sure between us we might be able to get a better
0:06:58 > 0:07:00understanding of who the people are.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04# We are everyday robots on our phones... #
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Some of the most vicious harassment on the internet
0:07:07 > 0:07:09is directed at women.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12The fact is, for women in public life and women on Twitter,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16they are threatened with rape on Twitter every day, every other day.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19I can't count the number of times I've been threatened
0:07:19 > 0:07:20with rape on Twitter...
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Author and former politician Louise Mensch has written received more
0:07:24 > 0:07:27than her fair share of abuse, but she, like Neelam,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30is also out for confronting her troll.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Louise has been living in the US since 2012.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34Why don't you tell me
0:07:34 > 0:07:37a little bit about your relationship with social media?
0:07:37 > 0:07:39I like Twitter, I've always enjoyed Twitter
0:07:39 > 0:07:42because Twitter is direct conversation
0:07:42 > 0:07:46and I like the sense of communication that it provides,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and you take the rough with the smooth on Twitter.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52By the rough with the smooth, what's your experience like, then?
0:07:52 > 0:07:57I have experienced some trolling that has gone beyond what
0:07:57 > 0:08:00any reasonable person would think is OK.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Specifically, I did call the police once - only once - and that was
0:08:03 > 0:08:06when a troll, who found me on Twitter,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09made anonymous threats to my children, and he was found
0:08:09 > 0:08:13by the police and brought to trial, and given a suspended sentence.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16He was exactly as you imagined a troll to be.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21He sort of lived in squalor and attacked women, serially.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25I was his latest fixation to attack women on the internet,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29but when the threats become serious, I do think it's important that
0:08:29 > 0:08:33action is taken because it deters other people from doing the same.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36I've been having a little look at some of your @ replies
0:08:36 > 0:08:40on Twitter and there was one profile that really stood out to me -
0:08:40 > 0:08:44probably because it was full of porn.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48It's the level of misogyny, of hatred of women that runs, very, very deep.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51That's when the abuse they throw is half the time sexual
0:08:51 > 0:08:55and the violence that they throw is half the time sexualised violence.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59If we were able to track this guy - or anybody, really - that's giving
0:08:59 > 0:09:03you these horrific messages, what would you say to them?
0:09:03 > 0:09:05I would ask him if he has any women in his life.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Would he be ashamed if his employer
0:09:07 > 0:09:10knew what he was sending to women online?
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Would he do that if it were publicly known?
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Would he sit down at the dinner table and show his wife,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19his daughters, or his sister? "What did you do today?"
0:09:19 > 0:09:24"Oh, I sent a bunch of obscene porn to a woman in the public sphere
0:09:24 > 0:09:26"whose opinions I don't really enjoy."
0:09:26 > 0:09:29If you feel that you've got a good shot at tracking him down,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31I'll see what I can do. We'll give it a go.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36It's good to have the support of a strong woman like Louise behind you,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40that's saying, you know, you are doing the right thing.
0:09:41 > 0:09:42So a very different
0:09:42 > 0:09:44sort of abuse with Alam.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Have they left any clues in the data
0:09:46 > 0:09:48that will lead us to them
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and allow Louise to come face-to-face with them?
0:09:50 > 0:09:52I really hope so.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00If I'm going to confront the trolls,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04I need to know what sort of character I'll be up against.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Many believe the term "trolling" has its innocent routes
0:10:10 > 0:10:14in online gaming, with players wreaking havoc on others,
0:10:14 > 0:10:19as seen in this popular Sandbox Let's Play video game.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20No, no, no!
0:10:20 > 0:10:22- Burn! Burn, baby, burn! - What are you doing...
0:10:22 > 0:10:24LAUGHTER
0:10:24 > 0:10:26But with the rise of social media,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29it's evolved into something far more sinister.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Dr Emma Short is a specialist in cyber stalking.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Can you talk me through the different types of trolls
0:10:41 > 0:10:45that you might come across online and how they differentiate?
0:10:45 > 0:10:48You could probably split it down, in a simple way -
0:10:48 > 0:10:49this is very simplistic...
0:10:49 > 0:10:54People who troll to disrupt the activity of that particular
0:10:54 > 0:10:56chatroom, that particular thread,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59then the ones you see more in the press
0:10:59 > 0:11:02that I think the word "troll" has been applied to more and more now,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04are people who target individuals.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10Those people are the ones who are probably the most threatening to
0:11:10 > 0:11:14any other individual because their behaviour is so out of the ordinary.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18I find it difficult to understand why somebody could do this.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21They want to raise the level of the relationship
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and go from someone whose tweets you might see,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27or comments you might see, into someone who you exchange comments with.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31What do you think about the other people who are saying you
0:11:31 > 0:11:35should go and kill yourself or you look terrible, you know,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37nobody will ever love you?
0:11:37 > 0:11:39A large proportion, if you met them,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42you would probably never imagine they would post those
0:11:42 > 0:11:45sorts of comments because it seems to be
0:11:45 > 0:11:47something about the nature of the environment,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50people seem to express themselves online
0:11:50 > 0:11:52in a very disinhibited way.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56If you create the identity of someone who's different from you, who is more aggressive,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58who's more out there, who will say things that challenge
0:11:58 > 0:12:03and frighten and shock, it's very easy to get stuck into that role
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and really act it out to the extreme.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11I'm literally just starting my kind of troll-hunting journey now.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Do you have any advice?
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Just be careful about what you choose.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Where there are persistent threats that are vivid in their
0:12:18 > 0:12:22accounts of violence, I would stay absolutely away from those.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24BOTH LAUGH
0:12:24 > 0:12:26My heart is going!
0:12:26 > 0:12:28This is the problem with cyber crime.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32We can look at nasty comments and a lot of people talk about,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34it's just words, it's not dangerous,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37but we don't know who's behind those words.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39I'm a little bit more scared now.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Before I met up with Dr Short, I did think that, you know,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52these people just don't have anything better to do
0:12:52 > 0:12:55with their lives, they enjoy spreading negativity, you know?
0:12:55 > 0:12:59They rise from putting other people down and there's a part of me
0:12:59 > 0:13:01that still does feel that way.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Also, there's a part of me that does...and is curious
0:13:05 > 0:13:08about why these people have got into this position
0:13:08 > 0:13:12where they can't stop sending abuse to other people online.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19To track down even one of these abusers,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23I have to accept I'm taking a leap into the unknown.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33I'm going to do what Dr Short warned me about
0:13:33 > 0:13:35and meet a troll who has been convicted
0:13:35 > 0:13:38of an horrific form of cyber abuse.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41I don't know what to expect,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44this is all becoming very real now.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51- Hi, Stuart.- Hiya.- I'm Em.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- Hiya.- Thanks for coming to meet me.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59I said on the social media that I was the killer of that missing person
0:13:59 > 0:14:03and I was holding up his body, or holding him hostage
0:14:03 > 0:14:07and I was refusing to give his body if they didn't meet my commands.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11I just thought I'd try and see what reaction I could get
0:14:11 > 0:14:13out of people if I started trolling.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21In 2014, Stuart targeted the family of a local missing person
0:14:21 > 0:14:24with a series of disturbing Facebook messages.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32When I started the trolling, I just thought they would take it as a joke
0:14:32 > 0:14:37by saying such and such, but they took it as a serious matter.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Myself, I was under the influence of alcohol at the time
0:14:41 > 0:14:45and, me, I can get a wee bit aroused under the influence,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48so I don't know what I'm doing when I'm drinking.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52I didn't think trolling was the biggest crime going.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- I didn't think it was even illegal. - You didn't?
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Because when I see it on YouTube and other people doing it online...
0:15:00 > 0:15:01..they get away with it.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Was it the numbers that you enjoyed seeing,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07the replies or the likes or the...
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Or was it just the interaction that you enjoyed?
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Er, I think it was probably the interaction.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16The interaction.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20It was quite enjoyable at the time when I was doing it,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23but after committing it,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25I just felt disgusted.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28How much did alcohol actually have to do with it?
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Or was the attention the bigger factor here?
0:15:32 > 0:15:37When I set up the profile picture, I took three litres of cider.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Then I drunk another three litres of cider
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and that's when my mind was going a wee bit crazy.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47That's when the rush was kicking in and that was
0:15:47 > 0:15:50when things started kicking off on Facebook.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55- I know you said it was a thrill... - Yeah.- ..but how did it feel?
0:15:55 > 0:15:57When I was sending the messages at the time,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00I was just laughing at myself.
0:16:02 > 0:16:08Just laughing at other people's reactions of arguing with me.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11I didn't care at the time what people were saying.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13How do you feel about it now?
0:16:14 > 0:16:17I feel disgusted, disgusted with myself
0:16:17 > 0:16:21because why would somebody put that on a social media?
0:16:21 > 0:16:22Why did you?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26That's a question that I can't even answer myself.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29There must be some part of you that knows.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34I think it's just a thrill of attention-seeking.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Is there a part of you that worries it could happen again?
0:16:37 > 0:16:40There is worries that I could do it, but...
0:16:40 > 0:16:42You never know, anything can happen.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46I'd never do something when I'm sober,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50but when I'm under the influence, that's the biggest problem I've got.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55I was expecting to meet a monster,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58but Stuart has problems with alcohol
0:16:58 > 0:17:02and an addiction to the attention he gets from his trolling abuse.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06I think I purely just survived that meeting on adrenaline.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Now I just feel... I feel sad.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13If I was to take anything forward from meeting Stuart,
0:17:13 > 0:17:19it is to bear in mind how much of an addiction this is for people,
0:17:19 > 0:17:24because it's just as addictive as getting nice comments
0:17:24 > 0:17:29and... You know, you'll post a selfie on Instagram, for example,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32you might get, "Oh, I really like your make-up"
0:17:32 > 0:17:34or "I really like your dress,"
0:17:34 > 0:17:38to a troll, getting, "You're a sicko, you're wrong in the head,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41"there's something wrong with you, how can you say that?"
0:17:41 > 0:17:42..Just as addictive.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51So some trolls are addicted to hating just for the attention,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54but others are far more sophisticated.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Neelam has invited me to her family home to find out how
0:17:58 > 0:18:02her trolls are affecting those closest to her.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05As family members, you just automatically want to defend
0:18:05 > 0:18:07when they're really personal attacks.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10You do sometimes want to say something.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Some of Neelam's trolls even go as far as to tag her family's
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Instagram accounts in their abuse.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19What are the type of things that they say to you?
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Because you're just a sister, you're not in the industry.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25The worst ones are when they're racist.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27If I put a picture of me and Neelam and I'll think,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29"That's a nice picture,"
0:18:29 > 0:18:32they'll be like, "You and your sister both look like monkeys."
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I don't usually react to it because when I see it,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38I think it's so negative. Why would you say that?
0:18:38 > 0:18:40But when it's personal, it does hurt.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43You read it and it does, deep down,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46you're absorbing that information and that comment.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Before, when I was at school and I was being bullied,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52you could actually face that person and confront them.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Whereas now, who do you confront?
0:18:55 > 0:18:59They are just fake accounts and they'll just disappear.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02I think it gives them more confidence
0:19:02 > 0:19:04to feel that it's OK to do that.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08In the taxi journey, Neelam and I discuss confronting
0:19:08 > 0:19:11her troll, DavidClarke00.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14I want to reach out to him and I want to...
0:19:14 > 0:19:18kind of lay my cards on the table.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22How would you feel about unblocking him and tweeting him?
0:19:22 > 0:19:25I would never normally unblock someone because I feel...
0:19:25 > 0:19:28I'm quite stubborn, once I block them, it's for a reason.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31I want to meet this guy, you know. I really want to.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Here he is.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41I feel quite nervous, if I'm honest.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Is he going to reply to me, is he going to just be rude to me
0:19:44 > 0:19:47and try and embarrass me?
0:19:47 > 0:19:49I feel like no matter what his response,
0:19:49 > 0:19:51I'm determined to find him in real life.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56While Neelam waits to see if her troll responds,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I'm back on the hunt of Louise's abuser,
0:19:59 > 0:20:04meeting up with David to analyse our target's Twitter feed more closely.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06This is Alam.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Straight away the first thing that you see is his header
0:20:10 > 0:20:13is of some fetish clothing
0:20:13 > 0:20:17and his very first tweet is a picture of a dead rat.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Alam, or Cruella180 as he is also known,
0:20:19 > 0:20:24is a Twitter fanatic, having made over 10,000 posts in five years.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27But it's his trolling of high-profile women like Louise
0:20:27 > 0:20:29that he appears most proud of.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33"Blocking me on Twitter means I got to the feminazi bitch"
0:20:33 > 0:20:35and a picture of a dead rat.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37OK, that's pretty robust.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42There are people that make it their mission to torment someone
0:20:42 > 0:20:45so much that they will block them and then they celebrate.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- Yeah.- They celebrate it.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51There's something else that is quite prevalent in here, as well.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54There is a lot of pornography.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57"You feminazis really turn me on."
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- Wow!- Wow.- OK, that's a bit far.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04- It's certainly not safe for work, fair to say.- 100% not.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08What he's done there in those other ones, the one which he was
0:21:08 > 0:21:12putting quite graphic images on, he was hashtagging her as well.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- So other people would find it... - So other people would find them
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and other people would then stumble upon those graphic images.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23- And maybe join HIM in trolling, as well.- Yeah.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- So he wants other people to see those.- Yeah.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Here we go.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30"I don't know about Burntwood School,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33"I went to Beechwood School in Slough..."
0:21:33 > 0:21:34EM GASPS
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- "..which is a shit-hole." - That's his school?
0:21:37 > 0:21:39- 16th October.- OK.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43We could do a bit of research to find out what the relevance
0:21:43 > 0:21:45of Burntwood School is, whether there was a news story at the time,
0:21:45 > 0:21:47to see why he's actually tweeted that.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52He's retweeted on November 14 - a tweet saying,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56"Between a church and a sex shop, my favourite house in Slough."
0:21:56 > 0:22:00I think we've got potentially quite a big clue.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03All roads lead to Slough.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06By the looks of it, they definitely do.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09- You're getting right into this... - I'm getting really into it.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- ..with your whiteboard and coloured pens.- I've got the power.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14- You haven't got the red pen yet. - I haven't.- We'll work on that.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Neelam and Louise are being terrorised by their anonymous
0:22:21 > 0:22:23trolls, but is it that simple?
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Nice to meet you.- Nice to meet you.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29I'm meeting tech entrepreneur Milo Yiannopoulos,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32a vocal advocate for freedom of speech online.
0:22:32 > 0:22:37What advice would you give to somebody who is subjected to abuse
0:22:37 > 0:22:40that is saddening them and that is affecting them quite deeply?
0:22:40 > 0:22:43- What advice would you give? - Toughen up. Toughen up.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46The majority of what's called abuse, harassment
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and trolling is ridicule - sometimes it's strong ridicule.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51It's criticism - sometimes it's strong criticism,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53but that's what the internet's for.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55You know, we're going to miss out on some really important
0:22:55 > 0:22:58essential conversations if we don't allow people to
0:22:58 > 0:23:00communicate in the way they want to.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02They are just people letting off steam, you know.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05To the person receiving that message... So if somebody sends me
0:23:05 > 0:23:08a message saying, "You need to fucking die, I'm going to murder you
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- "and put your head on a stake..." - You need to learn to laugh it off.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13But to the person receiving that message,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15that could be a very real threat.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18If you get a rape threat or a death threat, that's against the law.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21There are laws for this. Report it to the police and get on with your life.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22You know...
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Do you feel like they have a right to send that message,
0:23:25 > 0:23:26that it's OK to send that?
0:23:26 > 0:23:29I don't think it's OK. I'm not going to defend their right...
0:23:29 > 0:23:32I'll defend their right to say, I'm not going to defend the statement.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35No comment on the internet constitutes harassment.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37It's the internet. Turn your phone off.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39- But it's not as easy as that. - Turn the computer off.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42They've all got power buttons, you just turn them off.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Social media is so ingrained with us in society these days,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49the fact that everybody is on social media these days.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52If you don't want to get these comments,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54stop tweeting every five minutes.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57You know, people get the comments they deserve, by and large.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59This is a public publishing platform.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03Take responsibility for what you do on the internet, people, for God's sake.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06What if you're just using it as an effective tool to communicate
0:24:06 > 0:24:10with your friends and your family and your close circle?
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Why do you need to do this stuff publicly on the internet at all?
0:24:13 > 0:24:14It's an optional part of society.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17If you choose to use it, you have to understand that you
0:24:17 > 0:24:23are publishing to the entire planet stuff about your personal life.
0:24:23 > 0:24:24That comes with consequences.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29Milo makes a strong argument, but I absolutely don't agree with him.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32For some people, the words and thoughts exchanged online
0:24:32 > 0:24:35can have some very real consequences.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38I just can't understand
0:24:38 > 0:24:42how anybody can think it's OK to send
0:24:42 > 0:24:45horrible comments to people online.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47One thing that really stood out to me
0:24:47 > 0:24:51was that he said it's just the internet, it's not real,
0:24:51 > 0:24:52they can't hurt you.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55But for a lot of people, it can go very, very wrong
0:24:55 > 0:24:58and even though these may be funny comments,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02to the person receiving them, they might not be a joke
0:25:02 > 0:25:04and I think that's really important to remember.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13I'm meeting two people for whom the consequences of words online
0:25:13 > 0:25:15have been life-changing.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Mark Halsey is a recently retired Premiership referee.
0:25:18 > 0:25:24In 2009, he fought back from cancer to adjudicate once again
0:25:24 > 0:25:26at the highest level in football.
0:25:26 > 0:25:32Six months ago, Mark's family were subjected to disturbing online hate.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37"Your daughter will go to Jesus after I rape and bleed her to death.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40"Cancer scored against your wife."
0:25:40 > 0:25:42"Imagine using emojis.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44"You won't be when I massacre your family after
0:25:44 > 0:25:47"raping your daughter, a cancer patient."
0:25:47 > 0:25:50It actually baffles me
0:25:50 > 0:25:53how somebody can feel it's OK to send that message.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57It's not just the one message, there are ones that are
0:25:57 > 0:26:01so much worse that I cannot read some of them out.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04There's nothing wrong with using a pseudonym,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07but it's how you use it that matters.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Online words do hurt.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15This is so much more than "the ref's an idiot" or whatever, you know.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It's because it brought his family into it and that's the key.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20His family felt threatened.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23There was a real danger of this spilling over into real life,
0:26:23 > 0:26:24as far as they were concerned.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29- Hello, Mark, good to meet you.- Good to see you. How are you? You OK?
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- Very well.- Hiya.- Nice to meet you.- How you doing, you all right?
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Now, let's talk about some of the gyp that you get
0:26:36 > 0:26:39when you are in the middle of the pitch and you've got fans
0:26:39 > 0:26:43baying at you, calling you all sorts of names under the sun.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45How does that make you feel?
0:26:45 > 0:26:49To be fair, you shut it out because you're fully focused,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52you're fully concentrating on what's going on on the field of play.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54You don't really hear that, you don't hear what's being
0:26:54 > 0:26:57shouted at you from stands, unless, you know, the game has stopped
0:26:57 > 0:27:01and something's gone on and all of a sudden you get a moment's lapse
0:27:01 > 0:27:02in the game and sometimes you do hear that.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Can you give me some examples
0:27:04 > 0:27:07of the type of things that would be flung at you?
0:27:07 > 0:27:10You get the F word, you get this, you get that, you get the B.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14I mean, it's even worse from the fans, you know...
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Sometimes it's like...
0:27:16 > 0:27:18# The referee's a wanker! #
0:27:18 > 0:27:19Yeah, all that.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24Talk to me about when some people on Twitter have crossed the line
0:27:24 > 0:27:25with you.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Er, it started back in April.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31I was watching a game, you've got your phone there
0:27:31 > 0:27:34cos you're looking at decisions that are going on in a certain game
0:27:34 > 0:27:36and all of a sudden these tweets come in.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40You sort of take a quick look at them and all of a sudden...
0:27:40 > 0:27:42"Jesus, what on earth?"
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Some of the things that were coming in about my family.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Not so much me - I can handle it, but...
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Obviously, my wife's got leukaemia, so...
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Things were coming through about her,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55things were coming through about my eight-year-old daughter.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Some of the things that he was going to do to my daughter was just,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01you know, they deserve locking up, they deserve locking up
0:28:01 > 0:28:02and throwing away the key.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Straightaway, I got onto the police. I thought, "This ain't right."
0:28:06 > 0:28:10They spent four or five hours going through all these tweets.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12And did you find that the police took it seriously
0:28:12 > 0:28:16when you approached them or did they say, "Oh, it's just the internet"?
0:28:16 > 0:28:19No, no, to be fair, Greater Manchester Police,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I thought, were absolutely first class in what they done.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Despite the police acting quickly,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26their investigation spooked the trolls
0:28:26 > 0:28:30and they vanished into thin air before they could even be traced.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33If the authorities can't even track down these people,
0:28:33 > 0:28:34what hope have I got?
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Were you fearful of what might happen outside of the internet,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40but in real life, given the nature of these threats?
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Yeah, because he was going to, he was going to...
0:28:43 > 0:28:45He knows where we are, he knows where my daughter lives.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47He knows what school she goes to.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51And... "We're going to get her.
0:28:51 > 0:28:52"Catch us if you can."
0:28:52 > 0:28:56What kind of impact did that have on your family life?
0:28:56 > 0:29:00Michelle suffered quite a lot and...
0:29:00 > 0:29:05It's brought on anxiety and she was worried all the time. Why? Why?
0:29:05 > 0:29:10What made him, you know, tweet all these messages? Has he got family?
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Has he got a mum and dad? Has he got grandparents?
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Have any of his family gone through cancer?
0:29:15 > 0:29:16Suffered what I've gone through?
0:29:16 > 0:29:18What my wife's suffering at the moment?
0:29:28 > 0:29:31I know people will look at those and think, "Oh, it's not real,
0:29:31 > 0:29:34"none of it is real, nobody was ever in any danger,"
0:29:34 > 0:29:40but try telling that to his wife who is having to read
0:29:40 > 0:29:42these messages about their eight-year-old daughter
0:29:42 > 0:29:46about what this sick individual will want to do to her.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50I don't know any mother that would not feel threatened by reading
0:29:50 > 0:29:53those comments - or any father, even.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55It's just deplorable.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58As shocking as Mark's story is,
0:29:58 > 0:30:02unbelievably, for others, it is even worse.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13Over a third of teenagers have experienced harassment online.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21I want to find out what can happen
0:30:21 > 0:30:25when young people feel unable to escape their cyber abuse.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30I've been in touch with a teenage anti-bullying charity called Papyrus
0:30:30 > 0:30:34and they have very kindly put me in touch with a lady called Gabbi Dix.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Now, Gabbi had a teenage daughter called Izzy,
0:30:38 > 0:30:40who sadly took her own life
0:30:40 > 0:30:44after being on the receiving end of some horrific abuse,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47both offline and online.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52Shortly before she died, she wrote a poem called I Give Up.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57"Suddenly they call me over. I think, 'Yes, they've noticed me.'
0:30:57 > 0:31:01"But then it begins. They start to ask questions as to why I'm here.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04"They begin to tell me that nobody wants me there.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09"They tell me to leave and that I'm not wanted, not there, not anywhere.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12"My heart, my head, my body, numb."
0:31:13 > 0:31:15It's just so heartbreaking.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23It's just so saddening to read and what makes it more sad is that it's
0:31:23 > 0:31:28very similar to the type of poetry that I wrote when I was a teenager.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33Izzy and her mum Gabbi lived in Brixham, Devon,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36but since Izzy's death, Gabbi has moved to Bath.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41- It is so lovely to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45- You had a good journey? - I did, thank you.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50This is a scrapbook that I keep with me all the time.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53This is not long before Izzy passed.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58- You can see she's quite nervous about holding the...- Yeah!
0:31:58 > 0:32:02- She's holding it at a distance. "Oh, don't come any closer."- Yeah.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05- Yeah.- I think I would do the same, as well.
0:32:05 > 0:32:11This is Izzy doing a funny blog-type thing.
0:32:11 > 0:32:17I'm here today on the train to Brixham from Dartmouth.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Hello?
0:32:19 > 0:32:21That was the leader...
0:32:22 > 0:32:28She gives off... This tribe has a very distinctive scent,
0:32:28 > 0:32:32if you like, pheromones, if you will...
0:32:33 > 0:32:34..of poo!
0:32:34 > 0:32:36SHE LAUGHS
0:32:37 > 0:32:39THEY CHUCKLE
0:32:39 > 0:32:42- That's so...- She was so funny.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45What was Izzy's relationship like
0:32:45 > 0:32:48with social media and the internet?
0:32:48 > 0:32:52Izzy was very open about her internet use.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56She came to me to show me what had been happening on Ask.fm
0:32:56 > 0:32:59and she had numerous...
0:32:59 > 0:33:03very disgusting, disturbing things said about her.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08And I said, "Well, we need to deactivate your account,"
0:33:08 > 0:33:09and she agreed with me.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13But then it just transferred to Facebook.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16And then the isolation just got progressively worse.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19About four weeks before she died,
0:33:19 > 0:33:23she became very guarded about her internet usage
0:33:23 > 0:33:26and we now realise that's because she was being trolled.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31She was being told to go and die, that no-one wanted her,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33she didn't deserve to be alive...
0:33:34 > 0:33:39The day Izzy died, it was a relatively normal night.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42I went upstairs to check to see if Izzy was in bed,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44she'd had a shower and done her nails and...
0:33:47 > 0:33:53..I just went to push the door open and the door wouldn't move.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57And I thought Izzy was just sitting behind the door.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Er...
0:33:59 > 0:34:01I got her body down...
0:34:04 > 0:34:05And, er...
0:34:05 > 0:34:09tried to get her breathing again, but she wasn't breathing.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17After... After Izzy's death,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20her Facebook page was trolled very severely.
0:34:20 > 0:34:26Chants such as, "Izzy Dix isn't breathing any more, ha-ha ha-ha-ha."
0:34:26 > 0:34:30And, "I bet her mother's proud of her now."
0:34:30 > 0:34:35I don't think I will ever be able to wrap my head around
0:34:35 > 0:34:37what type of person...
0:34:37 > 0:34:40It's a person that needs serious help.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44I wish I'd been more aware of the dark side of the web -
0:34:44 > 0:34:46the real dark side of the web -
0:34:46 > 0:34:51because it's affecting young minds on a really deep level.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54It's psychological warfare for these children.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00For months after Izzy's death, Gabbi's personal social media and
0:35:00 > 0:35:04the Izzy Dix Foundation website were both repeatedly trolled.
0:35:04 > 0:35:11There's a picture here that was posted to the memorial page and...
0:35:13 > 0:35:18..I just don't get why you would want to send that to people
0:35:18 > 0:35:22that are trying to keep this girl's memory alive and...
0:35:24 > 0:35:28..that, I think, I will always struggle to understand.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31How you could possibly find that funny.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35With both Gabbi and Mark's stories playing on my mind,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39I have to find one of these online harassers.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42David is helping me out by taking what information
0:35:42 > 0:35:45we have on Louise and Neelam's trolls to digital specialists.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48I'm on my way to a company called Sentient.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52These are professional digital dark-net detectives.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55I'm hopeful that with the manpower of a team like this,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57we will be able to bring together
0:35:57 > 0:36:00as many sources of information as we can
0:36:00 > 0:36:04to build up a picture that will enable us to hunt down these trolls.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10The team uses a combination of powerful software and expertise
0:36:10 > 0:36:15to pick out clues from the public data scattered across the internet.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19And it seems, in Louise's case in particular, there's progress.
0:36:19 > 0:36:20What have you got?
0:36:20 > 0:36:25We have... He actually is quite active on the Twitter account
0:36:25 > 0:36:29and has been tweeting for some time, so we did actually manage
0:36:29 > 0:36:33to build up quite a good picture over a span of quite a few years.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38The main one for us was this tweet from the 26th of October,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41where he had tweeted to Slough Council about bins that
0:36:41 > 0:36:43haven't been emptied.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45And, you know, we'd like to presume
0:36:45 > 0:36:48that, in order to know that those bins haven't been emptied,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51you have to be in one of these buildings to be able to see it.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53He's not trying too hard to hide anything here.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57He uses this account for normal, personal, day-to-day stuff, clearly.
0:36:57 > 0:36:58- Yeah.- As well as the trolling stuff.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01There was just a handful, I would say, of tweets that were
0:37:01 > 0:37:06personal, like this one, but that was enough to be able to
0:37:06 > 0:37:08kind of piece together a bit more about him, really.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12So you've got Slough, you've got a kind of street location
0:37:12 > 0:37:13and you've got a picture.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Well, from this, we obviously looked on a map
0:37:16 > 0:37:19and when you look at it on a street view, you can see...
0:37:19 > 0:37:22- Some bins.- ..the bin section here.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25When we continued looking through the account,
0:37:25 > 0:37:30we actually found he likes to post pictures
0:37:30 > 0:37:35of his neighbour's cat and you can see the bins in the background,
0:37:35 > 0:37:39which would indicate that it's been taken from the back of the building.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43- Wow.- Kind of looking out over the bins, which is this area here.- Yeah.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45There was a number of pictures he'd taken,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47which was clearly from the upper floor.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49- Yes, taken from high up, isn't it? - Yeah.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51And, based on that information
0:37:51 > 0:37:54and then looking at electoral roll information,
0:37:54 > 0:37:57we were able to get a rough idea of who it was behind the name.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01- You've also got what you think is a picture of him, as well.- We do.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05He actually had been at a protest, I think it was,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09and looking at the picture a bit closer, he actually had caught
0:38:09 > 0:38:13a reflection of himself in the doorway when he took the photograph.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15- Oh, wow. There he is.- 'Hello?'
0:38:15 > 0:38:18Hello, Em. I'm down here at Sentient, I've just spent some time
0:38:18 > 0:38:19with the researchers here.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23I'll tell you what, we've been able to track him down
0:38:23 > 0:38:27to a bedroom window in a particular block of flats.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32Not only that, we've also got a picture of him, as well.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35I'll tell you what, it's from a picture that he's taken himself
0:38:35 > 0:38:38and it's a reflection of him in a window,
0:38:38 > 0:38:42so we've got him taking a picture that he then posted up online.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45'That's actually insane!
0:38:45 > 0:38:47'That's actually insane.'
0:38:47 > 0:38:52We've had a huge breakthrough in Louise's case,
0:38:52 > 0:38:54but now I need to catch up with Neelam.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56- Hi. How are you?- Hello.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00- Haven't seen you in ages. - I know, how are you?
0:39:00 > 0:39:02- I'm good, how are you doing? - I'm good.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04So last time that we met,
0:39:04 > 0:39:08you reached out to DavidClarke00 on Twitter.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Did you ever get anything back from that at all?
0:39:11 > 0:39:14- Er, he replied a few days later. - Really?- Yeah.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16And he was like, he said, erm,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20"That was months ago, that was ages ago," something like that.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23So it just shows me he's not ashamed of his actions.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25How did that make you feel?
0:39:25 > 0:39:29It just shows me that a lot of people who do this
0:39:29 > 0:39:31don't understand the impact it can have on someone.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35Well, look, I've got some news for you.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39- I'm really sorry, it's not good news.- Why?
0:39:39 > 0:39:40We couldn't get him.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43- Why? What was, like, the...?- Erm...
0:39:43 > 0:39:46I mean, like, it's not like we didn't try.
0:39:46 > 0:39:52We took DavidClarke00's profile to linguistic experts
0:39:52 > 0:39:56and we just couldn't do it, it just seemed like all
0:39:56 > 0:40:00of our routes that we were going to, we weren't getting any replies in.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03I kind of had a feeling it would be difficult because I feel
0:40:03 > 0:40:06like people who do this and troll online, like, they know how to
0:40:06 > 0:40:10cover their tracks and they know how to, like, be untraceable.
0:40:10 > 0:40:15But I don't think, really, that you needed to meet him
0:40:15 > 0:40:17to get some closure.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19Calling it out could be enough.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23I'm just glad I got to raise awareness on this and maybe open
0:40:23 > 0:40:28other people's eyes a bit more to what goes on online so frequently.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30I think, before, it would have affected me a lot more,
0:40:30 > 0:40:34but now we've researched into these people, it just makes me
0:40:34 > 0:40:37realise they have no life.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41And if we were to stop, and I said to you,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43"Look straight down that camera
0:40:43 > 0:40:50"and say how you really feel to DavidClarke00," what would you say?
0:40:50 > 0:40:52- There he is.- Oh, God!
0:40:52 > 0:40:57I think I would tell him... or you, DavidClarke00,
0:40:57 > 0:41:01that I can't understand the place you're coming from.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03I use my time wisely.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05I hope you realise that it's fine to dislike someone, but it's
0:41:05 > 0:41:08the way you voice your opinion, and especially when you're being racist,
0:41:08 > 0:41:11I feel like you should be held accountable for that.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15I actually feel really gutted for Neelam because I know how much
0:41:15 > 0:41:18she wanted to meet DavidClarke00.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22The fact is, when Neelam gets racist abuse on a daily basis,
0:41:22 > 0:41:28every little insignificant comment will hurt.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31And I am actually gutted for her.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35She said, "This has happened to me, I don't like it,
0:41:35 > 0:41:37"I don't stand for it and I won't accept it."
0:41:37 > 0:41:40And I think that is commendable.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46With Neelam's case hitting a dead end, I'm worried that
0:41:46 > 0:41:50if I don't find even one troll, then I've failed.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54But there is still hope with Louise's troll
0:41:54 > 0:41:59and I'm catching up with David one last time to see where we're at.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03- Louise Mensch.- Yes. - We've been doing a bit of work.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Now, as you remember, we had a look at some of Cruella180's tweets
0:42:07 > 0:42:10- and there were quite a few little clues in there.- Yeah.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14He's not been that fastidious in covering his tracks.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18There are a lot of resources online that can tell you
0:42:18 > 0:42:20- about addresses and who lives at addresses.- OK.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23I mean, this is one very popular website, 192.com.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26And we can see the residents of this block.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29- OK, wow, straightaway we've got his address.- Straightaway.- No?!
0:42:29 > 0:42:31Yeah, yeah, yeah. It gets better than that.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33- Going back to his tweets...- Yup.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37So that's what he looks like?
0:42:37 > 0:42:42It's now crossed over into real life.
0:42:42 > 0:42:48Because he might be doing these things online, but it's very real.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50We've found one troll.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53There are hundreds, thousands, millions of trolls out there.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56You know, we are not going to change the world by having a conversation.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59- No.- I'm trying to understand why he's doing this, but if we can help
0:42:59 > 0:43:03the people who are victims of trolls to understand what trolls are,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06why they do it, what motivates them to share this hatred, or whatever
0:43:06 > 0:43:10it is they've got within them, then I think that helps a lot of people.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13- I'm going to give that to you now. - Thank you.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Oh, I'm shaking taking that off you, like, holding it.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18- I don't think it's just the cold, either.- No.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21I think it's my heart just, like...
0:43:21 > 0:43:26This is it. Probably the scariest thing I've ever done in my life.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29But I think I'm ready.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34As I say goodbye to David, all I have in my mind is Slough.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36# Who's bad to the kiddie in the Jekyll hat... #
0:43:36 > 0:43:41I've got all the info now, so it's over to me to try and scout it out.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Basically, the bins are my biggest clue.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47The fact that he always seems to moan
0:43:47 > 0:43:50about the bins not being emptied
0:43:50 > 0:43:53and they're in this court area.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58And that seems to be in the line of sight from his house.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01So if I can track down this picture, where the bins are,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04then that should bring me quite close to him.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06After trawling the estate,
0:44:06 > 0:44:10I'm confident I've got a positive ID on Alam's house.
0:44:10 > 0:44:15With the net drawing in, now all I need is the lady herself.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17And to join me in the hunt,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20Louise has flown in especially from New York.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24- We've found out where he lives. - That does surprise me now
0:44:24 > 0:44:27because that's actually a pretty nice-looking flat.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30So we can look up the electoral roll.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33- That's right.- And we found his name.
0:44:33 > 0:44:34And there's your guy.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36There he is.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41Well, the guy in this picture is wearing a suit, a tie,
0:44:41 > 0:44:45a pair of brogues, looks like a professional.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49And now I feel extremely angry.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51And I want to go get him.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58I'm actually feeling a little bit nervous.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01For me, I'm like, "Oh, God, what's going to happen now?"
0:45:01 > 0:45:05Well, I'm only nervous that we won't get him or that he won't be there.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09Alam works shifts. I really hope he's in.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11That's his house.
0:45:11 > 0:45:12Nice-looking flat.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16We only have one shot at catching him.
0:45:16 > 0:45:24So it's about two o'clock and he usually gets home any minute now.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27It would be great to have the opportunity to confront this guy.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Do you feel like it's going to give you some sort of closure?
0:45:30 > 0:45:33Yes, he's tried to intrude on my life
0:45:33 > 0:45:36and now I will have a sense of his real life.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39Trolls like him target women like me
0:45:39 > 0:45:43or other women and, having fixated on a target,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47will spend a lot of time just obsessing, obsessing, obsessing.
0:45:47 > 0:45:48This is, like, a little bit crazy.
0:45:48 > 0:45:54I've been doing this for, like, months now and it feels like this
0:45:54 > 0:45:57has totally been my life for the past couple of months.
0:45:57 > 0:46:02And I can't believe we're actually sat here, sitting in a car waiting.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Oh, there's a car.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07Sorry. False alarm.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09Every time somebody walks past us or a car comes round the corner,
0:46:09 > 0:46:11- you go... - LOUISE GASPS
0:46:11 > 0:46:13I think that's what makes me more nervous.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16It's just the waiting and just not knowing
0:46:16 > 0:46:19if he's going to turn around or if he's going to turn up
0:46:19 > 0:46:23because I know when he comes, I can't be nervous.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30So it's been like, what, a couple of hours now that we've been
0:46:30 > 0:46:34sat in this car freezing cold and there's no sign of him?
0:46:34 > 0:46:38As every minute slips by, we're arousing suspicion
0:46:38 > 0:46:40and losing valuable time.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42If Louise can't challenge her abuser,
0:46:42 > 0:46:46it will be a waste of a 7,000-mile round trip for her
0:46:46 > 0:46:50and I'll have blown my only opportunity to confront a troll.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53- But just as we're about to call it a day...- Say again?
0:46:53 > 0:46:55RADIO CHATTER
0:46:56 > 0:46:58The target! Go, go, go, go, go!
0:47:08 > 0:47:11He's parking. He's parking.
0:47:12 > 0:47:13Are you ready?
0:47:20 > 0:47:22- Who are you?- We're from the BBC.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26- Oh, right.- We understand that you've been targeting women online.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29I've got one here that would like to talk to you.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31- Hi, Alam, it's Louise Mensch. - Oh, right.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33You asked me to follow you and I have done.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35- Would you like to have a chat? - Is it really you?
0:47:35 > 0:47:37- Yes, it is me.- All right, well, pleased to meet you.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Would you like to explain why you've been sending me
0:47:40 > 0:47:42pornographic images for a number of years?
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Do you think sending pornographic pictures to women is
0:47:44 > 0:47:46or is not pathetic?
0:47:46 > 0:47:48- Well, it was to upset you and wind you up. Did it work?- Why?- No.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51- You try to demean people. - And it weren't pornographic.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54- I think they were artistic.- What would your mum think of it, Alam?
0:47:54 > 0:47:56Have you got any sisters? Girlfriends?
0:47:56 > 0:47:58To be honest, I don't really like women.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01- Why do you not care?- You don't like women? You don't like women?
0:48:01 > 0:48:02Why don't you like women?
0:48:02 > 0:48:04Porn, all it does is to get followers online.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06- Do you think that's appropriate? - For fun.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10- Do you think that is appropriate? - Yes.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13Why do you send abuse to people? Why?
0:48:13 > 0:48:16For fun. I'll tell you what, I want to get into civilian clothes.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18We'll have a proper discussion about this, all right?
0:48:18 > 0:48:20If you don't mind waiting here.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23I'm glad that Louise has finally got the closure she's craved.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26I'm just overjoyed that, after such a long wait,
0:48:26 > 0:48:28I got the chance to confront him.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31- He couldn't believe that you were here.- He kept asking me...
0:48:31 > 0:48:32He couldn't believe you were really here.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Yeah, he kept asking me if it was me, which goes to show,
0:48:35 > 0:48:38since he's been sending me all these tweets for ever and ever, that
0:48:38 > 0:48:39it's divorced from the real person.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42He doesn't understand there is a person behind the Twitter account
0:48:42 > 0:48:44and when that person turned up,
0:48:44 > 0:48:46he had absolutely nothing to say for himself.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49And I think it was really unbelievably important that
0:48:49 > 0:48:51I got the chance to say that to him.
0:48:51 > 0:48:56And now you will be able to delve into why he does that to women.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59- Thank you.- OK, leave it with me. - I will do.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02Hopefully you'll get your answers.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05After months of meeting victims of online abuse,
0:49:05 > 0:49:08I finally get to look an active troll in the eye.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11Alam, who goes by the name Cruella180,
0:49:11 > 0:49:13takes pride in his anonymity
0:49:13 > 0:49:18and I want to start by asking why he hides behind his profile.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21That's why I don't use my real name when I'm on Twitter.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23But why don't you use your real name?
0:49:23 > 0:49:25I don't want people knowing who I am, I'm like Zorro.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27- Why?- Zorro.- Is it because of the tweets?- All right.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30How come superheroes always wear masks?
0:49:30 > 0:49:32Clark Kent. It's the same thing.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34If you're not using your real name, is that
0:49:34 > 0:49:36because you're ashamed of what you're tweeting?
0:49:36 > 0:49:38- No, no.- Because you know you'll get into trouble?
0:49:38 > 0:49:41No, Cruella180 is an online persona.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43If you are a superhero, what is your mission?
0:49:43 > 0:49:45All right, it's to destroy authority.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49Do you ever see anonymous or groups of protesters,
0:49:49 > 0:49:51right-wing or left-wing...? Cos I view them as the same.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54You see them, they've always got their fingers up,
0:49:54 > 0:49:56shouting abuse, "Scum, scum," whatever. It's the same thing.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58You ever want to do that? The graffiti?
0:49:58 > 0:50:00I mean, again, I'm doing the same thing.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02But I do it online and I reach a lot more people.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05I hope, anyway. And I hope it does a lot more damage, as well.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08Do you consider yourself a troll, like an internet troll?
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Well, actually, I've never considered myself a troll,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12- but I've never threatened anybody online.- OK.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14I've never gone to a member of the public,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16"I think you're scum. I'm going to come round and get you."
0:50:16 > 0:50:19I've never done that. I've never threatened anybody,
0:50:19 > 0:50:20but I've told people they're stupid.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22Do you enjoy getting at people?
0:50:22 > 0:50:26How does it make you feel when somebody blocks you?
0:50:26 > 0:50:29- Well, I've got to them. - And is that job done?
0:50:29 > 0:50:30- It is. - "Get in, another pint in the pub"?
0:50:30 > 0:50:32It means I got to them, it means I got to them.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34If they block me, I got to them.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36And do you celebrate? What do you do?
0:50:36 > 0:50:39- I just move on to someone else.- You just move on to somebody else?- Yeah.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42I'm surprised by how completely unrepentant he is,
0:50:42 > 0:50:44especially towards Louise.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47- I wonder where his anger comes from. - You know what?
0:50:47 > 0:50:49I don't owe the world anything.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51The world owes me.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54And also, of course, I don't owe it an explanation.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57I'll speak to you, but I don't owe you an explanation, either.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59I think the whole world can go to hell.
0:50:59 > 0:51:04I'm working class. I don't like white, middle-class people. Right?
0:51:04 > 0:51:06White, middle-class English people.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08And this country's obsessed with class.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11And if you're of the wrong class, badly educated...
0:51:11 > 0:51:14You know, they'd let you know what they think of you.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18The more I listen to Alam talking about his online persona
0:51:18 > 0:51:23and his real life, I realise he's blurred the lines between the two.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27Why should somebody have to block you? Why can't you just not send it?
0:51:27 > 0:51:31Because they probably won't pay me any attention if I don't.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34Do you think about how people feel when you send them?
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Again, it's not about them, it's about me.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Is that what it's all about? Getting followers?
0:51:38 > 0:51:41- Yes, getting more followers.- What's your goal? What would be your dream?
0:51:41 > 0:51:43What would make you happy? How many followers?
0:51:43 > 0:51:46If I got like a million followers or something like that,
0:51:46 > 0:51:50- I would be very happy.- Increasingly, I realise this troll has no idea
0:51:50 > 0:51:52about the impact his online abuse has.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54Cos I've never threatened anybody and I said
0:51:54 > 0:51:57I've never gone to hurt anybody, except maybe, you know...
0:51:57 > 0:52:00You don't want people killing themselves and stuff like that.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02- But that's the thing... - But no-one's ever killed themselves
0:52:02 > 0:52:05- because of me.- But I've been doing this now for over three months,
0:52:05 > 0:52:06this journey.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I've met with a woman called Gabbi Dix
0:52:09 > 0:52:10whose daughter did actually
0:52:10 > 0:52:12kill herself because of messages online.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16- Her 14-year-old daughter killed herself.- Was it on Twitter?
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Her 14-year-old daughter took her own life
0:52:18 > 0:52:22because of online messages that were sent to her.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Does it ever concern you that your messages could be deeply
0:52:25 > 0:52:26affecting someone?
0:52:26 > 0:52:29I've never targeted a civilian. I say civilian.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31I've always gone for famous people.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33- But they're normal people, too. - No, they're not.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35I just can't stop laughing.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37Really? When you're typing it you're laughing?
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Yes, yes, because when the porn comes out... Especially the porn.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42Why do you use porn? I don't quite understand this.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45HE LAUGHS Tell me why you use porn.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48It's actually soft porn, not hard porn. I've never done hard porn.
0:52:48 > 0:52:49I don't think I have, anyway.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52If you read it online and saw the porn, would you have followed me?
0:52:52 > 0:52:54- No, why would I? - Would you have retweeted it?
0:52:54 > 0:52:56Because that's what happened with Louise Mensch.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59- She retweets it, so... - Yeah, no, she blocked me.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02I don't know what tweet I sent her, but she retweeted it
0:53:02 > 0:53:04and then blocked me. And I've got Louise Mensch saying,
0:53:04 > 0:53:06- "You're pathetic." - HE LAUGHS
0:53:06 > 0:53:08- Right.- I can just imagine her saying it, as well.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11And, of course, when I stopped laughing,
0:53:11 > 0:53:12I thought I'd start on her.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16She brought herself to my attention, that's what she did.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20- But you don't think you'll ever stop doing it?- No, it'll go in waves.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22There will be someone new, there's always someone new.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Do you think anything would make you stop?
0:53:25 > 0:53:27No. No, it's freedom of speech in the end.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30I don't know if I can say my age, but I'm in my 40s, all right?
0:53:30 > 0:53:33And what do I get? Nothing.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35I've probably reached the pinnacle of my career,
0:53:35 > 0:53:36if you can call it that,
0:53:36 > 0:53:40pay my mortgage off in about seven years or whatever.
0:53:40 > 0:53:41What do I get? Nothing.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44I've destroyed people's reputations online, which is what I do.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46Everything's online these days.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50If you type in Cruella180, things come up. Because it's power.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54As Alam leaves, I know that nothing I say
0:53:54 > 0:53:57will make someone like him change.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03I'm happy I've got to confront a troll
0:54:03 > 0:54:06and help in some way to get closure for Louise.
0:54:07 > 0:54:13But the truth is that online abuse for the victims is very real.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16Anybody that's doing this,
0:54:16 > 0:54:19I personally think, are not happy in their life.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23You've only got to look at Stuart or Cruella. We've all
0:54:23 > 0:54:27turned to the internet when we were at an unhappy point in our lives.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30You know, it's how you use these tools
0:54:30 > 0:54:33and how you communicate that makes the real difference.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37We need to take responsibility for our own actions.
0:54:37 > 0:54:42You can't blame the social network inside if you're the one
0:54:42 > 0:54:45sending death threats or rape threats to someone online.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48Twitter might be facilitating that,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51but they didn't type the message and hit the enter key.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55I think one of the main things that I've learned from this journey
0:54:55 > 0:54:59is that you shouldn't fear the trolls.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03It is not about you, it is all about them
0:55:03 > 0:55:07and they do not care how you feel.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11Cyber abuse is very real.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15We need to take responsibility for what we say on social media.
0:55:15 > 0:55:21Because, ultimately, the online and offline worlds are the same thing.