Tracking the Welsh Trolls Week In Week Out

At the touch of a button Welsh student, Liam Stacey, became an

international hate figure and branded a racist troll. I then

realised that what I'd done, just the enormity of it. It was just

huge. Tonight for the first time he explains why he made the comments

that landed him in jail. It was just stupid, disgusting. I wish if

I could turn back the clocks I would. We go undercover to expose

the online trolls. I'm clicking on his username to see if there is

anything Internet trolls are nasty pieces of work, they go out to

shock, offend and upset vulnerable people. Celebrities, grieving

relatives, they'll target anyone. Already got a big hole in my heart

as it is and these people just make the hole deeper. To them it's a

game, and online hate is on the rise. But can the trolls be

It was March this year when the abuse of social media and the term

internet troll really came to people's attention. Fabrice Muamba,

was playing for Bolton Wanderers when he collapsed on the pitch.

have seen players turning away almost in horror. Players and fans

are praying. The news quickly spread on the social media site

Twitter. I'd had a lot to drink, I was then

I overheard the news about Muamba during the England, Ireland game or

just after that. I don't know why, I decided to tweet about it.

year old Liam Stacey, from Pontypridd was drinking in a

student bar in Swansea. This is the first time he's told his story.

When challenged by other users he used racist language towards them.

It just got all out of hand then. I didn't intend on being a racist

when I got up that morning, I just wanted to go out with my friends

and watch Wales win the Grand Slam. And within an hour, two hours,

everything escalated. Thousands of Twitter users had read Stacey's

comments. Some are too offensive to broadcast. He was soon reported to

the police. The more that people responded the worse his comments

became and in particular they were directed towards people who were

quite clearly black and from ethnic minority groups who had shown how

distressed and offended they were. Superintendent Joe Ruddy, was in

overall charge of the investigation for South Wales Police. We'd had

complaints from all over the country, hundreds of people phoned

their different police forces to complain about the activity that

was on going in a very, very quick time. It went viral, not only was

it local and national it actually had an international aspect on

Twitter and people were complaining to the police to take some action.

Realising how serious it was becoming, Stacey tried to distance

himself from his previous comments, first saying it was a joke, then

that his phone had been hacked, before tweeting an apology and

shutting down his account. realised then that what I'd done,

just the enormity of it. It was huge across Great Britain. I was

just on the phone to my mother then and one of my mates, just crying

and it wasn't a good time. I wasn't in a good place at that time to be

honest. Just didn't know what was going to happen to me. There were a

lot of threats towards me and my family. I was up for hours,

couldn't sleep just thinking about everything. And then I woke up in

morning and I was arrested by four police officers. I just cried and

cried. It all happened so fast. I was in custody then. Stacey was

charged, and pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order

offence. Ten days after first tweeting the comments he was jailed

for 56 days. He served 28. Never in a million years would I expect to

be put into prison or go to prison. Millions of us have signed up to

social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, sharing details of our

lives with photos, videos and our These days, getting yourself

published is as easy as that. I have the power to communicate with

anyone online wherever they live, whoever they are. Perhaps I should

make sure that whatever I say on this I'm equally happy to shout out

in the street. As more of us are logging on to social media, a

sinister side has also emerged. Those using the internet to abuse,

insult and offend others. The most extreme are known as Internet

Trolls. Their targets can be anyone from celebrities to school children

and even the dead. Paul is an online investigator. He doesn't

want us to use his full name. With his help we'll be going undercover

online to investigate the trolls. Internet trolls are nasty pieces of

work, they go out to shock, offend and upset vulnerable people. And

the more people that they can upset the happier they feel. They exist

under a shroud of anonymity, they feel they won't get caught or be

held accountable for the messages that they post. Paul says there are

different forms of trolling. Anyone can go online and be jackass and

post nasty messages, but that's different to a concerted effort of

a troll. In fact, some of the comments that we've seen that

people have been arrested for, they've actually used their own

names. Now a real troll, a professional troll would never do

that because they know they could be traced and held accountable for

their litany of horrific messages sometimes over years. They really

have to hide themselves. And that gives them a great feeling of

freedom to get away with whatever they want to do. For the prolific

internet trolls, nothing is off limits. Some of the most extreme

forms of trolling involve targeting those who've died and their

families. Online condolence books set up in memory of people are

known as RIP sites. Sonia Oatley and Catherine Broomfield's

daughters were both murdered. They've formed a friendship through

their shared grief. And the two mums have also both experienced

abuse from the trolls. In October 2010, 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward's

body was found in a wood near Bridgend. She'd been battered to

death by her former boyfriend, 16- year old Joshua Davies. A number of

online RIP pages were set up in Rebecca's memory. Her mum, Sonia,

says having the sites helped with the loss. I thought it would be a

nice idea so that all her friends could comment, like on her birthday,

wish her happy birthday. I think it's very important for them to

acknowledge her and for her brother and sister to see all the tributes

that have been posted to their sister. It's nice to keep her

memory alive, it's very important. But just days after Rebecca's

murder a number of people wrote abusive messages about Rebecca, one

describing her as a dumb whore. think it's absolutely appalling.

I'm really, really sad that somebody could do that. It's sick.

Praying on other people's grief. Just making it worse for families.

As if we're not suffering enough. Catherine Broomfield has also

suffered. Her daughter, Kirsty, was murdered in 2009 in Swansea. Her

body was found in a suitcase near the M4 in Bridgend. Her husband,

Paul Grabham, was jailed for her murder. The worst feeling in the

whole wide world. Nothing can hurt you as much as losing your child,

nothing at all. It's a pain I'll have with me for the rest of my

life. She created a memorial garden for Kirsty, and set up an online

RIP site which she visits daily, but the trolls have also been.

few of them saying that they'd have liked to have had sexual

relationships with Kirsty before she was killed. And it's a pity

she's in wooden box. I wondered who was doing it. It makes you

suspicious of everybody because you just don't know who it is. It just

hurts, already got a big hole in my heart as it is, you know. And these

people just make the hole deeper, that's what they're doing.

Catherine is angry and wants more to be done to stop those abusing

the dead online. It's horrific and these people that do it are really

vile scum. They're the dregs of society and they should get hefty

prison sentences for doing this to Liam Stacey knows only too well

that getting caught for online abuse can mean jail. Prison itself,

looking back on it, it flew. I was keeping myself occupied just

writing nearly every day, just trying to get by as quick as

possible to get out to see my friends and family. It seemed like

it flew by. But at the time every day seemed like a month in itself.

He has been branded a racist and a troll. I didn't even know what a

troll was. Now I do. Would you consider yourself to be a troll?

no. Mine was a one-off. People actually get up in the mornings and

try and do things that I did after a stupid outburst when I was drunk.

People do that every day. A quick search online soon reveals trolls.

There are places where trolls live online. There are many messages

boards and social networks. Choose a subject and you will find trolls.

It doesn't take long before we find a very active troll who appears to

be Welsh. We can start to see some of the messages that he has been

leaving on people's videos and you can see a couple of RIP videos. I

think there is this troll culture out there which involves being as

obnoxious as you can, so when you do get an RIP video going up or

somebody is in the news there has been some tragedy then the trolls

will be attracted to those sites. And then high five each other in

their own little communities. The messages are very disturbing. They

show a disconnect from people's feelings, they show a disconnect

from real life. There is also a worrying amount of messages written

about children. He might leave comments which can be really

offensive about young girls. offensive that much of what the

troll has written can't be broadcast. Then, as we are

investigating the Welsh case, we come across one of the most

disturbing examples of how these trolls work happening at the same

time as we are online. In an anonymous forum used by trolls,

someone posts a link to a video of a 17-year-old boy. I have some bad

news I want to tell you all. I have chronic heart rejection and I won't

be here for as long as I thought. This is a real teenager and he

really does have a life-threatening condition. This is a YouTube video.

They are saying this person has chronic heart rejection. Our

sympathies need to be shared and basically this is incitement to go

onto YouTube and leave comments on this poor boy's videos. We can

start to see some of the messages which have been left underneath

that troll community and some of them are dreadful. Somebody has

just posted that right now. minute ago it says. Yeah, there are

hundreds of messages just attacking this guy. Well, at the start of

this programme, I just thought it was individuals who come across

sites and write nasty stuff. But what you have just shown me now is

a site where people meet, decide who we are going to go for and all

just go for it. Thought about, pre- planned and deliberate. A co-

ordinated attack where they will be engulfed with thousands and

thousands of hate messages. It is difficult to understand the reasons

behind the behaviour of the trolls and what they get out of it. Dr

Emma Short is a psychologist and an expert on cyberstalking. She has

spent time studying the trolls. find sites like that and then

create a really offensive discussion is really an almost

kudos in the community of trolls. And actually the people affected by

it, really affected by it, the people who have lost people and are

attempting to pay tribute to them, are just really just collateral

damage. One of the most disturbing cases of online abuse happened last

month. Sheffield United and Wales striker Ched Evans was jailed for

five years for raping a 19-year-old woman at a hotel near Rhyl in

Denbighshire. After Evans' conviction, the victim became the

target of viscous online abuse. And it didn't just stop there. The 19-

year-old girl was repeatedly named online, and that is despite the

fact that as a rape victim she has a legal, life-long right to

anonymity. The spread of her name online lead police to issue a

warning that they would prosecute people. They described the

publication of her name as profoundly disturbing. The

teenager's mother said that putting her name on Twitter is just another

horrendous ordeal for her. North Wales Police are investigating. So

far 16 people have been arrested. But for the victim the damage has

been done. The law on not naming rape victims is clear, but how to

apply it online is a new challenge for the authorities. In Liam

Stacey's case, his comments and prosecution sparked national debate

about what you can and can't say online. It was racist language that

you used? Would you normally use the racist words you used that day

on Twitter? Never. Why would I? I wouldn't want to upset my friends,

definitely wouldn't want to upset anyone that I don't know. Why did

you use them? Drunken stupidity. That is the only thing I can say

about it. I don't know why I did it. I really don't. The use of racist

language and the way your tweets seemed to escalate after that, can

you explain that? To be honest, I can't. It must have been that I was

getting so many Tweets towards me I was kind of defending myself, but

the way I did it was disgusting. If I could turn back the clocks, I

would. I had only had Twitter for about two weeks. And I didn't

really know how it worked. What I struggle to get my head around the

week before I was a normal kid getting on with my work in uni,

getting on with life, playing rugby with all my mates, then week or two

later going to prison. Just everything had been turned upside

down. I think that is going to go down as a landmark in terms of a

lesson in life. The posts were utterly offensive, fulfilled all

criteria. But again if that had happened in an isolated space

outside a pub it would have been a very different story. What we must

learn from this is restraint and is about the fact that you are not

just communicating with your friends, you are broadcasting, like

television, broadcast to whoever is tuned in at the time. With that

There is no specific law against trolling instead laws from

malicious communication to public order are being applied to what is

written online. A number of people were prosecuted for comments made

on social media during the riots of August last year. The offences they

were charged with and the sentences they were given varied. The Welsh

troll, like many others, behaves as if he is beyond the law. With

Paul's help, I am going undercover online to see if we can find out

who is behind the username. Paul has set up a fake troll profile.

am going to post him a message. I am going to go into his account and

send him a comment and just ask him to send me an email. The troll

continues to post offensive messages including graphic sexual

comments about children. Within a couple of days, we have an email

address which gives us more clues as to who this person is and where

they live. There is no specific law of trolling, which means it is

difficult to know how big a problem it really is. The different

offences which can apply make it hard to get any accurate figures

for how many arrests and prosecutions there have been.

the South Wales Police have seen over 100% increase in the number of

social networking type occurrences in the last two years. That is

probably just tip of the iceberg of what is going on out there.

high profile social media user says not only is it happening more, it

is also becoming more sinister. Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson is

celebrated for her sporting success, achieving 11 Paralympic gold medals.

She is a Welsh icon, but to the internet trolls she is just another

target. Tanni recently wrote an article about her experiences of

disability access to public transport after having to crawl off

a train. Probably the most offensive were along the lines of

people like you should be in cattle trucks at the back of trains so you

don't contaminate normal people. You know, some of the excuses I

have had from people are you can't stop me, it is against my human

rights. Actually, no, it is not. Or it is my freedom of speech and I

think it is very interesting how people wouldn't maybe say that to

somebody in person, but when they hide behind a computer or a phone

they think they are entitled to be incredibly offensive. It feels like

the criminal justice system is trying to play catch up with social

media. At the moment, the legislation is not clear. People

are being prosecuted in all sorts of different ways and the

legislation we have at the moment is outdated. It was written before

we had social media and social media is moving so quickly. I am

not usually one to press for more legislation, however, I think we

need to make sure we stop this in its tracks and it doesn't get worse

and we don't just keep racketing up hate crime against people. --

ratchetting up. Because it will result in some really nasty things

happening. You know, not just words, it will result in people getting

killed. Tanni believes what people write can escalate into action and

something needs to be done and fast. Jim Brisbane is from the Crown

Prosecution Service. He says anyone abusing online communication is

risking prosecution. Social media is very clearly something that the

vast majority of the population enjoy and use very responsibility

and there is no reason why that can't continue to develop in that

way. But there is now an opportunity to make it clear for

those who overstep the mark and abuse the privilege of being able

to communicate in such a wide way that the law that applies to other

settings and other forms of communication can apply equally to

what they are doing. And, if that is not recognised, then there may

be consequences. The Welsh troll logs on almost every night. After

monitoring him for several weeks, we email the troll using the

address given to our undercover profile. We tell him we are making

a television programme and want to ask him about his online behaviour.

In an email that has been sent to us the troll says, us trolls like

to remain anonymous. I can tell you why I troll, though. I have had a

difficult life and have received much abuse off people. Upsetting

people makes me feel better. I have toned down a lot recently because

of the law. But within hours of sending the message, he is back

online mocking a report about two teenage suicides and writing highly

offensive sexual comments about teenage girls. Clearly, what he

posts is damaging. He rehearses this, does it to him, become more

of a reality or is the satisfaction replaying certain fantasies. Is he

fixated on this kind of criminal act or abuse or is he just after

the outrage? I would say depending on where he gets satisfaction from

would have implication for how Liam Stacey's online behaviour has

made him a convicted criminal. Muamba is making a good recovery

and had an emotional return to his home ground. Liam Stacey has a very

uncertain future. When he should have been studying for his final

university exams, he was locked up in a prison cell. Swansea

University had suspended him but he is now planning to sit his biology

exams next year. That is all I have ever wanted to do is to work as a

scientist. Well, obviously a criminal record is not helping. I'm

almost sure it will affect my job seeking opportunities, but I'm

still going to be determined to get a job. The law isn't about to

change. But with social media becoming part of our everyday lives

and all of us having the power to broadcast our every thought there

will be future prosecutions. There is a determination to deal with

this kind of offence if a victim makes a complaint anonymity is not

something that should be relied upon by anybody. We have exposed a

prolific Welsh troll. And tracked him down to the Abergele area. He

refused to answer more of our questions. But North Wales Police

are aware of him and say they will investigate offences brought to

their attention. We have reported the troll to YouTube. They have

shut him down. Sonia and Catherine are determined the behaviour of the

trolls won't force them to remove the RIP pages. Why should I give

that up because of some sick individuals? I won't let them win.

I will never take my page down, never. If you wouldn't say it in

the street, then don't say it on the internet. It is exactly the

same. Liam's life changed with the click of a button. He is