Education ministers warn online bullies are creating mass fake accounts to troll teens
A ‘frightening’ new cyber-bullying trend has emerged, and young bullies are using it to relentlessly harass their victims.
Young bullies are creating countless fake social media accounts to relentlessly taunt their victims in a tactic known as “phoenixing”, authorities are warning.
The worrying trend has been raised with the nation’s education ministers, in a briefing from the eSafety Commission, as they roll out landmark bullying reforms.
The changes, announced on Friday, include requiring schools to act on reports of bullying within 48 hours.
South Australian Education Minister Blair Boyer said the use of social media had made “combating bullying harder than it has ever been”.
He said eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant had delivered a “fascinating and frightening” briefing to ministers on the latest trends, including so-called “phoenixing”.
Named for the mythical bird that is reborn from its own ashes, the tactic involves creating numerous fake social media accounts to ensure bullies can continue to target victims even if some accounts are reported and shut down.
“(They are) starting 15 accounts that are targeting an individual and then, as one account is knocked off, they’ve got another one ready to go,” Mr Boyer said.
“It is insidious. It is there in that young person’s life 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They can’t escape it when they go home.”
Federal Education Minsiter Jason Clare and his state and territory counterparts have agreed to implement a new national standard on responding to bullying.
Schools will now be required to act on complaints within 48 hours and keep records on every report or incident, including details about the people involved, any evidence presented and actions undertaken by the school.
Releasing the findings of a national review – which was sparked by a News Corp Australia investigation into the potentially deadly consequences of teen bullying – Mr Clare also committed $5 million for a national awareness campaign and $5 million for new resources for teachers, students, and parents to better prevent and respond to bullying.
News Corp Australia’s investigation was driven by the suicide of NSW 12-year-old Charlotte O’Brien, whose parents struggled to get support from her school before her death despite repeated complaints.
The review, led by clinical psychologist Dr Charlotte Keating and suicide prevention researcher Dr Jo Robinson, received almost 1700 submissions from students, parents and educators detailing accounts of real-life bullying experiences and the need for urgent action.
The review found 53 per cent of young people had been cyberbullied, including an alarming 13 per cent who said they were told by their billies that they “should die”.
Fifty-three per cent of year 4 to year 9 students reported being bullied regularly every few weeks.
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Originally published as Education ministers warn online bullies are creating mass fake accounts to troll teens
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