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Facebook Enlists More Help to Tackle Anti-Gay Bullying

 & Leslie Horn Reporter

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Facebook and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) last week announced a partnership to tackle hate speech on the social-networking site. Facebook is now expanding that collaboration to several other organizations to ensure that its online community is free from cyber-bullying.

Facebook is forming what it calls a "Network of Support" as a preventative measure against LGBT bullying, which includes MTV's a Thin Line campaign, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the Trevor Project, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

"It's not just about removing bad content, it's also about preventing it," said a blog post on Facebook's safety page. "We believe that educating people about the lasting and damaging impact of hateful remarks is a shared responsibility and that's why we routinely call upon top Internet safety experts – like members of our Safety Advisory Board – for advice and resources for our Safety Center and Safety Page."

Facebook and GLAAD initially teamed up after anti-gay comments were posted to a Page dedicated to gay teens who had recently committed suicide. The Page focused on an event that called on people to honor the teens by wearing purple on Oct. 20. Facebook pledged to troll the site to better prevent that type of pejorative speech, rather than just responding to it.

With the expanded partnership, Facebook said it hopes to "provide better resources for LGBT teens and everyone who wants to keep the Internet a safe place." Blocking bullies, reporting harassment, sticking up for others, thinking twice before posting, asking for help, and knowing that you're not alone are six tips Facebook included in the post as ways users can help curb cyber-bullying themselves.

Yahoo also weighed in on the issue in a Tuesday blog post, and said that its employees would also wear purple on Oct. 20 in support of LGBT individuals.

About Our Expert

Leslie Horn

Leslie Horn

Reporter

Leslie Horn joined the PCMag team as a news reporter in the fall of 2010. She covered a wide range of topics, from digital media to the latest Apple rumor. After graduating with a degree in Magazine Journalism from the University of Missouri, she wrote for Out & About, a travel guide in coastal Maine. One of her favorite reporting experiences was covering the 2008 Olympics from Beijing. She travels every chance she gets; a favorite trip was backpacking along the coast of Brazil. Though she was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leslie embraces life as a New Yorker.

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