Monica Lewinsky Launches Anti-Bullying 'Goodness Bot' to Turn Hate into Positivity
Have you ever wished you could snap your fingers and summon a friend to stand up for you in a bullying situation? Or simply help a target of bullying online? After launching The-Epidemic.com, a unique dual-screen, interactive experience which creates awareness about the global epidemic of cyberbullying and its dire consequences, Monica Lewinsky and her team are releasing a part two to the campaign, timed to build on this momentum and punctuate the end of October’s Anti-Bullying Month. Enter the @GoodnessBot – an antidote to online negativity and hate.
The @GoodnessBot is an automated Twitter account that transforms online hate into love, making the internet a kinder place. When tagged in reply to a bullying tweet, it generates a similar version of the offending tweet but changes the key negative words and phrases into kind or silly versions of it. @GoodnessBot not only models “upstanding” behaviour, it allows individuals to intervene on behalf of friends or strangers in a simple, streamlined and safe way.
The bot launched this morning on the Today Show. To see it in action, view a demo here.
“@GoodnessBot is an amazing tool for interrupting negative and cyberbullying behaviour, which helps diffuse harassing situations and change social norms online. The bot’s often-irreverent manner can also add some much-needed levity to someone’s mentions,” says Monica. “Much like our work with ‘The Epidemic’ PSA, we want those being bullied to know they’re not alone—they’re not invisible to people who care.”
“Our singular goal is to serve the public conversation, including protecting the safety of people who use our service,” said Carlos Monje, Jr., Twitter Public Policy Director. “We care deeply about bullying prevention and have tools in place to help give people control over their experience on Twitter. We appreciate Ms. Lewinsky’s committed leadership on this critical issue.”
The-Epidemic.com experience has been seen by individuals in over 150 countries, and almost 15 million Twitter users alone since launch. In partnership with Twitter, @GoodnessBot is engineered to remind people to carry empathy with them far beyond the end of October’s Anti-Bullying Month.
The @GoodnessBot is apolitical and designed to avoid targeting divisive political figures to ensure its benefit is focused on everyday users and not embroiled in a potentially polarising discourse.
Next time you see bullying behaviour on Twitter, simply reply to the tweet, type in @Goodnessbot and hit reply. The bot will do the rest.
