Twitter partners with women’s group to quash harassment

One of the biggest reputational hurdles for social media platforms is that they can sometimes be hotbeds for harassment.

That’s been particularly true over the past several months, as the #GamerGate hashtag—nominally the tag for a movement intended to improve ethics in video game journalism—has proven to be an excuse for numerous Twitter users to harass women. Some of the main targets have even said they’ve been driven from their homes as a result of Twitter threats.

Perhaps as a response to that movement (though it isn’t mentioned in the public announcement), Twitter has partnered with Women, Action, & the Media to offer this harassment reporting tool. Twitter has long had options for users to block or report abusive tweeters, but WAM’s form is considerably more robust than any previous reporting tools, with questions about the type of harassment, how long the harassment has been happening, and an open-ended description section.