Racism. Scenario 4 of 14. When it is aimed at you

In your inbox

You post a video about your small business. It gets shared more widely than usual. Overnight, strangers leave comments about your skin colour and tell you to "go back where you came from". Two send you threatening direct messages.

You feel shaken and angry.

What is the best call for you?

Reply to every one of them and tell them what you think.

Could be better

Your anger is completely justified. But replying is what they are hoping for, and it costs you time and peace while giving them attention. You do not owe any of them a response.

Take screenshots, report and block the accounts, and tell someone you trust. Report the threats to the police.

Good call

Screenshots first, because reported comments can vanish. Threats and racist abuse can be crimes, and they can be reported to the police or to True Vision. Telling someone matters too. You should not carry this alone.

Delete the video and stay offline for a while.

Could be better

Protecting yourself is a good enough reason to step back, and nobody could blame you. But it is your business and your space. If you can, save the evidence and report first, so that leaving is your choice and not their win.

Ignore it and tell nobody. It is just words.

Not the best call

Carrying it alone is heavy, and threats are more than words. Keeping no record and making no report leaves the same accounts free to do it again, to you or to someone else. None of this is your fault.

The principle

If racist abuse is aimed at you online: keep evidence, report, block, and tell someone. You do not have to answer it, and you do not have to carry it alone.

If this has happened to you, or you have seen it

These UK services are free to use. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999.

Stop Hate UKSupport for anyone affected by hate crime, and a way to report it without going to the police.
True VisionThe police website for reporting hate crime online.
Victim SupportFree, confidential support after a crime, whether or not you report it.
Citizens AdviceWhat counts as discrimination, and what you can do about it.
AcasFree advice on discrimination and your rights at work.
Kick It OutReport racism and other discrimination in football, at a ground or online.
SamaritansSomeone to talk to, day or night, about anything.