"The alleged assault was recorded without her consent and circulated at both the University of Florida and Florida State University on YikYak, an anonymous forum with dedicated pages exclusive to college campuses. Within days, the footage went viral across mainstream social media platforms-where users derided the victim, ignored the horrifying context of the video, and turned freeze-frame images of the attack on Kowalski into sensationalized memes."
"On December 19, Kowalski posted a series of videos on Instagram, drawing tens of millions of views. In these posts, she sought to restore vital context and background to the trauma of her abuse-describing the conditions of the assault, detailing her inebriated state, and emphasizing that it wasn't possible for her to consent to sex. Almost immediately, her comment sections were flooded with a disturbingly coordinated pattern of harassment."
In November, a University of Florida student, Maddie Kowalski, was allegedly gang raped while intoxicated at a fraternity gathering. The assault was recorded without her consent and circulated on YikYak. Within days, footage went viral across social media, where users derided the victim, ignored context, and turned freeze-frame images into memes. Malicious users doxed family members and released personal information. On December 19, Kowalski posted Instagram videos describing the assault, her inebriated state, and inability to consent; the posts drew tens of millions of views and sparked coordinated harassment. Fraternity-affiliated accounts mocked her, and media and gag accounts publicized family information and crude memes.
Read at The Nation
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