shitstorm

Shitstorms are disparaging, insulting, provocative or compromising Internet hate speech directed at individuals. They are personal statements that are made out of the anonymity of the shitstorm writer. These verbal attacks often go beyond what is tolerable and use fecal language, hence the term shit. Comments are always made anonymously .

Shitstorms are spread in a very short time via online distribution services such as Twitter or Facebook and can quickly reach several thousand recipients, depending on the number of followers. Conditioned by the reaction of the recipients, who add their own two cents, a snowball system develops that becomes a storm of insults, provocations, slurs or foul-mouthed remarks.

Shitstorms are not without danger for the reputation of products and companies. They give consumers the opportunity to articulate themselves en masse and address critical issues. However, shitstorms are also deliberately initiated by certain companies or individuals in order to deliberately harm other competitors.