The Biggest Bullies In The World 

"Even after my child has passed away, people are continuing to comment on his reel, calling him crazy and saying that it's good he has died," Pranshu’s mother Preeti Yadav told Newslaundry, days after her child’s death. At that time, there were 50,000 comments on the post. Many noted that Pranshu had adeptly batted away such abuses on previous occasions, but who knows when the soul can take no more. Besides, how can we expect any teenager to find their way through such relentless hate?  

In the case of Prachi Nigam, trolls (the innocuous word we use to describe the world's most hateful people) ignored the board exam topper's achievement to focus exclusively on her facial hair. "Trollers can live with their mindset, I am happy that my success is now my identity," Nigam eventually said. I'm guessing she put out a statement only after repeated requests for a 'comment' by dozens of 24/7 news media outlets.

In my growing up years, most insults were verbally communicated to people you knew and not blithely texted to strangers. You could break the heart of a 16-year-old girl with ONE hateful comment. In the internet age, of course, the comments are never in single or even double digits. Any woman journalist who speaks against the establishment will tell you that her mentions can fill up like a fast overflowing pool of hateful sludge in seconds. 

The racist and sexist attacks against tennis superstar Serena Williams are well documented. But overall, women in sport and trans athletes are a frequent target of men who believe they know best.

"You exercise so much but your thighs are still fat." This is just one of the daily observations that creep into the direct messages of Debjani Carole Aich, a competitive swimmer and advanced scuba diver.  

She says this daily harassment is "not as harsh" as what many athletes face. "Women who don't appear muscular get comments about how skinny they are. There's very little that you can do right."

Recently, one of the self-proclaimed 'experts' who said he had followed her for years remarked, "Your fitness journey is amazing, but why can you also not make looking better your second or third priority?"

Ruchika Sharma battles the hate with a large dose of pragmatism. "Most of the time, I ignore it and don’t let it get to me," she says. "I remind myself that this is just mob mentality, it's people who would never be able to say anything to my face if they met me. Their main idea is to derail my work." 

She also knows the internet is a place where men think they can shut down women's voices by shaming us. "If you are a history teacher, then Mia Khalifa is a virgin," one gent said. But Sharma has the power to decide when to respond and when to ignore. "I control the narrative."