Online SOS’s Outbox tool is designed to help journalists and activists streamline the process of documenting abuse and empower you with information and resources to take action.
JOIN OUR BETA
Our Mission
Our goal is to encourage a safe, healthy online environment. In the US, online harassment is an epidemic that affects millions of American adults every year. Our core mission is to empower individuals who face online harassment by offering confidential, professional support along with tools and resources for countering abuse.
Why Journalists & Activists
Journalists and activists are often the target of severe online harassment, including threats of violence, stalking, and doxxing. At greatest risk are investigative journalists, freelancers who lack newsroom support, and those covering controversial topics. And if journalists are silenced, our democracy is in danger. Online SOS believes it is critical to protect and support those on the frontlines of investigating, reporting, and organizing, the voices in the Fourth Estate.
Are you a journalist interested in contributing thoughts about tools that would make a difference to you or your colleagues? CONTACT US HERE
How it Works
Easily document your online harassment case
Need a record of what happened? Outbox helps you easily record your experience and create a timeline of events and narratives to share with social media platforms, police, and legal counsel.
Get expert recommendations
Wondering what to do next? We’ll guide you through creating a case report and action plan from your Outbox, and help you understand your rights so you can consider potential next steps.
Resource support
In select cases, we can provide one-on-one support and further mediation and referrals to legal, technical, digital security, psychological, communication, and crisis management resources.
American Internet users have experienced online harassment
people abandon their online presence entirely after being targeted
Help us make the Internet a healthier, more inclusive placeWhy and how do we operate?
Our nonprofit is dedicated to ensuring that no one suffers in silence from online harassment. Our mission is to provide a safe haven from online harassment at scale and high quality support to millions of Americans who may be in crisis or recovery from online harassment. We focus on designing tools and resources for individuals targeted for professional reasons—starting with journalists and activists. We aim to scale our toolkit to other targeted professional groups, including underrepresented groups in tech. Currently, we’re able to provide support based on the generosity of and partnership with individual donors and institutional funders who share our vision for the world we want to create together.
What's Online Harrassment?
Online harassment is a targeted attack that threatens one’s sense of safety, and causes emotional distress or fear of physical harm. Individuals have been targeted – often anonymously – as a means of intimidation or retaliation for their identity, beliefs, or work. Beyond cyberbullying, online harassment ranges from threats of violence and impersonation to hacking, stalking, DDoS attacks, and non-consensual pornography. Online abuse is also an emerging form of intimate partner violence.
Trusted by
Made Possible with Support From
Featured In
