App Aims to Be Patronus Charm for Twitter Users

In the wizarding world, Dementors suck out the souls of wizards and witches. In the Muggle world, online harassment from trolls on Twitter can have a similar effect. While the Patronus Charm is the magical defense against Dementors, there isn’t a solution for Twitter harassment… yet. A proposed iPhone app, called Fierce, is hoping to change that.

Stuart Fitzwilliam, the software developer behind Fierce, describes the app:

It’s your Patronus Charm, pushing back against the negativity of others. It lets you gather your own Dumbledore’s [A]rmy to face the bully. And it connects you with your own Order of the Phoenix who can [fight] the battles you’re not ready to face.

In other words, the Fierce app will be an anonymous way to disempower bullies. Fitzwilliam states,

The app works like this: You share the harassing message to the Fierce app and identify what type of harassment you are experiencing (threatening, racist, homophobic, etc.). The app then helps you build a statement of confidence, which you can share with your networks to gather support. You can send and receive anonymous messages of support to and from the Fierce community and also choose to share messages with your harasser to show that their behavior has only made you stronger.

The image below illustrates the process:

Overview of Fierce- An app to counter Twitter harassment

Because October is National Bullying Prevention Month in the United States, the timing of the app is fitting. Fierce is “an aid for anyone being threatened or harassed on Twitter,” and as Fitzwilliam adds,

I’m building the Fierce app because everyone has a Patronus they can summon, and everyone sometimes needs help in casting it.

If you would like to learn more about Fierce, you can do so at Stuart Fitzwilliam’s website. If you or someone you know is being bullied, you can find some helpful resources here.

What do you think of having your own Patronus Charm for Twitter? Let us know in the comments below!