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  • Editorials / The Daily Prophet

Turning Toxic: “Harry Potter”, Fandom, and Facebook

by Amy Hogan · April 3, 2018

It’s nothing new. Cyberbullies have been around since the Internet became accessible to the masses. We’ve all met those Facebook commenters, Twitter trolls, and chatroom users who feel powerful hiding behind a keyboard, launching personal attacks on complete strangers via the “Enter” key. It’s everywhere, even within a fandom that is centered around a book series that preaches love, friendship, and acceptance. For years now, I’ve been seeing a complete juxtaposition between the kind and caring people I meet at Harry Potter fandom events and the comments that pop up on our articles on the MuggleNet Facebook page. In person, Harry Potter fans are known for their eagerness to discuss and debate the books with anyone who will listen. Online, it becomes less of a discussion and more of a competition to see who can come up with the cruelest way to shoot down a differing opinion. Just scroll through and you’ll see a slew of comments ranging from general rudeness to downright offensive, personal attacks on our writers and other fans.

 

 

There’s the harmless, yet irksome, “fandom police.” These are the folks who take it upon themselves to decide who is a real fan and who is not, based on whether other people’s opinions or takeaways from the series align with their own. Those comments usually include some slight about other fans’ lack of reading comprehension, but what they really mean is that their reading of the text is the only “right” interpretation.  

 

 

Then there are the more serious comments. Through the years, I have been called a “man hater,” for writing a silly article about recasting the series with a gender swap, and an anti-feminist and a bigot for saying I think Dumbledore’s sexuality will be addressed in later films rather than in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. My personal favorite is the Facebook user who took offense to me writing a post about the characters we lost in the Harry Potter series on Memorial Day and commented to tell me I should be “hung or put in front of a firing wall.” When one of our writers published an article questioning J.K. Rowling’s Twitter conduct, one commenter decided this was a good opportunity to accuse someone of being in the KKK. Keep in mind, this is because the writer didn’t like Rowling’s infamous “lonely virgin” tweet. Good enough reason to throw around that type of accusation?    

 

 

When did we become okay with this type of conduct? When did the fandom become shut off to different opinions, views, and backgrounds? The Harry Potter fandom I know and love is home to the most enthusiastic, kind-hearted, accepting, non-judgmental people I’ve ever met. Can we bring that back, please? Let’s discuss, learn from each other, and “broaden our minds,” not dismiss and remain ignorant of others’ feelings and perceptions of the world and the literature that is our common ground.

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MuggleNet Archive

Important Dates

July 2025

Sun, Jul 13

OWL results arrive at the Burrow
Recurs yearly

1996

Tue, Jul 15

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 movie
Recurs yearly

2011

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie
Recurs yearly

2009

WWoHP at Universal Japan's anniversary
Recurs yearly

2014

Wed, Jul 16

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book
Recurs yearly

2005

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Did You Know

Evanna Lynch found out about the auditions for the role of Luna Lovegood after reading a news post on MuggleNet. She has been a long-term fan of the series and the website. She made Luna’s lion hat in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and created some of the jewelry worn by Luna in the films.

Potter History

August 4, 2006 – Warner Bros. announces that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will hit theaters on November 21, 2008.

Potter Quote

“I don’t know who Maxime thinks she’s kidding. If Hagrid’s half-giant, she definitely is. Big bones… the only thing that’s got bigger bones than her is a dinosaur.”

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