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Activism
/ January 29, 2026
How Online Frat Mobs Target Sexual Assault Survivors
A video documenting an alleged gang rape in Florida drew a flood of harassment, threats, and doxxing
Anfisa Blyumina, Ray Epstein, and Jean Qian
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(Matt Cardy / Getty Images)
In November, a University of Florida student, Maddie Kowalski, was allegedly gang raped while intoxicated at a fraternity gathering. The alleged assault was recorded without her consent and circulated at both the University of Florida and Florida State University on YikYak, an anonymous forum with dedicated pages exclusive to college campuses. Within days, the footage went viral across mainstream social media platforms—where users derided the victim, ignored the horrifying context of the video, and turned freeze-frame images of the attack on Kowalski into sensationalized memes. Malicious Web users also doxed members of Kowalski’s family, releasing their personal information into the world to be exploited by other bad actors on the Web.
On December 19, Kowalski posted a series of videos on Instagram, drawing tens of millions of views. In these posts, she sought to restore vital context and background to the trauma of her abuse—describing the conditions of the assault, detailing her inebriated state, and emphasizing that it wasn’t possible for her to consent to sex. Almost immediately, her comment sections were flooded with a disturbingly coordinated pattern of harassment. Fraternity-affiliated accounts tagged fellow brothers and other digital onlookers, joking about the number of alleged assailants, and volunteering to join the mob.
Other commenters continued targeting members of Kowalski’s family. Gossip columnist Marukho Pfozhe released a tabloid-style piece in The Sports Grail publicizing information about them—including the LinkedIn account for Kowalski’s father, along with a series of crude memes about her family. A gag account, @Therealjohnhog, wrote in a tweet attacking both her parents, “Just received a call informing me that Maddie Kowalski’s mom was in DZ at UF. And I swear to god her nickname was the ‘easy DZ.’ Someone please keep an eye on [Mr.] Kowalski.”
The profiles of many of these commenters revealed that they were not anonymous, temporary users shielding their identities behind “burner accounts” to harass Kowalski with impunity. Their comments were tagged with their full names on display, together in many cases with their university and fraternity affiliations. They left sexually suggestive comments like “me next,” and tagged another man to suggest that they should engage in group sex, making sport of Kowalski’s …
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How Online Frat Mobs Target Sexual Assault Survivors
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Current Issue
Activism
/ January 29, 2026
How Online Frat Mobs Target Sexual Assault Survivors
A video documenting an alleged gang rape in Florida drew a flood of harassment, threats, and doxxing
Anfisa Blyumina, Ray Epstein, and Jean Qian
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
(Matt Cardy / Getty Images)
In November, a University of Florida student, Maddie Kowalski, was allegedly gang raped while intoxicated at a fraternity gathering. The alleged assault was recorded without her consent and circulated at both the University of Florida and Florida State University on YikYak, an anonymous forum with dedicated pages exclusive to college campuses. Within days, the footage went viral across mainstream social media platforms—where users derided the victim, ignored the horrifying context of the video, and turned freeze-frame images of the attack on Kowalski into sensationalized memes. Malicious Web users also doxed members of Kowalski’s family, releasing their personal information into the world to be exploited by other bad actors on the Web.
On December 19, Kowalski posted a series of videos on Instagram, drawing tens of millions of views. In these posts, she sought to restore vital context and background to the trauma of her abuse—describing the conditions of the assault, detailing her inebriated state, and emphasizing that it wasn’t possible for her to consent to sex. Almost immediately, her comment sections were flooded with a disturbingly coordinated pattern of harassment. Fraternity-affiliated accounts tagged fellow brothers and other digital onlookers, joking about the number of alleged assailants, and volunteering to join the mob.
Other commenters continued targeting members of Kowalski’s family. Gossip columnist Marukho Pfozhe released a tabloid-style piece in The Sports Grail publicizing information about them—including the LinkedIn account for Kowalski’s father, along with a series of crude memes about her family. A gag account, @Therealjohnhog, wrote in a tweet attacking both her parents, “Just received a call informing me that Maddie Kowalski’s mom was in DZ at UF. And I swear to god her nickname was the ‘easy DZ.’ Someone please keep an eye on [Mr.] Kowalski.”
The profiles of many of these commenters revealed that they were not anonymous, temporary users shielding their identities behind “burner accounts” to harass Kowalski with impunity. Their comments were tagged with their full names on display, together in many cases with their university and fraternity affiliations. They left sexually suggestive comments like “me next,” and tagged another man to suggest that they should engage in group sex, making sport of Kowalski’s …
How Online Frat Mobs Target Sexual Assault Survivors
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How Online Frat Mobs Target Sexual Assault Survivors
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Current Issue
Activism
/ January 29, 2026
How Online Frat Mobs Target Sexual Assault Survivors
A video documenting an alleged gang rape in Florida drew a flood of harassment, threats, and doxxing
Anfisa Blyumina, Ray Epstein, and Jean Qian
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
(Matt Cardy / Getty Images)
In November, a University of Florida student, Maddie Kowalski, was allegedly gang raped while intoxicated at a fraternity gathering. The alleged assault was recorded without her consent and circulated at both the University of Florida and Florida State University on YikYak, an anonymous forum with dedicated pages exclusive to college campuses. Within days, the footage went viral across mainstream social media platforms—where users derided the victim, ignored the horrifying context of the video, and turned freeze-frame images of the attack on Kowalski into sensationalized memes. Malicious Web users also doxed members of Kowalski’s family, releasing their personal information into the world to be exploited by other bad actors on the Web.
On December 19, Kowalski posted a series of videos on Instagram, drawing tens of millions of views. In these posts, she sought to restore vital context and background to the trauma of her abuse—describing the conditions of the assault, detailing her inebriated state, and emphasizing that it wasn’t possible for her to consent to sex. Almost immediately, her comment sections were flooded with a disturbingly coordinated pattern of harassment. Fraternity-affiliated accounts tagged fellow brothers and other digital onlookers, joking about the number of alleged assailants, and volunteering to join the mob.
Other commenters continued targeting members of Kowalski’s family. Gossip columnist Marukho Pfozhe released a tabloid-style piece in The Sports Grail publicizing information about them—including the LinkedIn account for Kowalski’s father, along with a series of crude memes about her family. A gag account, @Therealjohnhog, wrote in a tweet attacking both her parents, “Just received a call informing me that Maddie Kowalski’s mom was in DZ at UF. And I swear to god her nickname was the ‘easy DZ.’ Someone please keep an eye on [Mr.] Kowalski.”
The profiles of many of these commenters revealed that they were not anonymous, temporary users shielding their identities behind “burner accounts” to harass Kowalski with impunity. Their comments were tagged with their full names on display, together in many cases with their university and fraternity affiliations. They left sexually suggestive comments like “me next,” and tagged another man to suggest that they should engage in group sex, making sport of Kowalski’s …
