Training modules/Dealing with online harassment/slides/verifying-facts
Investigating reports: Verifying facts
[edit]There are a number of steps involved in a thorough investigation of a harassment report. It is not enough to simply look at the description or diffs a reporter submits – in almost all cases, deeper investigation is needed.
Your first step in an investigation, after replying to the reporter to acknowledge that you received their report, is to verify as many of the reported facts as possible. This will involve:
- Opening any diffs contained in the report and verifying that they say what the report says they say.
- Verifying the identity of the reporter and/or victim: Are they actually operating the user account they claim to be, or might they be only pretending to be that account's owner? (This might be done under the pretext of a disposable, single-purpose account.)
- Verifying the account status (if applicable) of the reporting party: do they omit any material facts, such as sanctions on their account? Are there any security issues related to this account, such as a compromised password, that may call for you to take immediate action?
- Verifying the identity of the alleged harasser. Be aware that situations have occurred in the past where someone pretends to be another person and misbehaves in the hopes of getting the imitated party in trouble. In most cases you will not be able – or want – to verify a "real life" identity; your concern here is making sure that the account the reporter says is doing the harassing is actually the one doing the harassing
- Verifying the account status (if applicable) of the alleged harassing party: are they under any sanctions that might be related to this situation? Are they blocked or banned? Does their account appear to have been compromised in any way?