One of the first things I look for is their follower count. The most vicious comments inevitably come from some random guy (seems like it’s always a guy!) with 2 followers. Or 8. Or some other abysmal number. And no stories of his own. He’ll spout off about “tone” or will mansplain how the writer “should have” approached the piece.

I will comment at times on something I disagree with, and I’m more likely to share my viewpoint if it’s a writer I respect. Because if someone is way out in a toxic left field I can just put them on mute so Mediums algorithm stops polluting my feed with them.

I will open my big mouth though for certain things I see like fat shaming, slut shaming, blatant racism or the spread of dangerous misinformation (like last night when someone was saying it was just dandy to tell people to kill themselves because how they respond to those words is on them. Oof!)