Trolls post abuse to McCanns 150 times every day

UP to 150 abusive tweets about Madeleine McCann’s parents are posted by online trolls every day, a decade after her disappearance, new research reveals.

Psychologist Dr John Synott has carried out the first study of its kind on trolls and found their “whole existence relies on social media accounts”.

Now he is calling for to end the right to anonymously troll strangers on Twitter.

Dr Synott said: “Most trolling behaviour has a lifespan of a couple of days. This has gone on for 10 years, and you cannot see it ever ending. That is the legacy of the McCann case.

“In the physical world there are repercussions. You couldn’t get away with saying these things in the street. But in the virtual world there are no consequences.”

Now, he is urging action against abusive, aggressive language directed towards the missing girl’s parents – and others who disagree with their opinions.”

Dr Synott said: “It is encouraging to see ministers have called the major social media platforms to Whitehall to demand they do more to protect people online from cyber bullying and trolling.

“This is a step in the right direction by making these platforms responsible for negative behaviour that they unfortunately enable.”

His study – published in the academic journal Computers in Human Behaviour – reinforces newly revealed UK Government plans to curb cyber abuse.

Three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from the family’s holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007. Twitter trolls blame her parents Kate and Gerry and discuss the case constantly.