New Zealand born Tristan Barker is wanted by authorities in Australia over comments made on the internet. Picture: Kerry Grant/ Herald on Sunday NZ Source: Supplied
- Tristan Barker encourages online harassment
- He is a blight on society, say police
- I would consider myself an entertainer, he boasts
EXCLUSIVE: THE son of a top musician has been unmasked as this country's most prolific internet troll and is being investigated by detectives for online "stalking''.
Tristan Barker, 18, who has a track record of terrorising vulnerable members of the community, said his aim was to see how far he can push his 300,000-plus teenage internet-subscribed fans.
But frustrated Melbourne police are unable to interview him because he is in New Zealand living with his star dad, Michael Barker, a former drummer of Split Enz and John Butler Trio fame.
A News Ltd investigation has revealed recent Melbourne school leaver Tristan Barker has used internet portals Facebook and Twitter to encourage harassment and ridicule of everyone from Muslims, businesses, local and overseas celebrities, murder victims and people who have committed suicide as a result of online bullying.
As well as using his own personal Facebook, which has more than 300,000 "friends'', to push nasty crusades, Mr Barker is also a ringleader of Facebeef, a Facebook group page with 43,000 "likes''.
In an exclusive interview Mr Barker admitted to causing havoc online whilst high on "Red Bull and Ritalin''.
"I would consider myself an entertainer,'' he boasted.
The type of comments Mr Barker litters the internet with are in stark contrast to the lyrics about love and peace originating from the Aussie roots band, John Butler Trio.
Cyber safety specialist and former police officer Susan McLean said: "He would have to be Australia's most prolific troll. He has no concept of common decency and is a blight on society.''
Melbourne's Detective Senior Constable Rodney Andrew confirmed a "current investigation" focused on an online campaign Mr Barker spearheaded last year targeting Royal Hair Extensions had been launched.
It is alleged Mr Barker had his online fans harass the company's owner Melissa Meitz during a period she was running an online contest. Ms Meitz was bombarded with threatening messages.
The officer said "the offence (being investigated) is stalking, under new legislation that came in a couple of years ago ... it is a continuing investigation".
Mr Barker attained notoriety in early 2012 after trolling pop star Nicki Minaj's Facebook page with an abusive rant that attracted more than 100,000 "likes".
In another rant Mr Barker called on his followers to harass Muslim families by making prank telephone calls. He said he used White Pages to "randomly" search for a family with the Ibrahim surname and phoned them to joke a packet of bacon lay on their doorstep.
"I picked one at random," he said. "It was hilarious." Followers of Mr Barker made similar calls at his request.
Mr Barker said most of his 300,000-plus Facebook followers were youngsters and he was a celebrity in their eyes.
"I see kids follow me and I think 'how far can I rope this kid in and make them be a mockery'," he said.
Mr Barker said his celebrity father should not be held responsible to his online antics.
"My father has raised me quite well," he said.
His dad Michael paid tribute to his son's massive online fan base.
"The people that apparently read his crap on (the internet) is more than most regional newspapers," he said.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Unmasked: Australia's worst troll
Dengan url
http://andiplinplan.blogspot.com/2013/03/unmasked-australias-worst-troll.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Unmasked: Australia's worst troll
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Unmasked: Australia's worst troll
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar