A young Dundee woman who has raised more than £10,000 for Cancer Research UK was urged to kill herself by an internet troll on Twitter while she was promoting her charity auction.
Terri Smith, 20, auctions off signed items donated by sports stars in memory of her granddad, but she has also become a victim of malicious messages.
She is currently selling cricketer Kevin Pietersen’s signed Ashes shirt but her efforts drew the unwanted attention of an abusive Twitter user who accused her of “using cancer” and told her to kill herself.
The account @ThatOneTed tweeted: “@TerriiSmith try to get retweets harder using cancer. You’re a piece of s***. Just kill yourself. Do it. End your life. Just do it finally.”
She retweeted the cruel message to her 1,666 followers and said: “I’ve had many horrible tweets regarding my fundraising but my last retweet has crossed the line big time!”
She told The Courier: “I have had quite a lot of abuse but I have never been told to kill myself before. That is the worst message I have received. It is disgusting.
“The retweet makes people aware and I am sure a lot of people have now reported it.
“He is just a keyboard gangster but it does hurt. Some people are just jealous because I’m getting attention and support from celebrities for my fundraising.
“I went through a spell when I got quite a lot of it and it did bring me down. That was just before I got my Kevin Pietersen shirt which really cheered me up. They just get a kick out of it but I’m not going to let it put me off.”
Many other users hit back at the bully, and Terri later posted: “TogetherWeBeatCancer … One thing that keeps me going? The thought of my Grandad Rog looking down on me with a pint of John Smiths in hand feeling proud #ThatllDoMe”.
She said as well as abuse she has received messages of encouragement and support on Twitter from celebrities and sports stars.
A petition asking Twitter to install a “report abuse” button for every tweet has been signed by hundreds of thousands of people.
Twitter said it does have a procedure for reporting malicious messages and is hoping to roll out a new, streamlined system for reporting abuse soon.
Terri’s online auctions for Cancer Research UK have seen her sell on around 40 sports items and he has another 21 items to auction and 53 people who have pledged to send something for her cause.
She has raised over £10,000 but hopes to raise a lot more, and has even asked her friends and family not to give her presents but make a donation for her 21st birthday next month.
Linda Summerhayes, Cancer Research UK spokeswoman in Scotland, said: “Cancer Research UK is the only charity fighting all 200 types of cancer, something which we wouldn’t be able to do without the generous support of people like Terri and all of those who are supporting her.
“Terri has been working tirelessly to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK and we are so excited that her fundraising total has topped the £10,000 mark.
“I’d like to thank Terri for her dedication and drive and urge her to keep up the good work so that our scientists can bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.”
To find out more about Terri’s fundraising or make a donation to her cause visit www.justgiving.com/terrismith1609.