For a famously private person who is often held up as an example of a hugely successful "introvert", JK Rowling is surprisingly vocal and opinionated on her Twitter feed.
With nearly six million followers, Rowling uses social media to campaign, share her opinions, challenge homophobia, racism and bullying, and open a dialogue with Harry Potter fans. She is also known for challenging the many trolls who have sent her criticism and/or abuse for sharing her opinions on the site.
Her approach to Twitter is often met by cries of "don’t feed the trolls" and questions over why she chooses to engage instead of just hitting ‘block’.
In a conversation with Lauren Laverne for The Guardian, the author insisted Twitter is a more democratic way of communicating, even if it does provide a platform for these "characters".
Abuse levelled at Rowling peaked during the Scottish referendum after her donation £1m to the Better Together campaign incurred the wrath of yes campaigners. But Rowling has found overwhelming support on Twitter from users who tirelessly jump to her defence.
A few of her many Twitter battles
“Twitter for me has been an unmixed blessing, trolls included,” she said. “Because there came a point where Harry became so enormous that, at a reading, there were 2,000 people. You can’t answer everyone’s question. Twitter gave that back to me. No one has to buy a ticket. It’s very democratic.
“My block and mute lists aren’t long because I have quite a high tolerance for people I wouldn’t necessarily want to be friends with – I’m interested in what they’re saying. You wouldn’t want to sanitise your timeline to the point that you weren’t seeing some of these characters. Let’s call them characters.”
