Miley Cyrus and fan unintentionally find themselves at center of cyberbullying scandal

(CBS/What's Trending) - A short exchange between Miley Cyrus and one of her fans is quickly becoming one of the most talked about topics on Twitter. After Cyrus posted a picture of her new pro-equal rights tattoo, one fan, MileyCyrusLuver, tweeted that the pop singer and actress shouldn't be supporting gay rights, citing several Bible passages. Though the two disagreed, neither harbored ill-will toward each other, the young fan even posting she was thrilled Cyrus messaged her directly.

What followed next, however, was a deluge of hate-filled messages directed toward MileyCyrusLuver from Cyrus' fans, ranging from telling the girl to go kill herself to suggesting she walk directly in front of traffic.

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  All LOVE is equal. http://yfrog.com/klqc7jljMileyCyrus July 30, 2011 at 4:58
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  @MileyCyrus look up Leviticus, 1 Corinthians. Read both chapters and tell me where God says homosexuality, incest, and polygamy is ok?

  

  MileyCyrusLuverJuly 30, 2011 at 5:05
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  @MileyCyrusLuver where does it say in the bible to judge others? Oh right. It doesn't. GOD is the only judge honey. "GOD is love"

  

  MileyCyrusJuly 30, 2011 at 5:07
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  @MileyCyrus yes, but in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 explains why I don't support it. And omg I can't believe you replied to me!!

  

  MileyCyrusLuverJuly 30, 2011 at 5:11
• The short exchange between the singer and her fan might have otherwise gone unnoticed. However, hordes of Cyrus' fans verbally attacked the fan, even delivering death threats.
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  @mileycyrusluver it's people like you that mean people like me are not free to marry and love who we want.@mileycyrus

  

  sophiarosserJuly 30, 2011 at 8:52
• This led to Cyrus tweeting to stop the harassment of one of her fans, and vice versa. 
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  Dude everyone lay off @MileyCyrusLuver Love u! Everyone is entitled 2 opinions! "if u don't stand 4 something you'll fall for anything." :)

  

  MileyCyrusJuly 30, 2011 at 8:21
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  Everyone LAY OFF on @MileyCyrus! how'd u like it if u were hated 4 expressing YOUR opinion? It's not so "fun & games" when it happens to you

  

  MileyCyrusLuverAugust 1, 2011 at 5:48
• People online were quick to point out that the most disturbing part of the whole situation was not either girls opinion, but that others were so quick to issue death threats.
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  For the record!! @MileyCyrus DIDN'T make me cry. She was just replying back. Don't blame her. What made me cry was the death threats.

  

  MileyCyrusLuverJuly 30, 2011 at 22:21
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  @MileyCyrusLuver youre getting death threats?! T_T wow.... people on here need to get a life.

  

  trina_is_artsyAugust 1, 2011 at 18:28
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  @mileycyrusluver While I don't share your opinion on marriage equality, I do respect it and think it's heinous that you're being threatened.

  

  BroadwayMeaghanAugust 1, 2011 at 18:30

Cyrus' case isn't an isolated incident. From people attacking the wrong Casey Anthony online to an umpire's home address and phone number posted on several message boards after he made a bad call, it seems that some people feel that online abuse isn't as much as a crime as confronting someone in person. However, the repercussions are the same, as evidenced by cases like the one of 13-year-old Megan Meier, a girl who killed herself after one of her classmate's mothers created a fake profile to harass the girl online.

Hidden by their online usernames and Twitter handles, people are more likely to issue violent threats and harass people online than in real life. A survey by Harris Interactive showed that 43 percent of teens in the U.S. have been harassed online, while a Canadian study found out that of those who were harassed through social media, e-mails or other online activities, 41 percent didn't know who the perpetrator was. Being active on a social network like Facebook or MySpace made it more likely to be harassed than those who avoided using those sites.

The problem isn't limited to North American teens One in ten U.K. workers believe that cyberbullying is a problem, with one in five directly receiving a verbally abusive email.

Do you feel that more people are willing to harass people online than they are in person? Is cyberbullying a problem that needs to be addressed?
Source : CbsNews.com