Kochi: The state’s ugliest secret, a closed Facebook community that pompously calls itself the Fan Fight Club (FFC), has been exposed. Now a fat pervert cult of over 65,000, its unapologetically crude members laugh at the dead, especially if he is black, and achieve some sort of an orgasmic high by competing to throw up the most obscene descriptive for a female body. Don't be surprised if they are exchanging grotesque trolls about Madhu, the tribal youth who was lynched to death by a mob in Attappady. It is not beyond them because, long after the death of Kalabhavan Mani, they continue to invent trolls belittling the actor for his colour. And it has as its member Omar Lulu, the ‘Oru Adaaru Love’ filmmaker who has no qualms in relishing and fanning utterly nasty and sexist comments about his own heroines.
FFC might seem like an orgy of bawdy primitive men but the fact is the trademarked group is run by administrators that include a schoolteacher. Omar Lulu has reportedly sent messages and comments from his verified profile. What is disturbing is the director supports the 'verbal rape' of the actresses of his own films, possibly a perverse way to sell his films. The comments include Omar assuring a member that his film has a bikini scene and another comment of him responding with a smiley to another member commenting that 'Omar ikka uses female actors in his film for other purposes'. The director's latest film Chunkzz was widely criticized for its sexist dialogues and soft-porn content.
Other than misogyny, the group, whose most members work under fake IDs, generates demeaning trolls, mostly racial abuses based on caste, region and skin colour. Trolls include abusing tribal community members and persons from various districts in Kerala. Posts like how tribal people from Wayanad react to the sight of Kochi Metro, and how they feed themselves on rats and cockroaches are shocking reminders of the middle-class Malayali's deep-rooted aversion for the downtrodden. The troll generation traffic in FFC is so high that on Thursday alone, over 4,000 posts were made in the group - every single one with toxic content.
IG Manoj Abraham, Nodal Officer of the Kerala Police Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell, says that busting a group for 'verbal porn' is not possible without a proper complaint filed before the authorities. "To criminalize an online activity, there needs to be content like pornography. Police can't take action at an individual level as there are limitations under the Right to Privacy," he says. Though there has been wide reporting of the group, the members are in no mood to back out. The admin - under the profile name Aswanth Kok, in his welcoming message (with a Kabali Rajinikanth photo attached) to the members, announces on the timeline, "This is the second time our group is being activated. The group might be blocked for 100 times, but we will reopen this group 101 times."
Ironically, the same Aswanth, who manages the group which makes derogatory posts abusing tribal community, has posted on his Facebook page a poem condemning the mob violence on Madhu; a classic instance of human subterfuge. FFC members haven't spared people who want the group pulled down. Mukesh Kumar, whose wall is spammed with swear words and abusive trolls for posting against FFC, says that he is determined to take it forward, no matter what happens. "I came to know about this group after the phrase OMKV, which they claim to have coined, went viral.
The FFC admins include Aswanth and a multiple user ID-run profile Jomon Thiru, who posts blogs and film reviews - both with a huge 'fan' following. The admins encourage group members to coin new abuses on a daily basis. Since most of the group members use fake IDs, it's difficult to lock them," he says. Now that Mukesh is sharing the abuses he receives, he is being blackmailed with photo-shopped images of his family, fake screenshots and hacking attempts. "I, and a few friends, have decided to complain to the cyber cell to take down the group. They claim that all they post is for fun and is inside a closed group, but anonymity is no reason to plan and promote organized crime," he adds.
Perversion prospers in secrecy. Psychiatrist T.R. John of Aster Medcity, Kochi, opines that in a group like this, cuss words become an acceptable behaviour over time and people compete with each other to conform to the group's standards. "For them, the one who abuses the most is the smartest. Considering a group of people as inferior beings and stereotyping them give these group members a superior feeling. It is as if they deserve such objectification. The more aggressive they are, the more acceptable they become and with encouragement, a new norm is created. The behaviour escalates and unconsciously, spills out of the group," he says.
Fake profiles add to their confidence. "With a sense of safety and no retribution, these people try to outsmart each other. Inside a group, they do what they normally don't do. The number of likes influences them and abusing a person - someone they know or don't even know - becomes a routine. For many, this is a space where they 'safely' unload the accumulated complex emotions of the day. What fuels such trends is a feeling of safety, conformity and anonymity," Dr. John says.
