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Pledge to 'Stop Bullying: Speak Up' with new Facebook app

There are bullies, victims and those who watch bullies harass victims and don't do much to stop it.Facebook's Stop Bullying: Speak Up Social Pledge app addresses that third party, with the opportunity to take an "interactive social media pledge." You'll get a personal greeting and thank you from CNN's Anderson Cooper, and you can check out a video collection of mostly kid-centric celebs — Sele
Facebook / Today

There are bullies, victims and those who watch bullies harass victims and don't do much to stop it.

Facebook's Stop Bullying: Speak Up Social Pledge app addresses that third party, with the opportunity to take an "interactive social media pledge." You'll get a personal greeting and thank you from CNN's Anderson Cooper, and you can check out a video collection of mostly kid-centric celebs — Selena Gomez, the cast of "Dude, What Would Happen?" etc. — speaking out, It Gets Better-style, against bullying.

"Aimed specifically at inspiring bullying bystanders — witnesses to bullying — the app enables students, educators, and parents to take a pledge to specific actions that will help stop bullying, share their Pledge and stories with friends and family, recruit others to join the movement, and start their own school-based bullying prevention groups on Facebook," the social network announced on Monday.  

The Stop Bullying: Speak Up app is named for Cartoon Network's initial anti-bullying campaign, and is part of an ongoing effort by Facebook and CNN, Cartoon Network and Time Inc. (People, Sports Illustrated and Time). As part of the initiative, CNN's Anderson Cooper, will host a town hall on bullying at 8 p.m. ET, Sunday Oct. 9 on CNN. Broadcasting from Rutgers University.

Cooper "will also speak with students, families, experts in the field and other special guests to determine if education, legislation and significant media attention over the last year has helped the bullying prevention effort on school campuses, in social media communities or in local neighborhoods."

Students and adults receive slightly different versions of the Stop Bullying: Speak Up pledge — you can indentify yourself as either to read both pledges. Both age groups are asked to speak up, advocate and be a role model. You can copy one of the Stop Bullying: Speak Up icons on the page, and set it as your Facebook profile picture to show your support. There's also an interactive map so you can see how many have taken the pledge in your homestate and elsewhere.

Notably, the Stop Bullying: Speak Up Facebook wall has more than a few trolls making nasty comments. Obviously these jerks have not taken the pledge.

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 Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or FacebookAlso, Google+.