"The Kindness Mob" has come to the rescue of hundreds of online bullying victims

Started in 2023, “The Kindness Mob” is a group about half a million strong that secretly battles internet spite.

Kahri Salyars of King George, Virginia, was just starting her weight loss journey when her proud husband encouraged her to post a video about it to TikTok. "I liked how I looked," Salyars, 28, told CBS News of her feeling after losing 40 pounds. "I liked how happy I genuinely looked." However, the response to the video that was posted in March was toxic. "Then like overnight, hundreds of hate comments," Salyars said. "… 'You're really ugly, you're fat, your husband deserves better.' It just kept going." For a full month after, people piled on with hundreds of insults. That is, until the tide turned and a wave of encouragement drowned out the trolls.

"It was weird because, where are all these really nice people coming from?" Salyars asked. It was such a drastic shift, it really defied explanation. To Kahri Salyars it almost felt like an organized effort, like an army of kindness warriors had just come rushing to her defense. That turned out to be exactly what it was. Tyler Brickley of Kansas City, Missouri, runs "The Kindness Mob," a group about half a million strong that secretly battles internet spite. "We make every effort for them to never find out," Brickley said. First, the Kindness Mob picks a target, someone who is being bullied. Then, they shower