Kate and Gerry McCann say they have received “awful and upsetting” abuse from online trolls over the disappearance of their daughter, Madeleine, 10 years ago.
The couple revealed that they have been trying to protect both themselves and their 12-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie, from the abuse.
Kate described the messages they have received as “shocking, striking and quite hard to get your head around”.
Tired of receiving cruel messages and being taunted by trolls, the McCanns have appealed to their supporters not to post anything which might encourage the trolls.
According to The Mail Online, Kate and Gerry are backing the new “Rules of the Road” campaign, which promotes positive, helpful comments and discourages trolling.
A friend of the family who runs the official Find Madeleine Facebook page wrote: “Please do not feed trolls. Trolls feed on havoc and causing chaos.
“If we do not feed them, they will starve for attention and hopefully spread their hate someplace else.”
The official website also states: “Please don't post your opinion on leaving children alone. Doing so will result in you being banned. No questions asked.”
Apart from their involvement in the Find Madeleine campaign, the couple have tried to avoid social media as much as possible because of the incessant trolling.
In an interview with BBC presenter Fiona Bruce, Kate said the couple have 'tried to educate Sean and Amelie a little bit', because they are not the only ones who have 'fallen victim to the downside of social media'.
Gerry added: "We have told them that people are writing things that are simply just untrue, and they need to be aware of that. People just need to think twice before what they write.”
The rules on their campaign page read as follows: “Do not use obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or excessively violent language.
“Do not harass, insult, taunt, provoke, demean or personally attack other people on the page. Be friendly, even if others are not.
"Do not ask questions about the investigation.
“We are not a debate page, nor a place to analyse the investigation. This is a support and information page for Madeleine's family and the Official Find Madeleine Campaign.”
Madeleine’s parents have just six weeks left of guaranteed funding for the investigation into their daughter's disappearance.
They are anxiously waiting to find out if Operation Grange, the £12million inquiry into her disappearance, will be given extra funding to continue in October.
