Pls help i’ll give brainliest thanks

Plz asap read this sentence from paragraph 3 of the article. the boys and girls are merely asked to obtain the signatures of ten friends or relatives. how does the word "merely" affect the meaning of the sentence? a- it suggests that asking people to subscribe to the washington times is something negative. b- it implies that obtaining ten signatures is not a requirement for receiving a prize. c- it downplays the fact that to win the prize, children must ask people to subscribe to the washington times. d- it emphasizes that children receive the prize only if they obtain ten signatures.

Aclassmate is sending hurtful messages such as "you're stupid" and "you're ugly." this behavior can be described as denigration harassment cyberstalking exclusion

Ihave no idea what the explanation is.