Trolling

Warning signs of the information superhighway

Trolling is the bane of all online discourse. Disingenuous trolls who spread misinformation for lulz have mixed with foreign agents being paid to sew political discord, and repugnant randos who actually believe in their hateful messages, to become the dominant force in many online conversation spaces. They are shaping policy, influencing the outcomes of elections, and making the internet bad.

Not to mention their outrageous rates for bridge crossings.

Impact on Political Discourse

The impact of troll culture on modern political discourse is poorly understood by the mainstream media. By the time the general public sees the product of trolls it has been filtered through multiple platforms, and before you know it the most powerful people in the world are sharing racist memes and conspiracy theories that were created by teenage edgelords whose intent was just to piss people off, not because they were true believers in white supremacy.

However, the brain is what it does, and if you pretend to be a racist long enough you become indistinguishable from an actual racist. This is how the young men of today went from being edgy gamers and shitposters to the right-wing manosphere, and how the party of Lincoln became... whatever is is now.

Dealing with Trolls

The #1 rule of Internet forums used to be "Don't Feed The Trolls." However, artificial intelligence algorithms optimized to keep your attention as long as possible quickly realized that feeding the trolls was actually the best way to do it! These platforms have become all troll, all the time, because that maximizes outrage which leads to engagement. The engagement is just people yelling at each other, but at least they aren't outside!

Ignore trolls. Until social media platforms actually deal with the problem, it's best to ignore (boycott) them as well.

The Science of Internet Trolls

How to deal with bad-faith DEBATE BROS!