Anatomy of a Troll

How a mythical character is used in Social Media

Fremont troll Seattle

Trolls, vividly described in legends and lore, beautifully depicted in masterpieces such as Tolkien’s Hobbit and, more recently, in the Harry Potter books, has always being characterized as an evil and dangerous monster.

According to Wikipedia, “In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

In this article, I will not refer to the sad and bitter individual living in the attic and hiding his social frustration behind an Internet anonymity shield. That one is just a disgusting troll. This particular troll, however, refers to a different kind of monster, a more complex creation, a troll with a particular agenda.

While the first one is usually considered an Internet sociopath, this one on the other end, is a highly educated individual, an expert in PR, marketing, politics and social media. It is perhaps as evil yet more dangerous as it has the capacity of affecting more people. And, as the original Scandinavian folklore suggest, this kind of trolls gather in groups, coordinating attacks and provoking more damage.

Of course, it is really bad if an army of trolls is attacking you. But have you ever considered what it would be like if an army of trolls was on your side? Many companies and politicians have thought about this a long time ago.

Business, politics and Internet

Anonymous
Anonymous, from the movie “V for Vendetta”

The relationship between business and politics is well known. The use of new technology in business is ancient history, but the use of the Internet in politics is relatively new and, in my opinion, very little researched and explained.

Trolls have been created, managed, used and abused by companies and governments since the early days of the Internet. While there are plenty of stories of the relationship and use of trolls to affect an election, little has been written in regards of how trolls are used to maintain a political status long after the election was won.

Machiavelli described it in “The Prince”. Goebbels mastered it during the infamous Nazi regime. Politicians all over the world don’t like to admit it, but they all use trolls to contain information and publicized misinformation. Public relations are necessary to win an election but Public Opinion is vital to keep a political agenda alive.

Media, Social Media and Politics

Media in general has commonly used to influence public opinion. But in recent years, the Internet, and in particular Facebook and Twitter have become the new battlefields. Control of public opinion is the final goal. Trolling, and not trolls per se, is the means used to achieve this objective.

The upper class, wealthy individuals and corporations already have political leverage. The lower class is easily influenced by politicians as most of them need government resources and support to leverage what they can provide. However, while the lower class represents the electoral numbers in a democratic election, the middle class remains the most attractive political objective.

The middle class may vary from country to country, has higher or lower numbers and different levels of political influence; but in general, as a group, they are a key factor to gain public acceptance and importance. They are the group who is more engaged in social media, they like to provide opinions, they are fairly educated and able to understand complex political issues and voice their concerns, even though they may not have the power.

The Internet dictionary NetLingo suggests that there are four stages of trolling: playtime trolling, tactical trolling, strategic trolling, and domination trolling. The average disgusting troll typically uses 4chan and is negatively portrayed in the media and sometimes even subject to legal penalties. Although very serious in the extent of the potential damage and suffering they can cause, these trolls are limited to stage one of trolling.

Trolls used in political scenarios, however, actively move from stage two: tactical (individual), to stage three: strategic (Social Media Experts). The final stage (domination) is managed by the contracting party.

Small Evil Trolls

Trolls aspire to violence, to the level of trouble they can cause in an environment. They want it to kick off. They want to promote antipathetic emotions of disgust and outrage, which morbidly gives them a sense of pleasure.”

Adams, Tim (24 July 2011).
How the internet created an age of rage“.  London: The Guardian (The Observer).

Troll meme
Troll meme

In politics, the tactical objective is to generate buzz around a particular topic, to go against the flow to motivate engagement in the discussion and finally to provide either additional exposure to a critical issue or create smoke screens on minor issues to avoid the public awareness on more important events.

These tactics involve actively posting in social media, starting flame wars in forums, and flooding with articles with questionable arguments that cause the rage of other individuals. If you engage yourself in these discussions, you are just playing their game.

Disguised “Concern Trolls”

The Hill published an op-ed piece by Markos Moulitsas of the liberal blog Daily Kos titled “Dems: Ignore ‘Concern Trolls'”. The concern trolls in question were not Internet participants; they were Republicans offering public advice and warnings to the Democrats. The author defines “concern trolling” as “offering a poisoned apple in the form of advice to political opponents that, if taken, would harm the recipient”.

Moulitsas, Markos (2008-01-09).
Dems: Ignore ‘concern trolls‘”.  TheHill.com. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp. Retrieved 2009-03-25.

The strategy behind concern trolling is to either appear as a truly concerned citizen with an honest opinion but aiming towards achieving a different result. These trolls are usually prepared in advance of a flame war with plenty of real or twisted communication ammo. Faked statistics, a large number of “independent articles” and facts and figures to derail any counter argument or a different opinion flow. The average user, who is not prepared for this kind of battle, usually ends up being humiliated in the forum accused of lack of facts and knowledge, at the same time that neutral observers are influenced in the fight and eventually start to lean towards the winning side.

Disguised trolls are the most dangerous ones as they are hard to recognize until it is too late. Most of the argument wars are lost because the average individual becomes obfuscated with the discussion or simply leaves the argument altogether to avoid further humiliation. In the end, the opinion of others is heavily influenced and thus, the strategic objectives of the trolling are either way achieved.

So, are we in their hands?

The purpose of this article is not to warn against certain tactics or to troll what could be a legitimate way of providing an opinion. I am, in general, not concerned with the average troll or the right of individuals to use social media in the way the see fit.

My concern is the use of organized trolling, with a complex agenda aimed at heavily influencing public opinion on critical political issues. My concerns go after the resources allocated for trolling and who is behind these activities.

While most of us have very little influence in a general media war, as Internet citizens it is our responsibility to be aware of media tactics and strategies used, and it is upon us to decide how to act the next time when we spot a troll coming our way.

As Bilbo did in the Hobbit, you can be killed by a troll or be smart and beat them in their own game!

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