View source for Trolling

{{Short description|Act of sowing discord online}}
{{for-multi|the method of fishing|Trolling (fishing)|other uses|Troll (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
[[File:Wikipedia vandalism.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|A revision of a Wikipedia article shows a troll [[Vandalism on Wikipedia|vandalizing]] an article on Wikipedia by replacing content with an insult.|alt=]]
In [[slang]], '''trolling''' is when a person posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-24 |title=TROLL English Definition and Meaning {{!}} Lexico.com |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/troll |access-date=2024-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824211107/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/troll |archive-date=24 August 2022 }}</ref> (such as in [[social media]], a [[internet forum|forum]], a [[chat room]], an [[Multiplayer video game|online video game]]) or performs similar behaviors in real life. The methods and motivations of trolls can range from benign to sadistic. These messages can be inflammatory, [[insincerity|insincere]], [[digression|digressive]],<ref name=":5">{{cite web | title=Definition of troll | work=Collins English Dictionary | url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/troll | access-date=17 September 2012 }}</ref> [[wikt:extraneous#Adjective|extraneous]], or [[off-topic]], and may have the intent of provoking others into displaying [[emotion]]al responses,<ref name="PCMAG_def">{{Cite news |title=Definition of: trolling |work=PCMAG.COM |publisher=Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc |url=https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0%2C2542%2Ct%3Dtrolling%26i%3D53181%2C00.asp |access-date=24 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501152034/https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0%2C2542%2Ct%3Dtrolling%26i%3D53181%2C00.asp |archive-date=1 May 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> or [[Psychological manipulation|manipulating]] others' perceptions, thus acting as a [[bullying|bully]] or a [[agent provocateur|provocateur]]. The behavior is typically for the troll's amusement, or to achieve a specific result such as disrupting a rival's online activities or purposefully causing confusion or harm to other people.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Buckels|first1=E.E.|last2=Trapnell|first2=P.D.|last3=Paulhus|first3=D.L.|date=2014|title=Trolls Just Want to Have Fun: (520722015-006)|url=http://doi.apa.org/get-pe-doi.cfm?doi=10.1037/e520722015-006 |website=APA PsycNet |language=en|doi=10.1037/e520722015-006|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Trolling behaviors involve tactical aggression to incite emotional responses, which can adversely affect the target's well-being.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Volkmer |first=Sara |date=March 2023 |title=Troll story: The dark tetrad and online trolling revisited with a glance at humor |journal=[[PLOS One]] |volume=18 |issue=3 |article-number=e0280271 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0280271 |doi-access=free|pmid=36897846 |pmc=10004561 |bibcode=2023PLoSO..1880271V  |issn=1932-6203 }}</ref>

In this context, the noun and the verb forms of "troll" are frequently associated with Internet discourse. Recently,{{when|date=October 2025}} media attention has equated trolling with [[online harassment]]. ''[[The Courier-Mail]]'' and ''[[The Today Show]]'' have used "troll" to mean "a person who defaces [[Online memorial|Internet tribute sites]] with the aim of causing grief to families".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/police-charge-alleged-creator-of-facebook-hate-page-aimed-at-murder-victim/story-e6freoof-1225895789100 | title=Police charge alleged creator of Facebook hate page aimed at murder victim | date=22 July 2010 | publisher=The Courier Mail | location=Australia |first1=Jorja |last1=Orreal | access-date=27 July 2010 | archive-date=11 August 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811123013/http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/police-charge-alleged-creator-of-facebook-hate-page-aimed-at-murder-victim/story-e6freoof-1225895789100 }}</ref><ref name=Trolling:TheTodayShowExplorestheDarkSideoftheInternet /> In addition, depictions of trolling have been included in popular fictional works, such as the [[HBO]] television program ''[[The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)|The Newsroom]]'', in which a main character encounters harassing persons online and tries to infiltrate their circles by posting negative sexual comments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/08/the-newsroom-episode-9-review-and-recap-the-blackout-part-2-whither-the-mock-debate-240293/|title='The Newsroom' Episode 9 Review and Recap: 'The Blackout Part 2' – Whither the Mock Debate?|date=20 Aug 2012|author=Beth Hanna |website=IndieWire |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809233715/https://www.indiewire.com/2012/08/the-newsroom-episode-9-review-and-recap-the-blackout-part-2-whither-the-mock-debate-240293/ |archive-date= Aug 9, 2022 }}</ref>

== Usage ==

Application of the term ''troll'' is [[Subjectivity|subjective]]. Some readers may characterize a post as ''trolling'', while others may regard the same post as a legitimate contribution to the discussion, even if controversial.<ref>Leone, M. "[https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/2997807/mod_resource/content/1/2017_-_The_Art_of_Trolling_-_Draft.pdf The Art of Trolling]". University of Turin.</ref> More potent acts of trolling are blatant [[harassment]] or off-topic banter.<ref>Baldwin, Z. (24 August 2018). "[https://www.griffin.law/distinction-trolling-online-harassment-law-surrounding The distinction between 'trolling' and online harassment, and the law surrounding it]". Griffin Law. Retrieved 17 February 2022.</ref> However, the term ''Internet troll'' has also been applied to information warfare, hate speech, and even political [[activism]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Birkbak|first=Andreas|date=2018-04-30|title=Into the wild online: Learning from Internet trolls|url=https://www.firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/8297|journal=First Monday|language=en|doi=10.5210/fm.v22i5.8297|issn=1396-0466 |doi-access=free |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216104504/https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/8297 |archive-date= Dec 16, 2023 }}</ref>

The "[[Trollface]]" is an image occasionally used to indicate trolling in Internet culture.<ref>{{cite web |last=Prahl |first=Kyle |url=http://www.psu.com/a019344/Trollface-hack-strikes-PlayStation-3-PSU-community-member-reports-XMB-weirdness|title=Trollface hack strikes PlayStation 3? PSU community member reports XMB weirdness |work=PlayStation Universe |date=9 May 2013 |access-date=3 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515045805/https://www.psu.com/news/trollface-hack-strikes-playstation-3-psu-community-member-reports-xmb-weirdness/ |archive-date=15 May 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Valle |first=Mario |url=http://www.publimetro.cl/nota/cronica/pasta-y-masterdog-ya-son-parte-de-la-jerga-universitaria/xIQmef!22mBeJJLytl6U/|title="Pasta" y "MasterDog" ya son parte de la jerga universitaria |work=[[Publimetro]] |access-date=3 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719104602/https://www.publimetro.cl/nota/cronica/pasta-y-masterdog-ya-son-parte-de-la-jerga-universitaria/xIQmef!22mBeJJLytl6U/ |archive-date=19 July 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://yucatan.com.mx/imagen/forever-alone-y-ay-si-ay-si-entre-los-mas-populares | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221424/http://yucatan.com.mx/imagen/forever-alone-y-ay-si-ay-si-entre-los-mas-populares | archive-date=2 December 2013 | title="Forever Alone" y "Ay sí, ay sí", entre los más populares – el Diario… | access-date=17 May 2013 }}</ref>

The word is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to anyone with controversial or differing opinions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url = http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/12/i_m_not_a_troll_why_does_everyone_on_the_internet_keep_calling_me_one.html|title = Stop Calling Me a Troll|last = Manjoo|first = Farhad|date = 5 December 2012|work = Slate|access-date = 6 January 2015}}</ref> Such usage goes against the ordinary meaning of troll in multiple ways. While [[psychologist]]s have determined that [[Sadistic personality disorder|psychopathological sadism]], [[dark triad]], and [[dark tetrad]] [[Psychological trait|personality traits]] are common among Internet trolls,<ref name="Dynel 2016">{{cite journal |last=Dynel |first=Marta |date=September 2016 |title="Trolling is not stupid": Internet trolling as the art of deception serving entertainment |editor-last=Kecskés |editor-first=István |editor-link=István Kecskés (linguist) |journal=[[Intercultural Pragmatics]] |volume=13 |issue=3 |publisher=[[De Gruyter]] |location=[[Berlin]] |pages=353–381 |doi=10.1515/ip-2016-0015 |s2cid=151433921 |eissn=1613-365X |issn=1612-295X}}</ref><ref name="JournalofPersonality">{{cite journal |last1=Andjelovic |first1=Tamara |last2=Buckels |first2=Erin E. |last3=Paulhus |first3=Delroy L. |last4=Trapnell |first4=Paul D. |date=April 2019 |title=Internet trolling and everyday sadism: Parallel effects on pain perception and moral judgment |journal=[[Journal of Personality]] |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=328–340 |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |location=[[Chichester|Chichester, West Sussex]] |doi=10.1111/jopy.12393 |pmid=29663396 |s2cid=4955521}}</ref><ref name="Comput. Hum. Behav.">{{cite journal |last1=Navarro-Carrillo |first1=Ginés |last2=Torres-Marín |first2=Jorge |last3=Carretero-Dios |first3=Hugo |date=January 2021 |title=Do trolls just want to have fun? Assessing the role of humor-related traits in online trolling behavior |url=https://mobt3ath.com/uplode/books/book-99319.pdf |journal=[[Computers in Human Behavior]] |volume=114 |article-number=106551 |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |location=[[Amsterdam]] |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2020.106551 |s2cid=225027966 |issn=0747-5632}}</ref><ref name="SPSP.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/buckels-internet-trolls |title=Probing the Sadistic Minds of Internet Trolls |last=Buckels |first=Erin E. |date=7 June 2019 |website=www.spsp.org |publisher=[[Society for Personality and Social Psychology]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |access-date=31 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="Cyberpsychology">{{cite journal |last1=March |first1=Evita |last2=Steele |first2=Genevieve |date=July 2020 |title=High Esteem and Hurting Others Online: Trait Sadism Moderates the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Internet Trolling |journal=Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking |volume=23 |issue=7 |pages=441–446 |publisher=[[Mary Ann Liebert|Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.]] |doi=10.1089/cyber.2019.0652 |pmid=32364769 |doi-access=free }}</ref> some observers claim that trolls do not believe the controversial views they claim. [[Farhad Manjoo]] criticises this view, noting that if the person is trolling, they are more intelligent than their critics would believe.<ref name=":0" />

== Responses ==
[[File:DoNotFeedTroll.svg|thumb|The advice to [[:wikt:ignore|ignore]] rather than engage with a troll is sometimes phrased as "Please don't feed the trolls".]]
One common strategy for dealing with online trolls is to ignore them. This approach, known as "don't feed the trolls",<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/05/dont-feed-the-troll-german-chancellor-responds-to-elon-musk-comments |title='Don't feed the troll': German chancellor responds to Elon Musk comments |work=The Guardian |date=5 January 2025 |last1=Kassam |first1=Ashifa }}</ref> is based on the idea that trolls feed on attention and reactions. By withholding these, the troll may lose interest and stop their disruptive behavior. This is considered by psychologists to be the best way to stop trolling. Although after ceasing contact, disruption may occur in greater frequency due to an [[Extinction (psychology)|extinction burst]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=Wayne W. |last2=Greer |first2=Brian D. |last3=Shahan |first3=Timothy A. |last4=Norris |first4=Halle M. |date=January 2023 |title=Basic and applied research on extinction bursts |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=4–28 |doi=10.1002/jaba.954 |issn=1938-3703 |pmc=9868065 |pmid=36193974}}</ref>

== Origin and etymology ==

There are competing theories of where and when "troll" was first used in Internet slang, with numerous unattested accounts of [[Bulletin board system|BBS]] and [[Usenet]] origins in the early 1980s or before.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Van|first=Thomas|title=Internet Slang: Where Did The Word Troll Come From?|url=https://www.thomasvan.com/random-philosophy/internet-slang-where-did-the-word-troll-come-from|access-date=2021-04-13|language=en-US}}</ref>

The English noun "troll" in the standard sense of ugly dwarf or giant dates to 1610 and originates from the [[Old Norse]] word "[[troll]]" meaning [[giant (mythology)|giant]] or [[demon]].<ref name="Online Etymology Dictionary">{{OEtymD|troll||accessdate=14 June 2013}}</ref> The word evokes the trolls of [[Scandinavian folklore]] and children's tales: antisocial, quarrelsome and slow-witted creatures which make life difficult for travelers.<ref>{{cite web|last1=ln|title=Trollmother|url=http://trollmother.com/index.php/trollhistory|access-date=22 October 2014|archive-date=21 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021034430/http://trollmother.com/index.php/trollhistory|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Trolls. Who are they?|url=http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs991a/troll.html|publisher=unknown|access-date=3 July 2013}}</ref> Trolls have existed in folklore and fantasy literature for centuries, and online trolling has been around for as long as the Internet has existed.<ref name="Vicente">{{Cite web|url=https://www.howtogeek.com/465416/what-is-an-internet-troll-and-how-to-handle-trolls/|title=What Is an Internet Troll? (and How to Handle Trolls)|last=Vicente|first=Vann|website=How-To Geek|date=21 January 2020 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-20}}</ref>

In modern English usage, "[[Trolling (fishing)|trolling]]" may describe the [[Fishing techniques|fishing technique]] of slowly dragging a lure or baited hook from a moving boat,<ref name="merriam-webster">{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/troll|title=troll|year=2010|work=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary|access-date=7 January 2010}}</ref> whereas ''[[trawling]]'' describes the generally commercial act of dragging a fishing net. Early non-Internet slang use of "trolling" can be found in the military: by 1972 the term "trolling for [[Mikoyan|MiGs]]" was documented in use by [[US Navy]] pilots in [[Vietnam]]. It referred to use of "...decoys, with the mission of drawing...fire away..."<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Life |date=4 February 1972 |author=John Saar |title=Carrier War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28}}</ref> The contemporary use of the term is said to have appeared on the Internet in the late 1980s,<ref name="nyt">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html| title=The Trolls Among Us| last=Schwartz| first=Mattathias| date=3 August 2008| work=The New York Times| pages=MM24| access-date=24 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="GoogleUsenet">{{cite newsgroup| url=https://groups.google.com/group/alt.flame/msg/80135728c2dc034b?pli=1| title=FOADTAD| newsgroup=alt.flame|message-id=131460@sun.Eng.Sun.COM| date=8 February 1990| author=Miller, Mark S.| quote=Just go die in your sleep you mindless flatulent troll.| access-date=2 June 2009}}</ref> but the earliest known attestation according to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' is in 1992.<ref name=oed>{{cite encyclopedia| entry='''troll''', ''n''.<sup>1</sup>| encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary| publisher=Oxford University Press| year=2006}}</ref><ref name="ChanAFU">{{cite newsgroup| url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.folklore.urban/iNal2CeYkSw/7Mwdly7upPkJ| title=Post the FAQ| newsgroup=alt.folklore.urban|message-id=26717@dog.ee.lbl.gov| date=8 October 1992| author=Chan, Terry| quote=Maybe after I post it, we could go trolling some more and see what happens.| access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="EsanAFU">{{cite newsgroup| url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.folklore.urban/E26iaSme1t0/mnZfdqUeM9oJ| title=Mixed up translations| newsgroup=alt.folklore.urban|message-id=4322@moscom.com| date=2 October 1992| author=Esan, David| quote=It just amazes me that when someone goes newbie trolling how many people he catches.| access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref>

The first usage of the term was on [[Usenet]] in the early 1990s as in the phrase "trolling for newbies", as used in ''alt.folklore.urban'' (AFU).<ref name="Porter">{{cite book| last=Tepper| first=Michele| title=Internet culture| editor=Porter, David| publisher=Routledge Inc| location=New York, New York, United States| year=1997| chapter=Usenet Communities and the Cultural Politics of Information| page=48| quote=...&nbsp;the two most notorious trollers in AFU, Ted Frank and Snopes, are also two of the most consistent posters of serious research.| isbn=978-0-415-91683-7| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5d2stzIbkqMC| access-date=24 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="CromarAFU">{{cite newsgroup| url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.folklore.urban/9gXNdotYPVc/TaD3xbBv-IAJ| title=Trolling for Newbies| newsgroup=alt.folklore.urban|message-id=Oct.9.10.26.26.1992.22869@math.rutgers.edu| date=9 October 1992| author=Cromar, Scott| quote=Some people call this game trolling for newbies| access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref> Typically, this refers to a gentle inside joke where veteran users post overdone topics that only newcomers would take seriously. For example, a veteran might post about the [[common misconception]] that [[Glass#Reputed flow|glass flows over time]]—long-time readers would recognize both the poster and the tired topic, while new subscribers would respond earnestly. These types of trolls served as a practice to identify group insiders. This definition of trolling, considerably narrower than the modern understanding of the term, was considered a positive contribution.<ref name="Porter" /><ref name="SDope">{{cite web| url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1764/what-is-a-troll| title=What is a troll?|last=Zotti|first=Ed| date=14 April 2000| publisher=The Straight Dope| access-date=24 March 2009| quote=To be fair, not all trolls are slimeballs. On some message boards, veteran posters with a mischievous bent occasionally go 'newbie trolling.'|display-authors=etal}}</ref> One of the most notorious AFU trollers, David Mikkelson,<ref name="Porter" /> went on to create the urban [[folklore]] website [[Snopes.com]].

By the late 1990s, ''alt.folklore.urban'' had such heavy traffic and participation that trolling of this sort was frowned upon. Others expanded the term to include the practice of playing a seriously misinformed user, even in [[newsgroup]]s where one was not a regular; these were often attempts at humor rather than provocation. The noun ''troll'' usually referred to an act of trolling – or to the resulting discussion – rather than to the author, though some posts punned on the dual meaning of ''troll.''<ref name="WilburAFU">{{cite newsgroup| url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.folklore.urban/DjYm8Usd4TQ/oEDd8GixmQAJ| title=AFU REALLY REALLY WAY SOUTH| newsgroup=alt.folklore.urban|message-id=1993Feb8.010006.1589@Csli.Stanford.EDU| date=8 February 1993| author=Wilbur, Tom| quote=Tom "nice troll, by the way" Wilbur| access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref>

The August 26, 1997 strip of [[webcomic]] ''[[Kevin and Kell]]'' used the word ''troll'' to describe those that deliberately harass or provoke other Internet users, similar to the modern sense of the word.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tuesday Aug, 26 1997 |url=https://www.kevinandkell.com/1997/kk0826.html|access-date=2021-05-19|website=www.kevinandkell.com – Kevin & Kell }}</ref>

=== In other languages ===

{{More citations needed section|date=April 2016}}
In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], trolling is referred to as ''bái mù'' ({{lang-zh|c=[[:zh:白目|白目]]|l=white eye}}), which can be straightforwardly explained as "eyes without pupils", in the sense that while the [[pupil]] of the eye is used for vision, the white section of the eye cannot see, and trolling involves blindly talking nonsense over the Internet, having total disregard to sensitivities or being oblivious to the situation at hand, akin to having eyes without pupils. An alternative term is ''bái làn'' ({{lang-zh|c=白爛|l=white rot}}), which describes a post completely nonsensical and full of folly made to upset others, and derives from a Taiwanese slang term for the [[Human male genitalia|male genitalia]], where genitalia that is pale white in color represents that someone is young, and thus foolish. Both terms originate from [[Taiwan]], and are also used in [[Hong Kong]] and [[mainland China]]. Another term, ''xiǎo bái'' ({{lang-zh|c=小白|l=little white}}), is a derogatory term for both ''bái mù'' and ''bái làn'' that is used on anonymous posting Internet forums. Another common term for a troll used in mainland China is ''pēn zi'' ({{lang-zh|c=噴子|l=sprayer, spurter}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Language Log » The toll of the trolls |url=https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=42191 |access-date=2022-04-14}}</ref>

In [[Hebrew]] the word {{lang|he|טרול}} refers both to internet trolls, who engage in disruptive behavior on social media and online platforms, or to the mythical creatures similar to trolls found in European mythology.<ref>{{Cite web |title=מה זה טרול – מילון עברי עברי – מילוג |url=https://milog.co.il/%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9C |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=milog.co.il}}</ref> The word is also inflected into a verb form, {{lang|he|להטריל}}, which means to engage in trolling behavior on the internet or social media.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-07-10 |title=כתב פוסטים מרושעים בפייסבוק ונשלח לכלא לשנתיים |url=https://www.mako.co.il/nexter-internet/social-networks-facebook/Article-196123906f8cf31006.htm |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=mako}}</ref>

In [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], ''[[wikt:en:þurs#Icelandic|þurs]]'' (a [[Jötunn|thurs]]) or ''[[wikt:en:tröll#Icelandic|tröll]]'' (a [[troll]]) may refer to trolls, the verbs ''þursa'' (to troll) or ''þursast'' (to be trolling, to troll about) may be used.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-22 |title=Troll Politics |url=https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2020/04/22/troll-politics/ |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=Georgetown Journal of International Affairs |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=August 2022}}

In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], {{nihongo|''[[wikt:en:tsuri#Japanese|tsuri]]''|[[wikt:en:釣り#Japanese|釣り]]}} means "fishing" and refers to intentionally misleading posts whose only purpose is to get the readers to react, i.e. get trolled. {{nihongo|''[[wikt:en:arashi#Japanese|Arashi]]''|[[wikt:en:荒らし#Japanese|荒らし]]}} means "laying waste" and can also be used to refer to simple [[spam (electronic)|spamming]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In [[Korean language|Korean]], ''nak-si'' (낚시) means "fishing" and refers to Internet trolling attempts, as well as purposely misleading post titles. A person who recognizes the troll after having responded (or, in case of a post title, ''nak-si'', having read the actual post) would often refer to themselves as a caught fish.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ybmallinall.com/stylev2/index.asp?menumode=today_hot&param=3566|script-title=ko:관심을 바라는 사람, 영어로 뭐라고 해요?|access-date=January 15, 2021|language=ko|archive-date=16 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216111336/https://www.ybmallinall.com/stylev2/index.asp?menumode=today_hot&param=3566|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], more commonly in its [[Brazilian Portuguese|Brazilian]] variant, [[:pt:Troll|troll]] (pronounced {{IPA|pt|ˈtɾɔw|}} in most of Brazil as [[spelling pronunciation]]) is the usual term to denote Internet trolls (examples of common derivate terms are ''trollismo'' or ''trollagem'', "trolling", and the verb ''trollar'', "to troll", which entered popular use), but an older expression, used by those which want to avoid [[anglicism]]s or [[slang]]s, is ''[[:pt:Complexo do pombo enxadrista|complexo do pombo enxadrista]]'' to denote trolling behavior, and ''pombos enxadristas'' (literally, "chessplayer pigeons") or simply ''pombos'' are the terms used to name the trolls. The terms are explained by an [[adage]] or popular saying: "Arguing with ''[[List of placeholder names|fulano]]'' (i.e., [[John Doe]]) is the same as playing [[chess]] with a [[pigeon]]: it defecates on the table, drops the pieces and simply flies off, claiming victory."{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In [[Thai language|Thai]], the term ''krian'' ([[:wikt:เกรียน|เกรียน]]) has been adopted to address Internet trolls. According to the [[Royal Institute of Thailand]], the term, which literally refers to a closely cropped hairstyle worn by schoolboys in Thailand, is from the behaviour of these schoolboys who usually gather to play online games and, during which, make annoying, disruptive, impolite, or unreasonable expressions.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Photchananukrom Kham Mai Lem Song Chabap Ratchabandittayasathan|last = Royal Institute of Thailand|publisher = Royal Institute of Thailand|year = 2009|isbn = 978-616-7073-04-0|location = Bangkok|pages = 11|script-title = th:พจนานุกรมคำใหม่ เล่ม ๒ ฉบับราชบัณฑิตยสถาน|trans-title = Royal Institute Dictionary of New Words, Volume 2|language=th|author-link = Royal Society of Thailand}}</ref>

== Trolling, identity, and anonymity ==

Early incidents of trolling<ref>[[Stevan Harnad]] (1987/2011) "[https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/05/sky-writing-or-when-man-first-met-troll/239420/ Sky-Writing, Or, When Man First Met Troll]" ''The Atlantic''</ref> were considered to be the same as [[Flaming (Internet)|flaming]], but this has changed with modern usage by the news media to refer to the creation of any content that targets another person. The Internet dictionary, NetLingo, suggests there are four grades of trolling: playtime trolling, tactical trolling, strategic trolling, and domination trolling.

The relationship between trolling and flaming was observed in open-access forums in California, on a series of modem-linked computers. ''CommuniTree'' was begun in 1978 but was closed in 1982 when accessed by high school teenagers, becoming a ground for trashing and abuse.<ref name="guar">{{cite news |title=How the Internet created an age of rage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/jul/24/internet-anonymity-trolling-tim-adams |work=The Guardian (The Observer)|date= 24 July 2011 |location=London |first=Tim |last=Adams}}</ref>

Some psychologists have suggested that flaming would be caused by [[deindividuation]] or decreased self-evaluation: [[Online disinhibition effect|the anonymity of online postings would lead to disinhibition]] amongst individuals.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=S. Kiesler |author2=J. Siegel |author3=T.W. McGuire |title=Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication|journal=American Psychologist|volume=39|pages=1123–34|year=1984|doi=10.1037/0003-066X.39.10.1123|issue=10|s2cid=3896692 }}</ref> Others have suggested that although flaming and trolling is often unpleasant, it may be a form of normative behavior that expresses the [[social identity]] of a certain user group.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=M. Lea |author2=T. O'Shea |author3=P. Fung |author4=R. Spears |title='Flaming' in Computer-Mediated Communication: observation, explanations, implications|journal=Contexts of Computer-Mediated Communication|pages=89–112|year=1992}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Postmes, T. |author2=Spears, R. |author3=Lea, M. |title=Breaching or building social boundaries? SIDE-effects of computer-mediated communication|journal=Communication Research|pages=689–715|volume=25|year=1998|doi=10.1177/009365098025006006|s2cid=145640433 }}</ref>

According to Tom Postmes, a professor of social and organisational psychology at the universities of Exeter, England, and Groningen, The Netherlands, and the author of ''Individuality and the Group'', who has studied online behavior for 20 years, "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."<ref name="guar" /> Someone who brings something off topic into the conversation in order to make that person mad is trolling.<ref>{{Citation|title=Litigation or: In Defense of Patent Trolls|work=Selling Social Media : The Political Economy of Social Networking|year=2017|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|doi=10.5040/9781501319723.ch-005|isbn=978-1-5013-1969-3}}</ref>

The practice of trolling has been documented by a number of academics since the 1990s. This included [[Steven Johnson (author)|Steven Johnson]] in 1997 in the book ''Interface Culture'', and a paper by [[Judith Donath]] in 1999. Donath's paper outlines the ambiguity of identity in a disembodied "[[virtual community]]" such as [[Usenet]]:

{{blockquote|In the physical world there is an inherent unity to the self, for the body provides a compelling and convenient definition of identity. The norm is: one body, one identity&nbsp;... The virtual world is different. It is composed of information rather than matter.<ref name="mit">{{Cite book | last=Donath | first=Judith S. | title=Communities in Cyberspace | editor=Smith, Marc A. |editor2=Kollock, Peter | publisher=Routledge | year=1999 | edition=illustrated, reprint | pages=29–59 | chapter=Identity and deception in the virtual community | isbn=978-0-415-19140-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=210IkjyN8gEC | access-date=24 March 2009}}</ref>}}

Donath provides a concise overview of [[identity deception]] games which trade on the confusion between physical and [[epistemic community]]:

{{blockquote|Trolling is a game about identity deception, albeit one that is played without the consent of most of the players. The troll attempts to pass as a legitimate participant, sharing the group's common interests and concerns; the newsgroup's or forum's members, if they are cognizant of trolls and other identity deceptions, attempt to both distinguish real from trolling postings, and upon judging a poster a troll, make the offending poster leave the group. Their success at the former depends on how well they{{spaced ndash}}and the troll{{spaced ndash}}understand identity cues; their success at the latter depends on whether the troll's enjoyment is sufficiently diminished or outweighed by the costs imposed by the group.}}

[[Whitney Phillips (author)|Whitney Phillips]] observes in ''This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship Between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture'' that certain behaviors are consistent among different types of trolls. First, trolls of the subcultural variety self-identify as trolls.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Phillips, Whitney|title=This is why we can't have nice things: mapping the relationship between online trolling and mainstream culture|date=2 September 2016|publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-52987-7|oclc=946160335}}</ref> Trolls are also motivated by what is known as [[lulz]], a type of unsympathetic, ambiguous laughter. The final behavior is the insistent need for anonymity. According to Phillips, anonymity allows trolls to engage in behaviors they would not replicate in professional or public settings, with the effectiveness of trolling often being dependent upon the target's lack of anonymity. This can include the disclosure of real-life attachments, interests, and vulnerabilities of the target.

A troll can disrupt the discussion on a newsgroup or online forum, disseminate bad advice, and damage the feeling of trust in the [[online community]]. In a group that has become sensitized to trolling{{spaced ndash}}where the rate of deception is high{{spaced ndash}}many honestly naïve questions may be quickly rejected as trolling. This can be quite off-putting to the new user who upon first posting is immediately bombarded with angry accusations. Even if the accusations are unfounded, being branded a troll may be damaging to one's online reputation.<ref name="mit" />

[[Susan Herring]] and colleagues, in "Searching for Safety Online: Managing 'Trolling' in a Feminist Forum", point out the difficulty inherent in monitoring trolling and maintaining freedom of speech in online communities: "harassment often arises in spaces known for their freedom, lack of censure, and experimental nature".<ref name="IUinformatics">{{cite web | url=http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~fulk/620overview_files/Herring.pdf | title=Searching for Safety Online: Managing "Trolling" in a Feminist Forum | last=Herring | first=Susan | author2=Job-Sluder, Kirk | author3=Scheckler, Rebecca | author4=Barab, Sasha | year=2002 | publisher=Center for Social Informatics – Indiana University | access-date=29 March 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108171808/http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~fulk/620overview_files/Herring.pdf | archive-date=8 January 2017 }}</ref> Free speech may lead to tolerance of trolling behavior, complicating the members' efforts to maintain an open, yet supportive discussion area, especially for sensitive topics such as race, gender, and sexuality.<ref name="IUinformatics" />

[[Cyberbullying]] laws vary by state, as trolling is not a crime under U.S. federal law.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Trolled Online: What You Can Do When You're Bullied on Social Media|url=https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/trolled-online-what-to-do-when-bullied-social-media.html|access-date=2021-10-22|website=www.criminaldefenselawyer.com|language=en}}</ref> In an effort to reduce uncivil behavior by increasing accountability, many web sites (e.g. [[Reuters]], [[Facebook]], and [[Gizmodo]]) now require commenters to register their names and e-mail addresses.<ref name="zhao.2010">J. Zhao, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/opinion/30zhuo.html "Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt"], ''The New York Times'', 29 November 2010.</ref>

Trolling itself has become its own form of Internet subculture and has developed its own set of rituals, rules, specialized language, and dedicated spaces of practice.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Paavola|first1=J|last2=Helo|first2=T|last3=Jalonen|first3=H|last4=Sartonen|first4=M|last5=Huhtinen|first5=A-M|date=2016|title=Understanding the Trolling Phenomenon: The Automated Detection of Bots and Cyborgs in the Social Media|journal=Journal of Information Warfare|volume=15|issue=4|pages=100–111|jstor=26487554|issn=1445-3312}}</ref> The appeal of trolling primarily comes from the thrill of how long one can keep the ruse going before getting caught, and exposed as a troll. When understood this way, Internet trolls are less like vulgar, indiscriminate bullies, and closer to countercultural respondents to a (so called) overly sensitive public.

The main elements of why people troll are interactions; trolling exists in the interactive communications between Internet users, influencing people's views both from objective and emotional standpoints. Further, trolling does not target a single individual, but rather targets multiple members of a discussion. Trolling can  be easily identified by its offensive content, intended to provoke an emotional reaction from an audience.<ref name=":3" />

== Corporate, political, and special-interest sponsored trolls ==

{{See also|State-sponsored Internet propaganda}}
Organizations and countries may utilize trolls to manipulate public opinion as part and parcel of an [[astroturfing]] initiative. When trolling is sponsored by the government, it is often called state-sponsored Internet propaganda or state-sponsored trolling. Teams of sponsored trolls are sometimes referred to as [[Sockpuppet (Internet)|sockpuppet]] armies.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-02-23|title=What's the difference between a troll and a sockpuppet?|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/23/troll-steven-poole-word-of-week|access-date=2021-05-25|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

A 2016 study by Harvard political scientist [[Gary King (political scientist)|Gary King]] reported that the Chinese government's [[50 Cent Party]] creates 440 million pro-government social media posts per year.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602042642/http://gking.harvard.edu/files/gking/files/50c.pdf|archive-date=2 June 2016|url=http://gking.harvard.edu/files/gking/files/50c.pdf|title=How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, not Engaged Argument|date=1 June 2016|author1=Gary King|author2=Jennifer Pan|author3=Margaret E. Roberts}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/06/behind-chinas-viral-curtain/ |title=Behind China's viral curtain |date=11 June 2016 |publisher= Harvard Gazette|url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611122121/http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/06/behind-chinas-viral-curtain/ |archive-date=11 June 2016 }}</ref> The report said that government employees were paid to create pro-government posts around the time of national holidays to avoid mass political protests. The Chinese Government ran an editorial in the state-funded ''[[Global Times]]'' defending [[Internet censorship in China|censorship]] and 50 Cent Party trolls.<ref name=":1" />

A 2016 study for the [[NATO]] Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence on [[hybrid warfare]] notes that the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]] "demonstrated how fake identities and accounts were used to disseminate narratives through social media, blogs, and web commentaries in order to manipulate, harass, or deceive opponents."<ref name="NATO2016">{{cite web|last1=Spruds|first1=Andris|last2=Rožukalne|first2=Anda|last3=Sedlenieks|first3=Klāvs|last4=Daugulis|first4=Mārtiņš|last5=Potjomkina|first5=Diāna|last6=Tölgyesi|first6=Beatrix|last7=Bruģe|first7=Ilvija|display-authors=2|date=n.d.|title=Internet Trolling as a hybrid warfare tool: the case of Latvia|website=stratcomcoe.org|location=Riga, LV|publisher=NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence|publication-date=28 January 2016|url=http://www.stratcomcoe.org/internet-trolling-hybrid-warfare-tool-case-latvia-0|access-date=28 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128210911/http://www.stratcomcoe.org/internet-trolling-hybrid-warfare-tool-case-latvia-0|archive-date=28 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|page=3}} The NATO report describes that a "Wikipedia troll" uses a type of message design where a troll does not add "emotional value" to reliable "essentially true" information in re-posts, but presents it "in the wrong context, intending the audience to draw false conclusions." For example, information, without context, from Wikipedia about the [[military history of the United States]] "becomes value-laden if it is posted in the comment section of an article criticizing Russia for its military actions and interests in Ukraine. The Wikipedia troll is 'tricky', because in terms of actual text, the information is true, but the way it is expressed gives it a completely different meaning to its readers."<ref name="NATO2016" />{{rp|page=62}}

Unlike "classic trolls", Wikipedia trolls "have no emotional input, they just supply [[misinformation]]" and are one of "the most dangerous" as well as one of "the most effective trolling message designs."<ref name="NATO2016" />{{rp|pages=70, 76}} Even among people who are "emotionally immune to aggressive messages" and apolitical, "training in [[critical thinking]]" is needed, according to the NATO report, because "they have relatively blind trust in Wikipedia sources and are not able to filter information that comes from platforms they consider authoritative."<ref name="NATO2016" />{{rp|page=72}} While Russian-language hybrid trolls use the Wikipedia troll message design to promote [[anti-Western sentiment]] in comments, they "mostly attack aggressively to maintain [[emotional attachment]] to issues covered in articles."<ref name="NATO2016" />{{rp|page=75}} Discussions about topics other than [[international sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War]] "attracted very aggressive trolling" and became polarized, according to the NATO report, which "suggests that in subjects in which there is little potential for re-educating audiences, emotional harm is considered more effective" for pro-Russian Latvian-language trolls.<ref name="NATO2016" />{{rp|page=76}}

A 2016 study on fluoridation decision-making in Israel coined the term "Uncertainty Bias" to describe the efforts of power in government, public health and media to aggressively advance agendas by misrepresentation of historical and scientific fact. The authors noted that authorities tended to overlook or to deny situations that involve uncertainty while making unscientific arguments and disparaging comments in order to undermine opposing positions.<ref name=ISRAEL2016>{{cite journal |last1= Gesser-Edelsburg |first1=Anat |last2=Shir-Raz |first2=Yaffa |title= Communicating risk for issues that involve 'uncertainty bias':what can the Israeli case of water fluoridation teach us?|journal= Journal of Risk Research |date=August 2016 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=395–416 |doi=10.1080/13669877.2016.1215343|doi-access=free }}</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' reported in late October 2018 that [[Saudi Arabia]] used an online army of [[Twitter]] trolls to harass the late Saudi dissident journalist [[Jamal Khashoggi]] and other critics of the Saudi government.<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudis' Image Makers: A Troll Army and a Twitter Insider|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/20/us/politics/saudi-image-campaign-twitter.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/20/us/politics/saudi-image-campaign-twitter.html |archive-date=2022-01-03 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=20 October 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In October 2018, ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that [[Facebook]] "banned hundreds of pages and accounts which it says were fraudulently flooding its site with partisan political content – although they came from the US instead of being associated with Russia."<ref>{{cite news |title=Facebook: Most political trolls are American, not Russian |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/11/facebook-political-trolls-american-not-russian/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/11/facebook-political-trolls-american-not-russian/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=12 October 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

While corporate networking site LinkedIn is considered a platform of good taste and professionalism, companies searching for personal information by promoting jobs that were not real and fake accounts posting political messages has caught the company off guard.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 7, 2018|title=Political trolls are invading LinkedIn|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trolls-invade-linkedin-2018-11|website=Business Insider|access-date=13 October 2021|archive-date=6 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306014329/https://www.businessinsider.com/trolls-invade-linkedin-2018-11|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Psychological characteristics ==
[[File:Aerger.jpg|thumb|''Aggravation'' by [[Briton Rivière]] (1896). Radford suggests that many trolls perceive themselves as [[jester]]-like figures, tormenting their targets from a position of relative safety.<ref name="Bad Clowns"/>]]
Researcher [[Ben Radford]] wrote about the phenomenon of [[clown]]s in history and the modern day in his book ''Bad Clowns'', and found that "bad clowns" have evolved into Internet trolls.<ref name="Bad Clowns">{{cite book |last=Radford |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Radford |year=2016 |title=Bad Clowns |publisher=[[University of New Mexico Press]] |location=[[Albuquerque]] |isbn=978-0-8263-5666-6}}</ref> They do not dress up as traditional clowns but, for their own amusement, they tease and exploit "human foibles" in order to speak the "truth" and gain a reaction.<ref name="Bad Clowns"/> Like clowns in make-up, Internet trolls hide behind "anonymous accounts and fake usernames".<ref name="Bad Clowns"/> In their eyes, they are the [[Deception|trickster]] and are performing for a nameless audience via the Internet.<ref name="Bad Clowns"/> Studies conducted in the fields of [[human–computer interaction]] and [[cyberpsychology]] by other researchers have corroborated Radford's analysis on the phenomenon of Internet trolling as a form of deception-serving [[entertainment]] and its correlations to [[Aggression|aggressive behaviour]], [[katagelasticism]], [[Black comedy|black humor]], and the [[Dark tetrad]].<ref name="Dynel 2016"/><ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="Comput. Hum. Behav."/>

Trolling correlates positively with [[Sadomasochism|sadism]],<ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="Comput. Hum. Behav."/><ref name="SPSP.org"/><ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> [[Trait theory|trait]] [[psychopathy]],<ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="Comput. Hum. Behav."/><ref name="SPSP.org"/><ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> and [[Machiavellianism (psychology)|Machiavellianism]]<ref name="Coping with Internet Trolls">{{Cite web|url=https://psychcentral.com/blog/coping-with-internet-trolls/|title=Coping with Internet Trolls|last=Glass|first=Rachel Lee |date=2020-02-04|website=psychcentral.com|language=en-US|access-date=2025-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227121438/https://psychcentral.com/blog/coping-with-internet-trolls/ |archive-date=February 27, 2020 }}</ref> (see [[dark triad]]). Trolls take pleasure from causing [[pain]] and [[Suffering|emotional suffering]].<ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="SPSP.org"/><ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> Their ability to upset or harm gives them a feeling of power.<ref name="Coping with Internet Trolls"/><ref>Cheng, J., Bernstein, M., Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil, C., & Leskovec, J. (2017). Anyone Can Become a Troll: Causes of Trolling Behavior in Online Discussions. ''CSCW: Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work'', ''2017'', 1217–1230. https://doi.org/10.1145/2998181.2998213</ref> [[Psychological research]]es conducted in the fields of [[personality psychology]] and [[cyberpsychology]] report that trolling behaviour qualifies as an [[anti-social behaviour]] and is strongly correlated to [[sadistic personality disorder]] (SPD).<ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="SPSP.org"/><ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> Researches have shown that [[men]], compared with [[women]], are more likely to perpetrate trolling behaviour; these gender differences in online anti-social behaviour may be a reflection of [[gender stereotypes]], where agentic characteristics such as competitiveness and dominance [[Masculinity|are encouraged in men]].<ref name="Cyberpsychology"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ferenczi |first1=Nelli |last2=Marshall |first2=Tara C. |last3=Bejanyan |first3=Kathrine |date=2017-12-01 |title=Are sex differences in antisocial and prosocial Facebook use explained by narcissism and relational self-construal? |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |language=en |volume=77 |pages=25–31 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.033 |issn=0747-5632|doi-access=free }}</ref> The results corroborated that gender (male) is a significant predictor of trolling behaviour, alongside trait psychopathy and sadism to be significant positive predictors.<ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> Moreover, these studies have shown that people who enjoy trolling online tend to also enjoy hurting other people in everyday life, therefore corroborating a longstanding and persistent pattern of psychopathological sadism.<ref name="SPSP.org"/>

A [[Psychoanalysis|psychoanalytic]] and [[Sexology|sexologic]] study on the phenomenon of Internet trolling asserts that [[anonymity]] increases the incidence of the trolling behaviour, and that "the internet is becoming a [[Media (communication)|medium]] to invest our anxieties and not thinking about the repercussions of trolling and affecting the victims mentally and incite a sense of guilt and shame within them".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sinha |first1=Krittika |last2=Huma |first2=Fatima |last3=Baig |first3=Mirza Sarwar |date=June 2020 |title=Psychoanalytic review of the trolling culture regarding female body |url=https://zenodo.org/record/3929149 |journal=Indian Journal of Health, Sexuality & Culture |volume=6 |issue=1 |publisher=[[List of sexology organizations|Indian Institute of Sexology]] |pages=29–36 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.3929149 |doi-access=free |issn=2581-575X |access-date=31 January 2021}}</ref>

== Concern troll ==
{{See also|Astroturfing}}
''Concern trolls'' pretend to be sympathetic to a certain [[perspective (cognitive)|point of view]] which they are actually critical of. A concern troll will often declare an interest in joining or allying with a certain cause, while subtly ridiculing it.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dewey |first1=Susan |last2=Crowhurst |first2=Isabel |last3=Izugbara |first3=Chimaraoke |title=Routledge International Handbook of Sex Industry Research |year= 2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-13389-0 |page=723 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHx_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT723 |language=en}} "The website ''Geek Feminism Wiki'' describes concern trolling as behavior conducted by: "a person who participates in a debate as an actual or potential ally who simply has some concerns they need answered before they will ally themselves with a cause. In reality they are a critic" (Geek Feminism, n.d.). I suggest that in the context of this behavior towards sex workers there is another element: feigned concern for the well-being of sex workers, as if sex workers are unable to look out for our own well-being.</ref> The concern troll posts in web forums devoted to their declared point of view and attempts to sway the group's actions or opinions while claiming to [[In-group favoritism|share their goals]], but with professed "concerns". The goal is to sow [[fear, uncertainty, and doubt]] within the group, sometimes by appealing to [[Call-out culture|outrage culture]].<ref name="timemag">{{Cite magazine | last=Cox | first=Ana Marie | date=16 December 2006 | title=Making Mischief on the Web | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570701,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113090041/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570701,00.html | archive-date=13 January 2007 | access-date=24 March 2009}}</ref>

For example, a person who [[Social stigma of obesity|wishes to shame obese people]], but disguises this impulse as concern for the health of overweight people, could be considered a concern troll.<ref name="NationalReview">{{Cite magazine |url= https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/01/obesity-american-health-risk-feminism-concern-trolling/ |title= Feminist Internet: Citing Studies Linking Obesity to Health Problems Is 'Oppressive' |last= Timpf |first= Katherine |date= 26 January 2016 |magazine= [[National Review]] |access-date = 23 February 2021}}</ref>

A verifiable example of concern trolling within politics occurred in 2006 when Tad Furtado, a member of staff for then-Congressman [[Charles Bass]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[New Hampshire|N.H.]]), was caught posing as a "concerned" supporter of Bass's opponent, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Paul Hodes]], on several liberal [[New Hampshire]] blogs, using the pseudonyms "IndieNH" or "IndyNH". "IndyNH" expressed concern that Democrats might just be wasting their time or money on Hodes, because Bass was unbeatable.<ref name="ConcordMonitor">{{Cite news |url = http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060927/REPOSITORY/609270353 |title = Bass aide resigns for fake website postings |last = Saunders |first = Anne |date = 27 September 2006 |agency = [[Associated Press]] |newspaper = [[Concord Monitor]] |publisher = [[Newspapers of New England]] |access-date = 5 February 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130517004608/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060927%2FREPOSITORY%2F609270353 |archive-date = 17 May 2013 }}</ref><ref name="WMUR">{{Cite news |url = http://www.wmur.com/politics/9936715/detail.html |title = Bass Aide Resigns After Posing As Democrat On Blogs |date = 26 September 2006 |publisher = [[WMUR]] |access-date = 5 February 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081123085700/http://www.wmur.com/politics/9936715/detail.html |archive-date = 23 November 2008 }}</ref> Hodes eventually won the election.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lorraine|first=Miller|date=September 21, 2007|title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006|url=https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2006election.pdf|website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives}}</ref>

Although the term "concern troll" originated in discussions of online behavior, it now sees increasing use to describe similar offline behaviors. For example, James Wolcott of ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' accused a conservative ''[[New York Daily News]]'' columnist of "concern troll" behavior in his efforts to downplay the [[Mark Foley scandal]]. Wolcott links what he calls concern trolls to what [[Saul Alinsky]] calls "Do-Nothings", giving a long quote from Alinsky on the Do-Nothings' method and effects:

{{blockquote|These Do-Nothings profess a commitment to social change for ideals of justice, equality, and opportunity, and then abstain from and discourage all effective action for change. They are known by their brand, 'I agree with your ends but not your means'.<ref name="vanfair">{{cite web |url = http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2006/10/political_pieti.html |title = Political Pieties from a Post-Natal Drip |last = Wolcott |first = James |date = 6 October 2006 |work = James Wolcott's Blog – [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |publisher = [[Condé Nast]] |access-date = 25 March 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090218152929/http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2006/10/political_pieti.html |archive-date = 18 February 2009 }}</ref>}}

''[[The Hill (newspaper)|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 but rather Republicans offering public advice and warnings to the Democrats that could be considered deceptive.<ref name="thehill">{{cite web| url=https://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/markos-moulitas/21108-dems-ignore-concern-trolls/ | title=Dems: Ignore 'concern trolls' | last=Moulitsas | first=Markos | author-link=Markos Moulitsas | date=9 January 2008 | work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] | publisher=[[Capitol Hill Publishing Corp]] | access-date=25 March 2009}}</ref>

== Troll sites ==
The online forum [[TOTSE]], as created in 1997, is considered one of the earliest trolling communities, predating 4chan by several years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Phillips |first1=Whitney |title=This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture |date=20 March 2015 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-32900-2 |page=20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B4weBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 |language=en}}</ref> A ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' article discussed troll activity at [[4chan]] and at [[Encyclopedia Dramatica]], which it described as "an online compendium of troll humor and troll lore".<ref name="nyt" /> 4chan's /b/ board is recognized as "one of the Internet's most infamous and active trolling hotspots".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Internet Troll Sub-Culture's Savage Spoofing of Mainstream Media [Excerpt]|url = http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/internet-troll-sub-culture-s-savage-spoofing-of-mainstream-media-excerpt/|website = Scientific American|access-date = 24 February 2016|first = Whitney|last = Phillips}}</ref> This site and others are often used as a base to troll against sites that their members cannot normally post on. These trolls feed off the reactions of their victims because "their agenda is to take delight in causing trouble".<ref name="foxsp">{{cite web |url = http://community.foxsports.com/dwilliams/blog/2007/10/25/how_to_be_a_great_internet_troll |title = How to be a Great Internet Troll |work = Fox Sports |access-date = 13 December 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100821232014/http://community.foxsports.com/dwilliams/blog/2007/10/25/how_to_be_a_great_internet_troll |archive-date = 21 August 2010 }}</ref> Places like Reddit, 4chan, and other anonymous message boards are prime real-estate for online trolls. Because there is no easy way of tracing who someone is, trolls can post very inflammatory content without repercussion.<ref name="Vicente"/>

The online French group [[Ligue du LOL]] has been accused of organized harassment and described as a troll group.<ref>{{cite news|title=The #ligueduLOL cyberbullying case is the French media's day of reckoning &#124; Cécile Guerin &#124; Opinion &#124; The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/12/liguedulol-cyberbullying-case-french-media-reckoning-trolls|newspaper=The Guardian|date=12 February 2019|last1=Guerin|first1=Cécile}}</ref>

== Media coverage and controversy ==

{{Globalize|section|date=October 2015}}
Mainstream media outlets have focused their attention on the willingness of some Internet users to go to extreme lengths to participate in organized [[psychological harassment]].

=== Australia ===

In February 2010, the Australian government became involved after users defaced the Facebook tribute pages of murdered children Trinity Bates and Elliott Fletcher. Australian communications minister [[Stephen Conroy]] decried the attacks, committed mainly by 4chan users, as evidence of the need for greater Internet regulation, stating, "This argument that the Internet is some mystical creation that no laws should apply to, that is a recipe for anarchy and the wild west."<ref>[http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1034842/internet-without-laws-a-recipe-for-anarchy "Internet without laws a 'recipe for anarchy'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404062645/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1034842/internet-without-laws-a-recipe-for-anarchy |date=4 April 2010 }}, News.ninemsn.com.au, 1 April 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.</ref> Facebook responded by strongly urging administrators to be aware of ways to ban users and remove inappropriate content from Facebook pages.<ref>[http://www.tgdaily.com/software-features/49166-facebook-takes-small-step-against-tribute-page-trolls "Facebook takes (small) step against tribute page trolls"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403134333/https://www.tgdaily.com/software-features/49166-facebook-takes-small-step-against-tribute-page-trolls |date=3 April 2019 }}, TG Daily, 30 March 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.</ref> In 2012, the ''[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|Daily Telegraph]]'' started a campaign to take action against "Twitter trolls", who abuse and threaten users. Several high-profile Australians including [[Charlotte Dawson]], [[Robbie Farah]], [[Laura Dundovic]], and [[Ray Hadley]] have been victims of this phenomenon.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones |first=Gemma |url=http://www.news.com.au/technology/time-is-up-for-twitter-trolls-and-bulllies/story-e6frfro0-1226472133504 |title=Time is up for Twitter trolls and bullies |work=News.com.au |date=11 September 2012 |access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/farah-subjected-to-vile-twitter-abuse/story-fndo48ca-1226468559816|title=Twitter trolls attack radio host Ray Hadley, NRL star Robbie Farah|newspaper=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/twitter-moves-on-trolls/story-fndo317g-1226474468650|title=Twitter makes moves to prevent online trolls|newspaper=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref>

=== India ===
According to journalist Swati Chaturvedi and others, the ruling [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) runs networks of social media trolls tasked with intimidating political opponents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kazmin |first=Amy |date=February 20, 2017 |title='I Am a Troll' by Swati Chaturvedi |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6dd90462-e3bd-11e6-8405-9e5580d6e5fb |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Financial Times}}</ref>

[[Hindi cinema|Bollywood]] celebrities can face strong social media backlash for their political comments.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Mitra |first=Sreya |date=2020-09-15 |title=Discourses of Hindi film fandom and the confluence of the popular, the public, and the political |url=https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/1775 |journal=Transformative Works and Cultures |language=en |volume=34 |doi=10.3983/twc.2020.1775 |s2cid=224909712 |issn=1941-2258|doi-access=free }}</ref> When actor [[Shah Rukh Khan]] criticized the country's intolerance and called for secularism, many promoted a boycott of his upcoming movie, including several right-wing politicians, one of whom compared Khan to a terrorist.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-11-04 |title=Yogi Adityanath slams SRK, compares him with Hafiz Saeed |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Yogi-Adityanath-attacks-Shah-Rukh-Khan-compares-him-with-Hafiz-Saeed/article60270849.ece |access-date=2023-07-19 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> In 2015, when the [[Maharashtra]] state government banned the sale and consumption of cattle meat (reflecting Hindu beliefs), online trolls attacked stars who criticized the law; actor [[Rishi Kapoor]] received insults and had his Hindu faith questioned.<ref name=":4" /> Though the death sentence of convicted terrorist [[Yakub Memon]] was criticized by "many", including human rights activists and a former Supreme Court chief justice, Bollywood star [[Salman Khan]] received "overwhelming" online anger for expressing the same views; the trolling spilled over into real life, with some protestors burning his effigy.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-07-26 |title=Salman defends Yakub, says hang Tiger Memon |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/salman-defends-yakub-says-hang-tiger-memon/article7466723.ece |access-date=2023-07-19 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathew |first=Suresh |date=2015-07-27 |title=Why Exactly Are We Outraged By Salman Khan's Tweets on Memon? |url=https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/why-exactly-are-we-outraged-by-salman-khans-tweets-on-memon |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=TheQuint |language=en}}</ref>

Newslaundry covered the phenomenon of "Twitter trolling" in its "Criticles",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/02/18/taking-on-the-trolls/|title=Taking On The Trolls|author=Ashoka Prasad|work=Newslaundry|date=18 February 2013 }}</ref> also characterizing Twitter trolls in its weekly podcasts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newslaundry.com/2015/07/17/nl-hafta-episode-24/|title=NL Hafta – Episode 24|date=17 July 2015|work=Newslaundry}}</ref>

The troll community of [[Kerala]] has birthed some troll slang in [[Malayalam]] due to the use of such new words in trolling events that have become viral; some examples are ''Kummanadi'' ("using public transportation without a ticket"), ''OMKV'' ("GTFO"), and ''kiduve'' or ''kidu'' ("cool"; "awesome").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2017/dec/01/whats-my-name-kochi-metro-mascot-asks-public-malayalees-call-it-kummanana-1715605.html |title=What's my name, Kochi Metro Mascot asks public; Malayalees call it 'Kummanana' |publisher=The New Indian Express |date=2017-12-01 |access-date=2023-12-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.akshharam.com/blog-detail/malayalam-slang-words-every-indian-must-know | title=Malayalam Slang Words Every Indian Must Know }}</ref>

===Japan===
{{see also|Internet in Japan#Use and effects of the Internet in Japan}}
In July 2022, Japanese law banned "online insults", punishable by up to one year of imprisonment. Under this law, an "insult" ({{ill|侮辱罪|ja}}) is defined as "publicly demeaning someone's social standing without referring to specific facts about them or a specific action."<ref>{{Cite web |author=Jessie Yeung, Emiko Jozuka and Kathleen Benoza |title=Japan makes 'online insults' punishable by one year in prison |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/14/asia/japan-cyberbullying-law-intl-hnk-scli/index.html |access-date=2022-09-15 |website=CNN|date=14 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan to start jailing people for online insults |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/6/23196593/japan-jail-online-insult-cyberbullying |access-date=2022-09-15 |website=The Verge |date=6 July 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===

In the United Kingdom, contributions made to the Internet are covered by the [[Malicious Communications Act 1988]] as well as Section 127 of the [[Communications Act 2003]], under which jail sentences were, until 2015, limited to a maximum of six months.<ref name=BBCNews>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29678989|title=Internet trolls face up to two years in jail under new laws|work=[[BBC News]]|date=19 October 2014|access-date=19 October 2014}}</ref> In October 2014, the UK's Justice Secretary, [[Chris Grayling]], said that "Internet trolls" would face up to two years in jail, under measures in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill that extend the maximum sentence and time limits for bringing prosecutions.<ref name=BBCNews /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/Internet-trolls-to-face-2-years-in-prison|title=Internet trolls to face 2 years in prison|author=UK Ministry of Justice|date=20 October 2014|access-date=15 February 2015|archive-date=5 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305234048/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/internet-trolls-to-face-2-years-in-prison|url-status=dead}}</ref> The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications had earlier recommended against creating a specific offence of trolling. Sending messages which are "grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character" is an offence whether they are received by the intended recipient or not. Several people have been imprisoned in the UK for online harassment.<ref name="Tom de Castella and Virginia Brown">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14898564 |title=Trolling: Who does it and why? |author1=Tom de Castella |author2=Virginia Brown |date=14 September 2011 |work=BBC News Magazine|access-date=14 September 2011}}</ref>

Trolls of the testimonial page of Georgia Varley faced no prosecution due to misunderstandings of the legal system in the wake of the term trolling being popularized.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2012/01/14/georgia-varley-inspired-trolling-law-is-waste-of-time-says-internet-campaigner-100252-30120150/ |title=Georgia Varley-inspired trolling law is waste of time says internet campaigner|work=Liverpool Echo |access-date=2 February 2012|date=14 January 2012}}</ref> In October 2012, a twenty-year-old man was jailed for twelve weeks for posting offensive jokes to a support group for friends and family of [[Murder of April Jones|April Jones]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/08/man_jailed_for_12_weeks_over_april_jones_facebook_posts/|title=Lancashire man JAILED over April Jones Facebook posts|work=[[The Register]]|date=8 October 2012|access-date=11 December 2012}}</ref>

Between 2008 and 2017, 5,332 people in London were arrested and charged for behavior on social media deemed in violation of Communications Act 2003.<ref>[https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/crimes-social-media Crimes Social Media]. ''www.london.gov.uk''. Accessed 6 August 2024.</ref>{{needs update|date=October 2025}}

=== United States ===

On 31 March 2010, NBC's ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' ran a segment detailing the deaths of three separate adolescent girls and trolls' subsequent reactions to their deaths. Shortly after the suicide of high school student Alexis Pilkington, anonymous posters began performing organized psychological harassment across various message boards, referring to Pilkington as a "suicidal slut", and posting graphic images on her [[Facebook]] memorial page. The segment also included an exposé of a 2006 accident, in which an eighteen-year-old fatally crashed her father's car into a highway pylon; trolls emailed her grieving family the leaked pictures of her mutilated corpse (see [[Nikki Catsouras photographs controversy]]).<ref name="Trolling:TheTodayShowExplorestheDarkSideoftheInternet">{{cite web |url=http://gawker.com/5506453/trolling-the-today-show-explores-the-dark-side-of-the-internet |title=Trolling: ''The Today Show'' Explores the Dark Side of the Internet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102001807/http://gawker.com/5506453/trolling-the-today-show-explores-the-dark-side-of-the-internet |archive-date=2 November 2013 |date=31 March 2010 |access-date=4 April 2010 |website=Gawker |first1=Matt |last1=Toder }}</ref>

In 2007, the media was fooled by trollers into believing that students were consuming a drug called [[Jenkem]], purportedly made of human waste. A user named Pickwick on [[TOTSE]] posted pictures implying that he was inhaling this drug. Major news corporations such as [[Fox News Channel]] reported the story and urged parents to warn their children about this drug. Pickwick's pictures of [[Jenkem]] were fake and the pictures did not actually feature human waste.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/internet-troll-sub-culture-s-savage-spoofing-of-mainstream-media-excerpt/|title=Internet Troll Sub-Culture's Savage Spoofing of Mainstream Media [Excerpt]|author= Whitney Phillips |date=15 May 2015|work=Scientific American}}</ref>

In August 2012, the subject of trolling was featured on the [[HBO]] [[television series]] ''[[The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)|The Newsroom]]''. The character [[The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)#Main cast|Neal Sampat]] encounters harassing individuals online, particularly looking at [[4chan]], and he ends up choosing to post negative comments himself on an economics-related forum. The attempt by the character to infiltrate trolls' inner circles attracted debate from media reviewers critiquing the series.<ref name=hitfix>{{cite web|url=http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-the-newsroom-the-blackout-part-2-mock-debate-help-me-rhonda|title=Review: The Newsroom – The Blackout Part 2: Mock Debate: Help me, Rhonda|work=HitFix|date=13 July 2023|access-date=28 June 2015|archive-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427231908/http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-the-newsroom-the-blackout-part-2-mock-debate-help-me-rhonda|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=indiewire>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/the-newsroom-episode-9-review-and-recap-the-blackout-part-2-whither-the-mock-debate|title='The Newsroom' Episode 9 Review and Recap: 'The Blackout – Thompson on Hollywood|author=Beth Hanna|date=20 August 2012|work=Thompson on Hollywood|access-date=28 June 2015|archive-date=1 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701121846/http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/the-newsroom-episode-9-review-and-recap-the-blackout-part-2-whither-the-mock-debate}}</ref>

In 2019, it was alleged that progressive Democrats had created a fake Facebook page which mis-represented the political stance of Roy Moore, a Republican candidate, in the attempt to alienate him from pro-business Republicans. It was also alleged that a "false flag" experiment attempted to link Moore to the use of Russian Twitter bots.<ref>{{cite web |title=Editorial: Online disinformation isn't just for Russia anymore |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-alabama-disinformation-20190108-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=8 January 2019}} "The New York Times reported Monday that progressive Democrats opposed to Roy Moore, the odious Republican candidate in that race, created a Facebook page and Twitter feed purporting to represent Moore supporters opposed to the sale of alcoholic beverages...to associate Moore with calls for a statewide ban on the sale of liquor in order to alienate moderate, pro-business Republicans and help Democratic candidate Doug Jones..."Dry Alabama" was actually the second case of Russian-style disinformation in the Alabama campaign uncovered by the New York Times. In December it reported on an "experiment" in which a phony Facebook page was created to try to drain support for Moore from conservatives and a "false flag" operation was created to suggest that the Republican candidate was being followed on Twitter by Russian bots."</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'', when exposing the scam, quoted a New Knowledge report that boasted of its fabrications: "We orchestrated an elaborate 'false flag' operation that planted the idea that the [Roy] Moore campaign was amplified on social media by a Russian botnet.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite news |title=NBC News, to Claim Russia Supports Tulsi Gabbard, Relies on Firm Just Caught Fabricating Russia Data for the Democratic Party |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/02/03/nbc-news-to-claim-russia-supports-tulsi-gabbard-relies-on-firm-just-caught-fabricating-russia-data-for-the-democratic-party/ |work=The Intercept |date=February 3, 2019}}</ref>

The [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2020 Democratic]] presidential candidate [[Bernie Sanders]] has faced criticism for the behavior of some of his supporters online, but has deflected such criticism, suggesting that "Russians" were impersonating people claiming to be "[[Bernie Bro]]" supporters.<ref>{{cite news |title=Experts Say There's 'No Evidence' for Bernie's Russian Bot Claim |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/experts-call-bs-on-bernies-russian-bot-theory |work=The Daily Beast |date=February 21, 2020}}</ref> Twitter rejected Sanders' suggestion that Russia could be responsible for the bad reputation of his supporters. A Twitter spokesperson told [[CNBC]]: "Using technology and human review in concert, we proactively monitor Twitter to identify attempts at platform manipulation and mitigate them. As is standard, if we have reasonable evidence of state-backed information operations, we'll disclose them following our thorough investigation to our public archive – the largest of its kind in the industry."<ref>{{cite news |title=Twitter knocks down Bernie Sanders' suggestion that Russian trolls are behind online attacks from his supporters |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/20/twitter-knocks-down-sanders-suggestion-russian-trolls-behind-supporters.html |work=CNBC |date=February 20, 2020}}</ref> Twitter had suspended 70 troll accounts that posted content in support of [[Michael Bloomberg]]'s [[Michael Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign|presidential campaign]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Twitter is suspending 70 pro-Bloomberg accounts, citing 'platform manipulation' |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-02-21/twitter-suspends-bloomberg-accounts |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>

The 45th [[President of the United States|U.S. president]] [[Donald J. Trump|Donald Trump]] infamously used Twitter to denigrate his political opponents and spread misinformation for which he earned the moniker "Troll-In-Chief" by [[The New Yorker]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Donald Trump will go down in history as the Troll-in-Chief |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/donald-trump-will-go-down-in-history-as-the-troll-in-chief |magazine=The New Yorker |date=January 29, 2021}}</ref>

== Examples ==

<!-- Please only add examples for which there was 'significant' independent media coverage, which resulted in a conviction or
which led to notable changes in the relevant jurisdictions law -->
So-called Gold Membership trolling originated in 2007 on [[4chan]] boards, when users posted fake images claiming to offer upgraded 4chan account privileges; without a "Gold" account, one could not view certain content. This turned out to be a hoax designed to fool board members, especially newcomers. It was copied and became an [[Internet meme]]. In some cases, this type of troll has been used as a scam, most notably on Facebook, where fake Facebook Gold Account upgrade ads have proliferated in order to link users to dubious websites and other content.<ref>[http://countermeasures.trendmicro.eu/all-that-glisters-is-not-facebook-gold/ "All that glisters is not (Facebook) gold"], CounterMeasures: Security, Privacy & Trust (A TrendMicro Blog). Retrieved 6 April 2010.</ref>

The case of ''[[Zeran v. America Online, Inc.]]'' resulted primarily from trolling. Six days after the [[Oklahoma City bombing]], anonymous users posted advertisements for shirts celebrating the bombing on AOL message boards, claiming that the shirts could be obtained by contacting Mr. Kenneth Zeran. The posts listed Zeran's address and home phone number. Zeran was subsequently harassed.<ref name="Bond">{{Cite news|last=Bond|first=Robert|year=1999|title=Links, Frames, Meta-tags and Trolls|pages=317–23|work=International Review of Law, Computers & Technology 13}}</ref>

[[Scientology controversies|Anti-scientology]] protests by [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]], commonly known as [[Project Chanology]], are sometimes labeled as "trolling" by media such as ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine|access-date=5 October 2010|title=The Assclown Offensive: How to Enrage the Church of Scientology|first=Julian|last=Dibbell|date=21 September 2009|url=https://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/17-10/mf_chanology|magazine=[[Wired magazine|Wired]]}}</ref> and the participants sometimes explicitly self-identify as "trolls".

[[Neo-Nazism|Neo-Nazi]] website ''[[The Daily Stormer]]'' orchestrates what it calls a "Troll Army", and has encouraged trolling of Jewish MP [[Luciana Berger]] and Muslim activist [[Mariam Veiszadeh]].<ref name=cnn>{{cite news|last1=Whiteman|first1=Hilary|title=I will not be silenced: Australian Muslim fights Twitter 'troll army'|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/27/asia/australia-muslim-twitter-campaign/|access-date=4 March 2015|publisher=CNN|date=28 February 2015}}</ref>

[[Ken M]], or Ken McCarthy, is considered one of the greatest internet trolls of all time.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Phil |date=2016-05-06 |title=The world's greatest internet troll explains his craft |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/5/6/11597960/ken-m-internet-troll |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref> Ken M is known for trolling forums and comment sections by playing a "well-meaning moron" online. McCarthy compared his trolling to a comedy routine, where strangers who responded to his comments became unwitting "straight men".  Ken M would reply with increasingly absurd statements until his ruse was discovered.<ref name=":6" />

[[Vampetaço]] is a form of trolling and [[Cancel culture|cancelling]] perpetrated by Brazilians, where [[Erotic photography|erotic pictures]] of the ex-footballer [[Vampeta]] for the ''[[G Magazine]]'' are posted on [[social media]] profiles.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fraga |first=Eric |title=G-Magazine: os primeiros anos (1997–1999) |date=22 January 2021 |journal=[[Medium (website)|Medium]] |url=https://medium.com/@ericbfrg/g-magazine-os-primeiros-anos-1997-1999-ec9fb1bedb94 |language=pt-BR |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-date=7 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250407143657/https://medium.com/@ericbfrg/g-magazine-os-primeiros-anos-1997-1999-ec9fb1bedb94 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is often used as protest against public people that post something considered unpleasant on their [[social media]], especially [[Twitter]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilkson |first=Adriano |title=Anatomia do Vampetaço |date=26 April 2021 |journal=[[Universo Online]] |url=https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/reportagens-especiais/anatomia-do-vampetaco-fotos-de-vampeta-pelado-na-g-magazine-sao-usadas-em-controversos-protestos-na-internet/ |language=pt-BR |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-date=7 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250407154428/https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/reportagens-especiais/anatomia-do-vampetaco-fotos-de-vampeta-pelado-na-g-magazine-sao-usadas-em-controversos-protestos-na-internet/#page8 |url-status=live}}</ref> including foreigners that offend Brazil.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lesnovski |first=Ana |title=VAMPETAÇO VIRA DEFESA CONTRA CRÍTICAS AO BRASIL |date=29 February 2024 |journal=[[Meteoro Brasil]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhZlmJybSmM |language=pt-BR |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-date=7 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250407160005/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhZlmJybSmM |url-status=live}}</ref> Amongst its victims are [[Varg Vikernes]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Aiex |first=Tony |title=João Gordo compartilha charge que ilustra "Vampetaço" contra músico nazista  |date=20 August 2020 |journal=Tenho Mais Discos do Que Amigos! |url=https://www.tenhomaisdiscosqueamigos.com/2020/08/20/joao-gordo-ilustracao-vampetaco/ |language=pt-BR |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-date=7 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250407162409/https://www.tenhomaisdiscosqueamigos.com/2020/08/20/joao-gordo-ilustracao-vampetaco/ |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Israel Katz]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Ministro de Israel é alvo de "vampetaço" após críticas a Lula |date=23 February 2024 |journal=Poder360 |url=https://www.poder360.com.br/internacional/ministro-de-israel-e-alvo-de-vampetaco-apos-criticas-a-lula/ |language=pt-BR |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-date=16 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241216142519/https://www.poder360.com.br/internacional/ministro-de-israel-e-alvo-de-vampetaco-apos-criticas-a-lula/ |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Tucker Carlson]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Sanz |first=Raphael |title=Tucker Carlson é a mais nova vítima do 'Vampetaço' nas redes sociais |date=2 March 2024 |journal=Fórum |url=https://revistaforum.com.br/midia/2024/3/2/tucker-carlson-mais-nova-vitima-do-vampetao-nas-redes-sociais-155010.html |language=pt-BR |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-date=7 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250407171654/https://revistaforum.com.br/midia/2024/3/2/tucker-carlson-mais-nova-vitima-do-vampetao-nas-redes-sociais-155010.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Elon Musk]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Teixera |first=Isadora |title=Elon Musk é alvo de "Vampetaço" no X após pedir impeachment de Moraes |date=7 April 2024 |journal=[[Metrópoles]] |url=https://www.metropoles.com/colunas/grande-angular/elon-musk-e-alvo-de-vampetaco-no-x-apos-pedir-impeachment-de-moraes |language=pt-BR |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-date=7 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250407173030/https://www.metropoles.com/colunas/grande-angular/elon-musk-e-alvo-de-vampetaco-no-x-apos-pedir-impeachment-de-moraes |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, the official [[Discord (software)|Discord]] server and [[Twitch (service)|Twitch]] channel for the [[U.S. Army Esports]] team became a target of trolling, as people sent anti-U.S. Army messages, memes, and references to [[United States war crimes|war crimes committed by the United States]] to both.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hernandez|first=Patricia|date=2020-07-01|title=The US Army is losing the war in Discord|url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/1/21310282/us-army-discord-esports-uwu-ban-speedrun-trolling|access-date=2020-07-25|website=Polygon|language=en}}</ref> When the team started banning users from their Twitch channel for trolling, they were accused of violating the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]] by the [[ACLU]] and Knight First Amendment Institute at [[Columbia University]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Army Esports Team May Have Violated the First Amendment on Twitch|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/us-army-esports-team-may-have-violated-the-first-amendment-on-twitch/|access-date=2020-07-25|website=Vice |first1=Matthew |last1=Gault |date=16 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Army and Navy Must Stop Banning Speech About War Crimes from Their Twitch Channels, Knight Institute Says in Demand Letter|url=https://knightcolumbia.org/content/us-army-and-navy-must-stop-banning-speech-about-war-crimes-from-their-twitch-channels-knight-institute-says-in-demand-letter |date=July 22, 2020 |access-date=2020-07-25|website=Knight First Amendment Institute |language=en}}</ref> The team has since denied these allegations.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Venhuizen|first=Harm|date=2020-07-20|title=Army esports team denies accusations of violating First Amendment, offering fake giveaways|url=https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/07/20/army-esports-team-denies-accusations-of-violating-first-amendment-offering-fake-giveaways/|access-date=2020-07-25|website=Army Times|language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231214212924/https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/07/20/army-esports-team-denies-accusations-of-violating-first-amendment-offering-fake-giveaways/ |archive-date= 14 December 2023 }}</ref>

In 2021, the ''[[Salon.com|Salon]]'' columnist Amanda Marcotte, author of ''Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set on Rat-F*cking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself'' (2018), described the [[Radical right (United States)|American far-right]] exclusively male organization [[Proud Boys]], the [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] pundit [[Tucker Carlson]], and podcast host [[Joe Rogan]] as political commentators who have mastered "the art of trolling as a far-right recruitment strategy" by preying upon the American male insecurities, mediocrity, and fragility.<ref name="Marcotte 2021">{{cite magazine |last=Marcotte |first=Amanda |date=18 October 2021 |title=Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, and the Proud Boys: How the fragility of the male ego fuels the far-right |url=https://www.salon.com/2021/10/18/tucker-carlson-joe-rogan-and-the-proud-boys-how-the-fragility-of-the-male-ego-fuels-the-far-right/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Salon.com]] |oclc=43916723 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018234912/https://www.salon.com/2021/10/18/tucker-carlson-joe-rogan-and-the-proud-boys-how-the-fragility-of-the-male-ego-fuels-the-far-right/ |archive-date=18 October 2021 |access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref> In particular, regarding their respective [[Transphobia|discriminatory comments about transgender people]], she remarks "how crucial gender anxiety is to far-right recruitment".<ref name="Marcotte 2021"/>

[[Elon Musk]] calls himself Chief Troll,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/elon-musk-declares-himself-chief-troll-officer-updates-his-bio-on-x/articleshow/106655111.cms?from=mdr | title=Elon Musk declares himself 'Chief Troll Officer,' updates his bio on X | work=The Economic Times | date=9 January 2024 }}</ref> has trolled world leaders,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gzeromedia.com/news/analysis/trolling-with-power-elon-musks-online-antics-are-getting-real |title=Trolling with power: Elon Musk's online antics are getting real – GZERO Media }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://torontosun.com/news/national/elon-musk-throws-support-behind-poilievre-with-apple-eating-video |title=Elon Musk continues to troll Trudeau: 'Girl, you're not the governor of Canada anymore' |work=torontosun }}</ref> and [[Elon Musk salute controversy|saluted the crowd]] in what ''[[The Atlantic]]'' described as a deliberately offensive and provocative way at [[Second inauguration of Donald Trump|Donald Trump's second inauguration]].<ref name="Musk-salute">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/01/musk-trump-inauguration-salute/681390/ |title=Did He Actually do That? |website=[[The Atlantic]] |first=Charlie |last=Warzel |date=January 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250122091830/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/01/musk-trump-inauguration-salute/681390/ |archive-date=2025-01-22 |url-status=live |quote=Above all else, Musk is a troll, an [[edgelord]]. He delights in '[[triggering]]' his ideological enemies, which includes the media. And his gesture – whatever the intent – has done just that. [...] None of that is to suggest that Musk's salute wasn't genuine. A practiced troll consistently crosses redlines because they want to offend and trigger. }}</ref>

On November 22, 2024, a Twitter account impersonating online streamer Cheesur, posted inflammatory statements toward the [[Mexico|Mexican]] [[Jalisco New Generation]] [[drug cartel|cartel]] and its leader [[El Mencho]]. Users on the internet first believed it was the content creator as a result of missing person posters circulating around online of the streamer. The account was later debunked as not being Cheesur. He would later go live on [[Kick (service)|Kick]] to confirm he was not missing, hurt, and was alive and well.<ref name="dgaming">{{cite web |title=Who Is Cheesur? Controversial Kick Streamer's Career Explored |url=https://deltiasgaming.com/who-is-cheesur-controversial-kick-streamers-career-explored/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250127225327/https://deltiasgaming.com/who-is-cheesur-controversial-kick-streamers-career-explored/ |archive-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Deltias Gaming |date=27 December 2024 |publisher=Adhiraj Yadav |access-date=January 27, 2025}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Internet}}
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|* [[Breaching experiment]]
* [[Cancel culture]]
* [[Catfishing]]
* [[Defamation]]
* [[Fake news website]]
* [[Flame war]]
* [[Griefer]]
* [[Heckler]]
* [[Hit-and-run posting]]
* [[Hot take]]
* [[Kiwi Farms]]
* [[Narcissistic supply]]
* [[Patent troll]]
* [[Patriotic Nigras]]
* [[Poe's law]]
* [[Owning the libs]]
* [[Rage farming]]
* [[Sealioning]]
* [[Social gadfly]]
}}

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Walter, T.; Hourizi, R.; Moncur, W.; Pitsillides (2012). "[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/OM.64.4.a Does the Internet Change How We Die And Mourn?]" – An overview [https://web.archive.org/web/20121212104445/http://www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/staff/wmoncur/publications/Omega2011.pdf Online].

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|troll}}
{{Commons category}}

=== Trolling advocacy and safety ===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160501042255/http://trollingacademy.org/ The Trolling Academy] – trolling advice, comment, and training
* [http://www.getsafeonline.org/ Get Safe Online] – free expert advice on online safety

=== Background and definitions ===
* [http://www.netlingo.com/word/troll.php NetLingo definition]

=== Academic and debate ===
* [https://archive.today/20051013070429/http://rkcsi.indiana.edu/archive/CSI/WP/WP02-03B.html Searching for Safety Online: Managing "Trolling" in a Feminist Forum] <!-- scare quotes from original paper -->
* [https://medium.com/activism-theories-of-change/how-to-respond-to-internet-rage-77a255f85793 How to Respond to Internet Rage]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin Malwebolence&nbsp;– The World of Web Trolling]; ''New York Times Magazine'', By Mattathias Schwartz; 3 August 2008.
* [https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-online-secrets/201409/internet-trolls-are-narcissists-psychopaths-and-sadists Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists]. [[Jennifer Golbeck]] for ''[[Psychology Today]]''. 18 September 2014.

{{internet slang}}

[[Category:Internet trolling| ]]
[[Category:Culture jamming]]
[[Category:Cyberbullying]]
[[Category:Internet terminology]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]
[[Category:1990s neologisms]]
[[Category:Internet memes introduced in the 1990s]]
[[Category:Metaphors referring to monsters]]