We all learned at an early age how to identify mean, nasty people. Call out their behavior. All too frequently, you see cases where others pile on with additional nasty comments. This just means there may be more than one troll that needs ignoring. Even journalists, politicians and movie stars who have had years in the media spotlight where troll-attacks are everyday events sometimes feel the sting of a particularly nasty interaction.
So take time for self-care and reach out in ways that the troll cannot influence the people who love and support you. What trolls need In order to attack others, trolls need a victim pool and a public forum of some kind, and they usually want an audience. This behavior stems from the online disinhibition effect.
This is the lack of restraint that trolls have communicaing online vs. Research shows that trolls are Sadists. Even when you have the best intentions with your messaging, sometimes it can attract an unexpected audience. Taking down a troll will be different for each agency, as there are no hard and fast rules. For example, Facebook and YouTube have comment moderation tools for your page, and Facebook allows you to block words and set profanity filters. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram also have options to report posts and abusive behavior.
Trolls love that. One in four public record requests specifically reference social media content, and that number is only growing. Social media is considered a limited public forum, one that governs the acceptable use of comment moderation. Trolls may seem like an uncontrollable thing to handle when working with online platforms, but there are a few things you have to consider. It is crucial to know what you have control over. Here is a list of things given to us by Bates that you can take control over:.
Throughout her research Bates has found that people tend to seek and accept information that supports their beliefs and disregard facts that contradict them. As for how to handle trolls on social media in times of disasters, Bates shared some of her biggest lessons learned from dealing with trolls first-hand during times of crisis:.
Bates also offered advice for when your page is circling the drain. The best thing to do is lock it down. She reminded listeners to not be an easy target and think of what can go wrong before you make any post. Social media trolls hurt the morale of your entire organization, not just you or your team. They spread dangerous misinformation to your followers, set a negative tone for your page, and can tarnish your reputation if unmitigated.
Here are three steps you can take toward managing and dealing with trolls:. Download the Solution Overview to see how social media archiving helps you achieve public records compliance by automatically retaining every post, photo, comment and more from your social pages.
If you know them personally, report them to your school, the place these trolls work or to the local police station. One thing I would stress is that one should not counter the hate of the trolls with hatred. If a troll tells you they will punch you, and you respond to them by saying you will kick them, then you both might end up in legal trouble.
Lastly, do not take the threats the trolls send you too seriously. Take them seriously enough to report them, but do not live in fear of their words. They will rarely leave their dungeon, let alone come to hunt you.
Trolls told me that they would fight me, come to K-State and hurt me and so on. I took them so seriously that I was afraid to walk alone. I was treading lightly with these trolls, but I realized I had done my part in reporting them, and I understood their words were only there to hurt me mentally, not physically.
Trolls want to break you psychologically and instill fear within you — do not succumb to it. If you stand firmly for what you believe in, you will receive support from the community and people around you. Trolls will try to bring you down, but you can stand confident in front of them when you know your strength. Always remember, we are not our trolls.
We are better than them. Do not be afraid to speak your mind on important issues in our world. Always remember that your words will either attract a strong mind or offend a weak one. Vedant Deepak Kulkarni is a Collegian contributor, a Collegian Media Group board member and a senior in management information systems and mass communications.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Collegian.
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