Online ‘trolling’ does both evil and good

The+internet+has+become+a+breeding+ground+for+trolls.%0A

The internet has become a breeding ground for “trolls.”

With the rise of Internet communication also came people who are commonly called “trolls.”

Some trolls are people who just want to post off-topic comments to distract others on a website — these types of trolls are mostly harmless.

Harmful trolls are notorious for posting inflammatory comments, hoping to invoke a negative response from others.

These comments can be from the most harmless thing to something very shocking that potentially could lead to psychological harm.

A popular website target for trolls is Twitter.

Trolls often start Twitter hoaxes by tweeting fabricated death stories about a celebrity. However, many trolls have decided to take on celebrities themselves.

One celebrity whom they have recently attacked is singer Adele for her weight and baby’s health, but trolls like this are ultimately harmless.

While it may be wrong to make fun of a person for their weight, in America, these tweets are protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution as long as they do not put anyone in immediate danger.

Instead of attacking someone just for their physical attributes, some trolls have tried to do some good.

For example, during Hurricane Sandy, many called on Donald Trump to donate the $5 million that he promised to give to a charity of President Obama’s choice if he released his college transcripts and passport records.

Many people began to tweet the hashtag “#ThanksDonald” which became a trending topic on the site.

One of the most recent instances of trolling has been a hoax claiming that Justin Bieber was diagnosed with cancer and that fans should go “#BaldforBieber” by shaving their heads.

This hoax was exceptionally elaborate, with a website and photo gallery full of Photoshopped pictures of Bieber.

Many Bieber fans fell for the hoax, with about 900 people tweeting about the singer’s supposed cancer diagnosis.

There were even several sites claiming that a few fans had shaved their heads, but no evidence showed this to be true. The hoax was short lived, with the perpetrators claiming responsibility for it.

Overall, trolling is bad, and while trolls who actually do harm to others can usually be stopped via legal action or disabling their online accounts, ordinary trolls cannot be stopped.

It is up to good online citizens to stop harmful trolls from lurking on the Internet. One must chose whether to ignore them, report them or block them and change their privacy settings.