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I Don't Feed Trolls

If you think that everyone here in SW or in any social media site are just people "passing the time", sharing their thoughts and having some fun, think again... Long gone are the days when internet trolls were simply bored, annoying teenage kids looking for attention. While us in the so-called "Western world" naively enjoy our freedom of expression and believe that all users around us share this same freedom, we fail to realize that in places where "freedom" is considered disrupting, anarchic and undesirable (say, Russia, China and the like) there are veritable "troll armies", people whose job is solely troll Western social media with the aim of sowing divisions and stir hatred in the Western democracies, weakening us. That is, attempting to use democracy and freedom of expression against the very societies which champion them.

Why? The greatest threat to totalitarian regimes is having their people doubt their legitimacy and start thinking that freedom and democracy are "good things". Thus the logical strategy is trying to discredit "freedom and democracy" by generating chaos and confusion in these very democracies, and then claiming "democracy is bad!: Freedom leads to chaos!"

Does it seem like a far-fetched conspiracy theory claiming that social media has become an ideological battlefield with state-sponsored, target trolling aiming to change public opinion and cause disruption and division? Then look again at recent history, note how polarized Western society has become, how "extremism", left and right, seems to be on the rise... And notice how there was been a real weakening of the "Western world"... Brexit's weakening of both the EU and the UK itself, Trump's "America 1st" policy shattering NATO's unity and purpose for the first time in its history; far-right, anti-democratic extremism in central-European countries like Poland and Hungary, rise of anti-EU forces in France and Italy, secessionist moves in Spain... Who benefits the most from a divided "West"?

I'm not saying that every and each hateful and divisive post out there is made by these state-sponsored "troll armies", but these "troll armies" get the ball rolling, stirring up opinion, encouraging people with sympathy for the most outlandish, hateful and divisive ideas to speak up and heat things up, and in the process get everyone distracted from important issues that must be addressed (like, say, spiraling debt, which in itself weakens countries, and which has ultimately caused the downfall of many empires, from the Roman to the British).

Then there are the run-of-the-mill catfishes who prey on naive, lonely people (mostly men I'd think) hoping to steal identities, blackmail or scam in some way...

Bottom line: be smart, don't take everything that is posted at face value. Whenever you read something that really pisses you off (or if it seems too good to be true), ask yourself: is there some [i]deeper intention[/i] behind this message? Does this person really mean what they post, or are they just following a script seeking to disrupt, or discredit certain users who stand up to them...? I've been in SW for a while and I've been fascinated to see first-hand some trolling patterns that go above and beyond being simply "anti-social" or plain "angry", but use some intense manipulative tricks that seem to be taken out of a "professional trolling manual". Or maybe it's just me being far-fetched.

Let's not be naive. If someone tries to troll you with personal insults or arguments that don't even have anything to do with what you originally wrote, *ignore* them. It's not worth your time. It's not your job engaging in pointless, arguments. That's [i]their[/i] job, not yours.
LadyBronte · 56-60, F
Great post. I do agree. There are countless reasons people try to portray themselves as something they aren't. Couple that with all those who choose to stick their head in the sand about what is going on in the world today - it's a recipe for disaster. But, let's face it...being safe on the net is difficult regardless of how well you [i]believe[/i] you know someone. I am truly not convinced there's [i]ever[/i] an appropriate length of time before relaxing and letting your guard down. On the net or in real life. It's truly a sad world we live in today.
Abstraction · 61-69, M
Canada's child rights amendment: ALL right wing media was stating the new bill would remove transgender kids from unsupportive parents and quoting the youth minister (but no source, just quoting each other) as saying he supported that.
I downloaded the legislation - it clearly did NOT say that.
No source for Michael Coteau's so-called quote.

So I searched by date until there was a month where there was only one source. Lo and behold it was a russian site. Seriously. Then Breitbart quoted it - and everyone followed without actually talking to the youth minister.
drymer · 56-60, M
@Abstraction Classic... I've heard lots of stories like that... and I can see how hard it is to counter-act... very few people care or know the importance of the news source. People are emotional and "share" whatever they feel strongly about, without giving any thought about how reliable the information is... ("if it's on the internet, it must be true! My [i]friend[/i] shared it!")... It's human nature...

And sorry I've taken like almost two years to comment... Somehow I never got a notification and just now I read your coment!
🤦‍♂️😶🧙‍♂️
Livingwell · 61-69, M
Well written and easily proven. Unfortunately people believe what they want, even if they know it’s false. But if you can reach one person and get them to wake up and think, then you made a difference.
SW-User
I love this post and there is so much unfortunate truth in this one statement...

[quote]be smart, don't take everything that is posted at face value. [/quote]

So many are naive in their thought process that everyone and everything is real, we all trust too much. What we have, is a platform to be who we wish to portray. I once hid my faults and flaws, but I can no longer adhere to that, it's not in me. Great post!👍
drymer · 56-60, M
@SW-User Thank you. It's an uphill battle, people are so easy to manipulate, sadly. And the manipulators nowadays are real pros... The problem is that if there are 2 reasonable people among 100 unreasonable ones, the voice of reason gets drowned, and those two reasonable people will suffer the consequences brought by the "majority"... It gets tiring to keep telling people "I told you so"... they never listen... I guess I lack charisma...
SW-User
@drymer You're very astute in your observations and express your message(s) with a depth that's refreshing. It's bad enough that so much is already confusing and lost in the translations of internet communication. I know mine is, although unintentionally. But to worry with the little discrepancies too, it almost makes one wish not to make connections so easily. I've backed away from many and no longer find them as comfortable as I once thought them to be. Fortunately, I'm ok with that. It is what it is and I'm all the more wiser for my own failures as much as those of another in this virtual world. Now, if I could quit oversharing.😉🙂
Fungirlmmm · 51-55, F
This is a very interesting set of thoughts. Thank you for sharing them.
drymer · 56-60, M
@Fungirlmmm Thank you FunGirl... Sad that such stuff is happening... I miss a more innocent time with less manipulation... hopefully that time will come one day...

(And I feel terrible sounding like a doomsday preacher, but people have to smart up if democracies are to survive...!)
😶😑
Fungirlmmm · 51-55, F
@drymer Sometimes we need to see gloom and doom to understand the world better. We never know who or what exists right outside our door.
faith2hope4love · 56-60, F
Thank you for sharing...a real eye opener and something to watch for!!😯
AlyAngel · F
This is the best thing that I have read on here in a long time.
expecting everyone to read the whole thing..
drymer · 56-60, M

 
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