Internet Trolls Have Won. Time to Give Up

The New York Times writes how internet trolls have won, and there’s not much we can do about it.

Case in point: the right-wing conspiracy site Infowars. For years, the site distributed false information that inspired internet trolls to harass people who were close to victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. This week, after much hemming and hawing about whether to get involved, some giant tech firms banned content from Infowars. (Twitter did not, after determining Infowars had not violated its policies.)

What does that show us? That you as an internet user have little power over content you find offensive or harmful online. It’s the tech companies that hold the cards.

Maybe social networks should have decency laws like broadcasts radio and television do. That will only stop the most vitriolic of trolls, but at least people will be able to visit sites like Twitter without getting a flood of harassing DMs.

Check It Out: Internet Trolls Have Won. Time to Give Up

5 thoughts on “Internet Trolls Have Won. Time to Give Up

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.