The Troll War in 2020: Misinformation At Home But Mostly Abroad (Part 4)

Part 4, Act 1: If A Troll Was Trolled By A Troll Who Got Trolled 

After being on a site like Bloomberg that I can only assume is still young and growing--perhaps not in such a great way with all the misinformation and spy games--I decided I'd study one I already frequent for its live press conferences. NowThis is a more left-leaning news site on Facebook and boy, is it rife with crazy commentary from trolls. On any given story you might find hundreds of trolls spitting out all kinds of theories. Most might wear tinfoil hats and refuse vaccinations, while others might have trouble distinguishing between to and too, and few have more than three posts and a 1-month history, but hey. 

In a way NowThis is kind of like the Walmart of trolls--because you can see anything at any given time and what you witness there during this Covid-19 era is rather astounding. You might think you're talking to someone who knows what they're talking about but after two posts and a slackjawed WTF moment you realize quick they don't have a clue. There really wasn't any difference between Bloomberg and NowThis, in terms of the language the trolls used, either. Do they all use the same dictionary? 

The premise I'd employ on NowThis was again very simple: I would be the one trolling the trolls. A post talked about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Michigan) proposing federal student aid relief for front-line workers. A troll made a comment about that being a dumb idea. The actual words: "whaat stupid idea." So, minutes after I'd studied this troll's posts--because like Lay's there rarely is just one-- I kicked into gear, tagging him though I changed my tag line game up a bit. "_____ is a genius," I said. 

As a journalist, the moment you go into the office of anyone that you're interviewing, you're also taught to notice every detail of that person's office. The reason is simple enough, I suppose; you want to find something to talk about as quickly as possible to engage in a conversation. Otherwise, shit's gonna get really, REALLY awkward and you'll get a lot of um's and uhhh's and you know's in response to your line of questions and your story is gonna suck. 

This troll who is by my early estimation, a genius, had a few posts regarding the science of the virus--in Chinese. You absolutely do not want to jump into the W's (who, what, when, where, why) and the H (how) and ask any questions until you get into some small talk first. I suspected this troll would like it if I was buttering him up. So, why not? Let's praise his supposedly superior intelligence. 

After some small talk in which he said thanks--surprisingly enough--another poster added that he knew I did not come with the best of intentions. That kind of threw me off--because that was the first time in this 48-hour span that anyone had dared question my motive. But, it outlines the greater battle in this war of misinformation. Those who really know what they're doing here vs. those who become victims in this weird battle to claim this new culture--vs. little old me. 

"That's good they where mentioned," the new poster wrote. "I know as well as I do these are headline bate clickers articles." The Chinese troll was absolutely livid that he was being accused of feeding a flame. "That's rude!" he added. "There's no need for that!" Obviously, the Chinese troll didn’t catch the typos or excellent spelling of the accidental tourist trollee; he didn’t listen--he just replied. 

In one sense though, the Chinese troll was right. He was trolled back, like if someone happened upon a robbery, later saw a police lineup and then fingered this troll as the culprit even if this troll was 15 miles away at the time the crime had been committed. Perhaps the theme from "Deliverance" was also playing in the background based on the photos I saw on the new troll's profile, because there were a lot of pro-Trump memes and American flags even though the dude's name was, and I kid you not on this one, Mo We. It is what it is. Maybe the guy didn't have time to spell out his name because the troll factory for which he--or she--was working in Russia or wherever has quotas. It also placed a clear line in the sand in two regards. 

We are definitely on the brink of a culture war--not just in America but globally. What one might assume is perfectly acceptable behavior is definitely not elsewhere. Number two, there are unwritten rules and standards. Trolls have feelings, too. For starters, China makes its citizens comply with stringent social media rules, the aftereffects of which are clearly felt in every comment they have made on every Facebook post I've seen. I would assume that a similar set of standards are imposed therewith in Russia based on previous outcomes American news sites have had with trolls who are based there. 

There certainly appears to be a definite mistrust of anything aside from what any trolls perceive to be genuine respect and total control. But, they're not too ecstatic about losing their so-called freedom, either, from this insipid virus and you can read that uneasiness in their posts. Sound familiar? It should, because you're seeing this feeling unfold in every country on the planet, including ours. On my next sojourn I could definitely sense it.