The Troll War in 2020: Misinformation At Home But Mostly Abroad (Part 5)

Cable News Nutwork

My next stop on this Magical Mystery Troll Tour was Cable News Network. Once the beacon of headline news around-the-clock, made famous and founded by maverick mogul Ted Turner in the late 1970's, CNN would be my first American news stop on this 48-hour journey into this misinformation hellscape. Immortalized in the motion picture "Anchorman," CNN has fallen on hard times of late. It's trying to reinvent itself as the left darling after FOX News came along and implanted itself as America's news channel in the 2010's. 

Labeled as "fake news" by our own President Trump, CNN is also trying to rebrand itself in an era when alternative facts are okay to share. Front and center to their fight against the right, none other than host Chris Cuomo--little brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Gov. Cuomo is ipso facto--sorry, President Trump--the media darling of the war on Coronavirus. 

It doesn't hurt that Chris himself battled Covid-19 and broadcast every second of that fight on national TV, to a primetime audience, from a sick bed in his basement. It also doesn't hurt that his brother Andrew holds daily press conferences complete with PowerPoint presentations and is not afraid to attack Trump, the current administration, and the virus itself with clever anecdotes and biting sarcasm only true New Yorkers can muster. 

If you have someone who eloquently but sardonically states during the height of the pandemic to a reporter that "All we know is, this virus hopped on a plane from China, landed in Europe--then took a connecting flight to our city," you know you're talking to someone who can deal. Gov. Cuomo reminds me of the mayor in "Ghostbusters." Even when Slimer and Co. entered the mayor's press briefing, he still put up a brave front, a fight you witnessed unfold in your living rooms. And CNN is broadcasting every waking moment of this fight with this invisible enemy as well. 

In the comments section on Facebook though during one Cuomo presser, I found the CNN site a very different animal from NowThis. Look closely, and there is a distinct difference between commentary on NowThis and CNN--in particular how trolls get carte blanche. If a troll says something anti-Cuomo on CNN's page, they're liable to be lambasted by tens, if not hundreds, of posters for a single unliked comment in seconds. 

One such example came when a troll--with an African address on his profile--made a comment about Chris' recovery from the virus. "He should be dead already," the troll said. Within seconds, no fewer than 30 posts calling for this person's head came up. Looking at the troll's profile, however, was a hodge-podge of pro-Trump photos and memes. 

"Get the f@ck outta here before we KILL you!!!" one male poster from New Jersey stated. "How dare you!" came the next comment from another poster from Connecticut--and yes, before you dare ask, those three words "how dare you" do appear to be THE flashpoint statement in this, our time of Coronavirus outrage. People are angry AND they're really, REALLY tired of this virus already. 

You can also clearly tell that unlike Bloomberg and NowThis, the trolls at CNN were decidedly pointed in their plan to infiltrate. Unlike international feeds, the trolls post one time in a comment thread on CNN--then wait for the responses to flood in. Like other trolls on other news sites, however, a quick glance at their profiles reveals almost an identical formula. Several pro-war pictures accompanied a small-dollar donation to St. Jude's Research--in case anyone had questions as to their legitimacy. 

One such virulent exchange took place when a story about people flooding beaches in Alabama came in. One troll pounced, supplying his one and only counterpoint. "We have to live life. Everyone has to live. What are we supposed to do? Stay locked inside forever?" the troll opined. Within 60 seconds, the troll received 38 responses--all filled with outrage. 

In other posts--in particular ones concerning Gov. Andrew--it seemed like trolls from both sides of the fence were throwing darts at each other, sometimes even at their own kind. During another Gov. Cuomo presser, for example, a far-left troll with pro-Biden memes and pictures on his page and a day-old profile posted the following, in all caps: "VOTE BIDEN 2020," which elicited, strangely enough, feedback from both sides. 

At first, other trolls liked the pro-Biden troll's post and then one responded, saying "Biden is to old." What, do trolls now have a conscience? Then, in a weird twist of events, a few comments down, another troll said something strange, turning on her own kind. "Stop feeding these trolls!" she said. 

So, I looked at the commenter who posted the very eloquent "Biden is to old." Sure enough, that too was a day-old profile with pro-Biden memes and photos splattered throughout. Despite all the trolls setting up camp within its pages, real CNN viewers--not all, mind you--didn't even hit on the fact they were being duped. Most just passed by the troll's snide remarks--unless it included a death threat or something eliciting true anger. 

So, do outrage politics work on CNN? You be the judge. (Well, judge, jury and executioner.) The blowback was so pointed that all it took was one comment from a troll to fuel the flames, which usually blew out of control within seconds. On NowThis, it took a more concerted effort on the part of trolls to pull ordinary folks out of their comfort zones. 

Frankly, fighting these trolls is a battle that must be multi-faceted from what I can gather. First off, it's going to take a plan to go after these trolls and call them out consistently for their stupidity. Like for example, a few housewives with nothing better to do than fend off trolls. It seemed to work well in the case of Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau, who had his own female fan club sticking up for his cause. But, as you can see on CNN, the trolls are getting so good at evading administrators that just a few pictures and a small cash donation to a charity of your choosing gets them in the club. 

So after seeing just how much Americans do care about being trolled--because frankly, I was a bit worried at first having been on other sites-- I figured I'd try going more local. Of course, what I didn't realize is that even with a local slant the battle over misinformation can still get nasty. Perhaps more so.