Decades ago, when online newspapers and social media journalism were not part of the media landscape, words like “troll” hadn't yet become a buzzword used by journalists and non-media folk alike. Things have changed now. Internet trolls have become popular news fodder in the past few years with the geometric rise of online and social media.
Before putting such trolls under the ethical scanner, we have to understand why things like trolling have gained such popularity in the first place.
A new form of freedom of expression
People have, for the most part, generally been the consumer of news produced by the media and publishing houses. However, that relationship between media and the people has predominantly been a simplex communication, with media overwhelmingly directing the nomenclature of discourse. The best a common person could do against the media was to write a letter to the editorial section (with no guarantee of having it published) or to stop buying that newspaper or periodicals, or refrain from watching that channel.
Online media and social media have changed that. They somehow empower the people to be vocal about their opinions, since now they can immediately put out their reactions on the comments section of online news websites. On social media, a regular person can even write an analysis about any issue and post it for anyone to see.
This new freedom of expression is of course susceptible to misuse. Internet trolling and cyber bullying can be termed as parts of this misuse of freedom of expression. The problem is, the relative anonymity of the internet makes such trolls even bolder in revealing some of the darkest parts of their thought process. The highly polarised nature of public life also aids trolls in finding refuge in comfortable bubbles in the virtual world. And very often, journalists and writers tend to be on the receiving end of such trolling.
The question here that we have to ask ourselves is – as journalists, should we also jump onto the bandwagon and respond to said trolls?Attention at all quarters
Before answering that question, we need to understand our roles as journalists. A media have not just another regular organisation, and a journalist is not just another professional with an official identity card. A journalist's ID card usually has the word ‘press’ written on it – and that word is way bigger than the journalist or even a particular media house. It represents an institution that has a public duty to be the watchdog and interpreter of public issues and events.
The public has a certain level of trust on the products delivered by journalists. Of course, there is a saying that “real news is what somebody does not want you to print, the rest is PR” and that indicates that your news is not going to be liked by everyone. In the online and social media landscape, that dislike can come in the form of trolling but that doesn’t necessarily mean journalists will respond to that.
However, the issue of how journalists respond to trolls has become murkier in recent times. At first, the usual norm in the newsroom was “don’t feed the trolls”- that is, deprive them of the oxygen of attention. However, a large number of media outlets have backtracked from that stance, once they found how effective trolls can be in generating story interest. We have to understand that trolls don’t arise in a vacuum, rather it is part and parcel of the complex socioeconomic online landscape and media houses, as a means of financial survival, can't help but engage and keep the conversation going, in order to draw attention and stay relevant in this market driven global village.Engage or draw back?
Besides, trolls and their intentions, behaviors and consequences come in many shapes and sizes. Given this complexity, we risk losing sight of what’s at stake when we reduce them to a single stereotype. We need to be careful not to let trolling discourage us from pursuing online interactions in a way that enhances democratic participation.
I, as a practicing journalist, have my own stance on trolling. Plato once said, “wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something” and I believe in that. The business manager and the marketing head of course want to respond against the trolls, as they look after the business side of the media house. But the practitioners in the newsroom shouldn’t indulge in this practice just to generate more traffic. Such activities don’t befit real journalists, I believe.
My response to online trollscan be summarised using a quote by Professor Martin Rees, the astronomer royal of Great Britain. He once said that “the Internet creates a global village and every village has its village idiots. It’s better to ignore them.”
I want to ignore them.
