Troll (slang)

In <a href="/facts/Slang/upCbLgcN">slang</a>, a troll is a person who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online (such as in <a href="/facts/Social_media/kUIkfpIA">social media</a>, a <a href="/facts/Newsgroup/282rotmp">newsgroup</a>, a <a href="/facts/Internet_forum/bRuqfQfN">forum</a>, a <a href="/facts/Chat_room/QbFjlYQU">chat room</a>, an <a href="/facts/Multiplayer_video_game/8CC60Nwj">online video game</a>) or who performs similar behaviors in real life. The methods and motivations of trolls can range from benign to sadistic. These messages can be inflammatory, <a href="/facts/Insincerity/W0Y9aQDE">insincere</a>, <a href="/facts/Digression/1IbEkeCo">digressive</a>, extraneous, or <a href="/facts/Off-topic/GzuJxTkS">off-topic</a>, and may have the intent of provoking others into displaying <a href="/facts/Emotion/kvAr22wa">emotional</a> responses, or <a href="/facts/Psychological_manipulation/RLqHuGzV">manipulating</a> others' perceptions, thus acting as a <a href="/facts/Bullying/PUdL7WtY">bully</a> or a <a href="/facts/Agent_provocateur/bPxmTdPd">provocateur</a>. The behavior is typically for the troll's amusement, or to achieve a specific result such as disrupting a rival's online activities or purposefully causing confusion or harm to other people. Trolling behaviors involve tactical aggression to incite emotional responses, which can adversely affect the target's well-being.
In this context, the noun and the verb forms of "troll" are frequently associated with Internet discourse. Recently, media attention has equated trolling with <a href="/facts/Online_harassment/Fbw1RR2s">online harassment</a>. <a href="/facts/The_Courier-Mail/WYB0vG8G">The Courier-Mail</a> and <a href="/facts/The_Today_Show/WRY0PJgB">The Today Show</a> have used "troll" to mean "a person who defaces <a href="/facts/Online_memorial/3Dq6zCVV">Internet tribute sites</a> with the aim of causing grief to families". In addition, depictions of trolling have been included in popular fictional works, such as the <a href="/facts/HBO/gGSPvEEu">HBO</a> television program <a href="/facts/The_Newsroom_(U.S._TV_series)/mzadzuXP">The Newsroom</a>, in which a main character encounters harassing persons online and tries to infiltrate their circles by posting negative sexual comments.

Troll (slang) open-in-new

Troll (slang)