Trolling: Menace on the Social Web

Bishakha Bhardwaj

(The author can be reached at email: bhardwajbishakha6@gmail.com)

The Internet has engendered a global outlook with various trends constantly emerging to shape the global village. On one hand, it is a hub of worldwide connections making possible various forms of sharing, while on the other hand, it is giving new meaning to freedom of expression, which however might not always be free of adverse or negative aspects.

Nothing is perfect, including our conduct. People may not always be aware of the negative impacts of criticism. Article 19 of Indian Constitution gives us the freedom to hold opinions, but it only applies till the point someone’s self-esteem and good name is not harmed. Criticism loses its value when it turns unduly destructive. Internet trolling is one such phenomenon, raising questions about ethics due to rampant bullying and intimidation on social media platforms.

We can take the example of the internet sensation Ranu Mondal, who overwhelmingly garnered positive responses when she was discovered singing at a railway station. Social media was flooded with her viral images, singing along with the likes Himesh Reshammiya. But before long, the effusive praises gave way to snide remarks. Just as the ‘likes’ for Mondal seemed to have come from nowhere to give her wide popularity, the conversion to active dislike was equally bewildering. People are now sharing memes poking fun at her and making insulting or hateful comments.

The question that arises is what has Ranu Mondal done to deserve this — rise to overnight fame and then being taken down ruthlessly. What does this tell us about social media ethics? Unless one is a celebrity with a PR team to handle trolls, or a political leader or minister with a troll army at his command, one would find it tough to withstand the sudden beating his or her image may take. Such attacks can generate insecurities and mental pressure as the downside to fame. Clearly, social media users need to be aware and reflect on the ethical aspects, while taking care to protect themselves.

Lately, there have been much misgivings about alleged bias on Twitter. It all started with Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde whose account was suspended by Twitter for his use of an iconic 1936 photo showing a German citizen August Landmeiser sitting with arms folded across his chest while people all around him were trying to outdo each other in saluting Hitler. Hegde believes some algorithm or raw intern on the Twitter platform may have mistakenly taken down as ‘hateful imagery’ this photo he was using as his Twitter cover. However, there are many who suspect Twitter’s motive because Hegde is known for his anti-government posts.

Meanwhile, several Dalit scholars and activists also alleged that their Twitter accounts had been temporarily suspended or restricted, prompting cries of bias. This has triggered an exodus from Twitter to a rival platform ‘Mastodon’ Users are extolling Mastodon’s higher word limit (500, compared to Twitter’s 280), the platform’s professed zero tolerance policy towards bias, online hate messaging and trolling. This controversy shows that social media platforms need to pay serious thought to bullying and hatred mongering; failure to safeguard users may mean losing them to rival platforms, which in turn will cause loss of revenue.

In their latest yearly Freedom of the Net report, Freedom House studied 65 countries worldwide between June 2016 and May 2017 and found that internet freedom has declined for the seventh consecutive year. China was the world’s most aggressive abuser of internet freedom for the third consecutive year, followed by Syria. One of the main reasons for this decline of internet freedom is disinformation and fake news as well as trolling on social media platforms. States are the major culprits, employing troll armies to browbeat and silence dissenting opinions on social media. In Turkey, upto 6,000 trolls have been recruited by the ruling Justice and Development Party to infiltrate online discussions in order to spread propaganda and to identify anyone criticizing the government for harassment or even arrest. The use of social media to spread government propaganda was pioneered by China and Russia and now it has become a global phenomenon. Unknown to them, common citizens can be systematically manipulated by digital armies.

In a report commissioned by the Palo Alto, California-based Institute for the Future and prepared by human rights lawyer Carly Must and Oxford University researcher Nick Monaco, the phenomenon of State-sponsored trolling has been analysed as a worrisome trend. It documented how governments of authritarian countries use humans and bots (internet robots which are actually software applications or malware) to operate thousands of social media accounts. Whenever any dissenting opinion is seen on the social media platform concerned, this troll army gets to work. The dissenter’s account is flooded with abuses, insulting memes and cartoons, outright rape or death threats. The idea is to intimidate and silence the dissenter by creating the impression that he or she has ignited ‘public outrage’ with critical views (often castigated as ‘anti-national’).

As for less authoritarian States like Philippines and Ecuador where voting is still somewhat free, trolling was found to grow during election campaigns. After candidates won power, they kept their troll armies to serve their interests. The Institute for the Future report also showed how troll armies are employed by ‘political machines’ in the United States, like the ones by Donald Trump supporters or his detractors.

Apart from mainstream trolling, individual lives of people who become the victim of trolls out of nowhere like Ranu Mondal, will be a major cause of worry. After all, who can guarantee that online bullying will not spill over into the real world and endanger victims? Indian laws presently do not identify trolling as a direct crime unless it becomes cyber-bullying or other harassing activity. But who is going to be the watchdog of what is the limit and where to check one’s freedom of expression and holding of opinions?

Modern life revolves around social networks with their constant updates, news feeds, advocacies, rankings and ratings. The present state of social media cannot be regarded as an ordered state with sharing of interests on common grounds. It has come a long way unpredictably and seems to be heading towards greater chaos. Media literacy cannot be cited as the only solution, since some of the most objectionable posts are shot off by educated people. There is an immediate need to draw up comprehensive laws and fortify existing ones to safeguard freedom of opinion on the Web and ensure the safety of users.