Responding to Trolling, Online or IRL
In his 1967 speech “Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism,” researcher Theodor Adorno recommends the following:
- Learn the rhetorical tricks used by movements against democracy.
- Name them–the more specifically, the better.
- Point out how democracy and the society you want will benefit them, too. This good will is the greatest difference between supporters and opponents of democracy, so let it shine!
While Adorno does list some tricks, the list below is my expansion of itHere is a list of common rhetorical tricks that trolls and bullies use to try to avoid honest discussion by silencing or provoking others:
| Trick/Tactic | Description | Common example |
|---|---|---|
| Name-calling | Giving the target an insulting name | Calling Democrats socialists, maliciously misunderstood not as Bernie Sanders-style democratic socialism but as wanting to abolish democracy and capitalism. |
| Lying | Stating, implying or repeating something that isn’t true. | Common example of stating a lie: The outcome of the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent. Common example of implying a lie: “Wake up people and vote out BOTH parties!” The implied lie is that both parties are equally to blame. |
| Changing the subject | Instead of responding to what someone said, bringing up a different subject. | Common example: In the 2016 US presidential election, the cry, “But the emails!” sought to change the subject away from criticism of one of the candidates toward the other. That form of changing the subject is called whataboutism because it often starts with, “What about…?”. |
| Scapegoating | Inappropriately blaming others (less powerful or privileged than yourself) for your problems. | Blaming unemployment on people from other countries. |
| Projecting | Accusing your opponents of what you’re doing or want to do. Also called “accusation in a mirror.” | Anti-democracy activists accusing opponents of slavish obedience to their ideology or leader. |
| Threatening | Specific, vague, or thinly-veiled warnings of violence to come. | Claiming that The Great Awakening is coming. In Q-Anon mythology, Q-Anon’s opponents will be killed during The Great Awakening. |
| Dog whistling | Saying something that is meant to sound innocuous to outsiders but is understood differently by insiders. Dog whistles are most often racist or antisemitic. | The phrases “the border” and “border security” are meant to sound to outsiders as if the topic were merely law enforcement, while insiders understand the real topic to be people of color coming to the country from Latin America. References to “illegal,” “immigrant,” and “urban” are sometimes racist dog whistles. Common antisemitic dog whistles include “globalist,” “cosmopolitan,” “One Worlders,” and “George Soros must be behind this.” |
| Playing the victim | Pretending to be violated or the target of a conspiracy–usually while behaving like a bully. | Claiming that requiring measures to protect against COVID-19 violate personal freedom. The truth was the opposite: That sickness, death, and pandemic-related economic and political disruption took away personal freedom. Their refusal to help end the pandemic caused themselves and the world unnecessary suffering and loss of freedom. |
| Both sides doing it | Claiming that if their opponents did something bad, they can do it, too. One opponent who did it in 1985 is more than enough; these days, it’s enough just to say they did. | The Big Lie. If the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election was fraudulent, then we can win the next election by cheating. |
| Orwellian language | Meaning the opposite of what you said. | Misusing “free speech” to mean silencing criticism or “religious freedom” to take away other people’s freedom. |
How to Use This Table
- When encountering trolling behavior online, look at the list of tricks.
- Pick the trick(s) that you find in the post or tweet.
- Respond like this: “This post contains name-calling and a racist dog whistle. #NameTheirTricks”
- The end. If the person responds angrily or with more trolling, just go on with your day, or if really nasty, report it to the social media company. Either way, you’re done. If you want, you can remind them that they benefit from democracy and invite them to join you. You can do this IRL, too, if you want. For example, you could say something like, “You called them a name. I don’t like that.” This is known as calling out misbehavior.
Why?
Instead of honest discussion, trolling is psychological warfare intended to demoralize and silence you while energizing opponents of democracy. Naming their tricks neutralizes the message and educates others who read the thread or overhear what you say how the person tried to manipulate them. They will watch for these tricks elsewhere.
Why not fight, argue, or correct the facts?
- Trolls want a fight. Don’t give it to them.
- They want to dominate you, not to learn the truth or appreciate your perspective.
- Flame wars make money for the social media company. Don’t reward this behavior.