• dumples@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Always remember to never feed the trolls. It’s a very basic Internet rule that we should have continued to follow. Block and move on

    • itsAsin@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      i think in this case we also want to consider…

      do not click a twitter link

      … as the article states, it is the traffic, itself, that they want.

    • dragontamer@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Sounds like a surefire way to get Donald Trump elected again.

      Ignoring the trolls caused 2016 to happen. At that point, it became clear that the trolls have gathered in power, have organized politically and have explicitly made their methodology into the leading political force for the Republican party.

        • dragontamer@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          They already have a platform. Its called Twitter.

          They’ll have that platform whether or not you post a reply.

          • TwilightVulpine@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            But posting a direct reply will give them additional attention, from your own followers and from algorithmic boosting.

            If simply replying to bad actors with facts and demanding decency helped in any way, they wouldn’t have gotten as relevant as they are.

            • dragontamer@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              That’s all good theory or whatever, but you ain’t gonna stop Donald Trump (or DeSantis) from getting boosted to the top. Certainly not when Elon is in charge of Twitter.

              • TwilightVulpine@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Of course, because these already have a whole established follower base. But it can prevent upcoming reactionary outrage mongers from gaining momentum.

                Keep in mind that I didn’t say to ignore them entirely, I said that replying directly is a bad approach. Because the people who already follow them likely won’t listen to reason, and it might only highlight it to potential targets to be radicalized. But bad rhetoric can be countered and refuted without direct attribution. You could instead reply to a screenshot with the handle cut out or just speak on the topic without bringing up who is stirring shit this time around.

      • Granite@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Ehhh… more like the opposite. The mainstream media engaged the trolls on a mass scale and the golden turd won.