Chrissy Stockton, TROLL About a month ago, a woman calling herself "Amy Glass" wrote an inflammatory article regarding the traditional role of women in our society. It was ridiculous; poorly written and void of intellect, I initially passed it up. But as the internet chatter, reposts, and even national news media retorts began to circulate in full, I gave the post a second look to see if I had missed something.
Even in my second read, my perception of the post remained the same. I found it distasteful and misguided; so much so, that I questioned whether it was written in parody. The surprise for me was the comment section; it was completely overwhelmed with an angry backlash. I questioned how such a poorly written testimony would garner such a reaction amongst supposedly intelligent people. After I heard Sean Hannity mention it on the radio, I was so compelled that I actually took a few minutes to compose my own response... ("An Open Letter to Amy Glass").
Even in my second read, my perception of the post remained the same. I found it distasteful and misguided; so much so, that I questioned whether it was written in parody. The surprise for me was the comment section; it was completely overwhelmed with an angry backlash. I questioned how such a poorly written testimony would garner such a reaction amongst supposedly intelligent people. After I heard Sean Hannity mention it on the radio, I was so compelled that I actually took a few minutes to compose my own response... ("An Open Letter to Amy Glass").
Then, I realized that it had all been a trap....
After I posted my comments, I took the opportunity to explore the rest of the "Thought Catalog" website, looking for clues as to why this particular blog had garnered such a visceral response, especially given that the majority of the website was pure junk... things just didn't add up. And then it hit me: Amy Glass was a troll.
Not only does Amy Glass not exist, her opinions are fake as well. The post was actually written by a blogger named Chrissy Stockton, who also happens to be the producer for the Thought Catalog's content. (convenient.) She created the identity of "Amy Glass" to write the inflammatory post, and the results were quite in her favor. For every angry woman that responded, clicks were registered and counted. And you can be sure that the clicks were worth plenty of pennies.
On one hand, I have to applaud her evil genius: create a fake identity, write something that would enrage a bunch of people, and then laugh her way to the bank as the advertiser checks roll in.
On the other, I'd love to slap her for being a disgrace to humanity, for preying on people's emotions, and for inciting a reaction through false witness for her own financial gain.
It's despicable.
Worse, it's scary. Think: How many other troll bloggers are out there? Turning profit on your emotions? Vying for your clicks in the faux-social sphere of the internet? Or even worse - turning opinions based on false information? Creating fake controversy? Spreading lies or rumors?
Is this the future? Clicks for controversy? How can we know what we are absorbing from the internet is truth? Evermore, we must be diligent about what we read and we must continue to think for ourselves.
As the news that Amy Glass was really Chrissy Stockton began to circulate, she eventually came out in a second post in which she lamely tried to justify her actions. The anger she cultivated for Amy followed her.
After I posted my comments, I took the opportunity to explore the rest of the "Thought Catalog" website, looking for clues as to why this particular blog had garnered such a visceral response, especially given that the majority of the website was pure junk... things just didn't add up. And then it hit me: Amy Glass was a troll.
Not only does Amy Glass not exist, her opinions are fake as well. The post was actually written by a blogger named Chrissy Stockton, who also happens to be the producer for the Thought Catalog's content. (convenient.) She created the identity of "Amy Glass" to write the inflammatory post, and the results were quite in her favor. For every angry woman that responded, clicks were registered and counted. And you can be sure that the clicks were worth plenty of pennies.
On one hand, I have to applaud her evil genius: create a fake identity, write something that would enrage a bunch of people, and then laugh her way to the bank as the advertiser checks roll in.
On the other, I'd love to slap her for being a disgrace to humanity, for preying on people's emotions, and for inciting a reaction through false witness for her own financial gain.
It's despicable.
Worse, it's scary. Think: How many other troll bloggers are out there? Turning profit on your emotions? Vying for your clicks in the faux-social sphere of the internet? Or even worse - turning opinions based on false information? Creating fake controversy? Spreading lies or rumors?
Is this the future? Clicks for controversy? How can we know what we are absorbing from the internet is truth? Evermore, we must be diligent about what we read and we must continue to think for ourselves.
As the news that Amy Glass was really Chrissy Stockton began to circulate, she eventually came out in a second post in which she lamely tried to justify her actions. The anger she cultivated for Amy followed her.
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