San Francisco Public Library

Troll hunting, inside the world of online hate and its human fallout, Ginger Gorman

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 266-290)

no index present

non fiction

Troll hunting

bibliography

1081140727

Ginger Gorman

inside the world of online hate and its human fallout

In 2013, journalist Ginger Gorman was trolled online. She received scores of hateful tweets, including a death threat. A picture of Ginger heavily pregnant alongside her husband and two-and-half year old daughter appeared on a fascist website. Understandably she was terrified, but once the attack subsided, she found herself curious. Who were these trolls? How and why did they coordinate such an attack? And how does someone fight back against a troll? Over the next five years Gorman spoke to psychologists, trolling victims, law enforcement, academics and, most importantly, the trolls themselves, embedding herself into their online communities and their psyches in ways she had never anticipated. What she discovered was both profoundly shocking and fascinating. Syndicates of highly organised predator trolls across the globe systematically set out to disrupt and disturb. Some want to highlight the media's alleged left-wing bias, some want to bring down capitalism, and some just want to have fun. Even if it means destroying someone's life ... An intense and compelling read, Troll Hunting is an important window into not just the mindset and motivation of trolls, but the history of this kind of aberrant behaviour. Ginger Gorman has gained unprecedented access to trolls, even formed strange and enduring relationships with them, and her comprehensive investigation into what makes them tick has given us a brilliant book that is impossible to put down

Preface -- pt. 1. Trolls. 1, The paedophiles, the trolls and the journalist ; 2, WTF is trolling? ; 3, Meet the trolls ; 4, When the flowers grow funny ; 5, You are literally the enemy ; Notes in the margins: What the fuck did you expect? -- pt 2. Targets. 6, She was asking for it ; 7, Misogyny on the internet ; 8, Deep in the grey ; 9, Your demons are omnipresent ; 10, Not much cop ; 11, Champions of free speech controlling the message ; Notes in the margins: White women are cancer -- pt 3. Troll hunting. 12, Hunting a terrorist troll ; 13, The internet was my parent ; 14, White men at the centre ; 15, Professional racist ; Notes in the margin: The hardest conversation of all -- Conclusion: reaching back across the cold water -- Endnotes -- Acknowledgements