The High Road: Tackling Angry Internet Trolls

Nothing brings out the worst in folks quite like anonymity. Under the misguided belief that the Internet was created to catalog negative comments and painfully poor grammar, folks we geeks call “trolls” rant and pillage the Web and leave in their wake you, with a helpless, panicky feeling.

As a public relations and social media blogger gal, the one question I am asked most often is, “How the BLEEP am I supposed to respond to stupid online comments?” I hear ya’!

I’ve been on the receiving end of these sorts of attacks, both personally and in my client work. Dealing with these ridiculous, demeaning, and downright false comments isn’t pleasant, but it is manageable. Here’s how:

Don’t Delete
Folks have the right to disagree with you, even if they are snarky and mean-spirited. As long as the comment isn’t a threat, patently offensive, spam, bigoted, libelous, or keeping you awake at night, leave it be. The same criteria apply to newspaper story comment sections; don’t bother asking a paper to take a comment down just because it’s untrue or written by someone who is a complete loon. These are rants from trolls, not statements from the Pope.

Count to 4,756
As bad as the troll’s comment is and despite how angry/hurt/sad it makes you/your company/your mom, it’s not the end of the world. Take a deep breath, step away from the computer, and think before you respond. I know it feels like it, but the entire world at this very moment is NOT actually reading the comment section. Trust me.

Just the Facts, Ma’am
Should you decide to respond to the the troll with a comment of your own, do so with a level head, refuting the troll point-by-point using factual statements with as little emotion as possible. (Trolls really hate that.) Under no circumstances are you to fight with the troll or engage in sarcastic conversation.

Be Real
Transparency is key when posting online comments. When you respond, it should be under your real name. In my book, if your comment is anonymous it doesn’t count, and it makes you a troll too.

Think About the Google
There are some PR folks who’d tell you not to respond to comments on the Internet no matter what. But if the commenter has said a statement like “and since I heard that [YOUR NAME] hates children and kicks puppies,” that means that when you Google your name, you’ll find this blog comment. This is why YOU should have a comment under your own name that factually refutes that statement, such as “Hi, there. Actually, I have three kids and volunteer at the Humane Society.”

Having an anonymous person — or someone with the handle “FutureMrsChesney” — attempt to defend your honor with that same statement just doesn’t have the same affect.

Don’t Expect to Win
You have a life; Internet trolls do not. This means they will always have the last word, and that’s okay. You should only respond to a troll’s comment to clear your name, clarify a statement, defend your belief, or correct a fact on the record. You aren’t in this to win an argument; say only what you need to say and move on. In short, take the high road.

The Bottom Line
Clear your name, but don’t play their game. We’ll never actually know a troll-free World Wide Web, but that’s okay because no one looks at comments on a news site or blog post and declares them Gospel anyway. Take heart! Internet trolls feed off of confrontation, sarcasm, and adrenalin; if you’re denying them those essentials, they’ll soon move on to a more abundant corner of the Web.