What is “trolling”?
According to Urban Dictionary, Trolling is:
the deliberate act, (by a Troll – noun or adjective), of making random unsolicited and/or controversial comments on various internet forums with the intent to provoke an emotional knee jerk reaction from unsuspecting readers to engage in a fight or argument
A Helpful Video:
Some scriptures that address Trolling:
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. (Emphasis added)
Proverbs 6:16-19
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9
Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.
Proverbs 11:12
A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.
Proverbs 29:22
Trolls can disrupt entire online communities. They often sleep well at night knowing they got a reaction, meanwhile those of us that took the bait and argued in the comments are left feeling the pain.
Silent prayer to self as I write this: Lord, do not hold this against them. We know this is Satan and not them. Help us to love everyone the way you loved us.
How to Identify if the person is Trolling or not
Not all trolling is easy to identify, some are good at hiding their trolling behind seemingly well meaning questions and some do not even realize they may be trolling.
Some ways to help identify:
- Does this person who originated the post engage in the comments in a meaningful and thoughtful way?
- Does the person who originated the post feel any remorse when the comments section clearly gets out of hand?
- Does the person who originated/commented seek to clarify at any point when things go off the rails?
- Does the comments of the original poster seek to create peace or stir more conflict in the comments?
- Does the person who posted remain completely quiet as the chaos unfolds?
- What have they posted before? Have they contributed to the forum in meaningful ways in the past? What is their reputation?
If they remain quiet as things go crazy, I would say that is trolling behavior. If the comment was truly a sincere question/comment, you would see their engagement throughout the thread to get their question answered, gain a better understanding, and ensure they are correctly understood.
If the question is answered and they double down on negativity or do not reply to anyone in meaningful and thoughtful ways, it is most likely that it wasn’t a question asked in good faith and is in fact an instance of trolling.
What can we do?
13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
We have to be aware that not everyone who posts a comment or a question does so in good faith. It is important to grow in our “awareness” and be able to spot “trolling behaviors” sooner, lest we get beat up!
Some practicals:
- Pray for them to repent and to see the error of their ways and apologize to the community they have hurt.
- Immediately report trolling behaviors to moderators before the chat is taken captive
- Reach out to the person individually to better understand if the question or comment was made in good faith – Be careful what you say as they can try to exploit your DM’s and keep “receipts” (screenshots) to be posted later out of context.
- If it becomes clear it is a troll, bring what is hidden to light and call out the trolling behavior: “Looks like we have a case of trolling, lets not let this distract us from meaningful dialogue and christian unity” (Be careful when you respond and prepare your heart because an attacking response will be forthcoming – Do not engage when the attack comes)
- When in doubt, don’t respond – They love the back and forth this can feed the trolling.
- Take a break from social media
- Offer to help moderate the group – to be a part of the change
- Do not defend the trolls behavior (even though many of us want to believe the best of people don’t be fooled)
- Remove trolls from group if it becomes clear they trolled
- Support people who are being victimized by the troll – Reach out to them, encourage them, let them know you are there for them.
Don’t Let Satan Win!
It is so important that when the comments get tense that we as well meaning participants in the online community reaffirm over and over again our commitment to love and christian unity.
Do not let a provocative comment cause you to devour and bite your brother or sister.
If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Galatians 5:15
This would be letting Satan win! Our crowning jewel as a Church is our unity across culture, ethnicities, countries, backgrounds. We cannot let Satan destroy that. It is something worth fighting for.
Trolls can do a lot of damage to online communities and they can be really discouraging and disheartening. We are not the first to face those that desire to stir up conflict and make trouble for us.
- Remember Alexander the Coppersmith and how much trouble he made for Paul? (2 Timothy 4:14)
- Or the “Super Apostles” in Corinth? (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
- How about Korah’s Rebellion? (Numbers 16)
- Or those saying you need to first become Jewish before Christian in Galatia? (Galatians 1:7)
Remember that our battle is never flesh and blood. Do not get angry at the person, but reserve your anger for Satan who is trying to divide our Christian unity. What helped me is to remember that God see’s it all and he is not “asleep at the wheel”
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:17-21
I write this as someone who has made many mistakes when engaging with trolling. I typically try to believe the best in everyone and it is so hard for me to believe that anyone would post something just be to intentionally provocative and sow seeds of discord and strife. This makes me and many of us as Christians super susceptible to trolling behavior as we can unknowingly fuel the fire as we try to meaningfully answer their questions or even defend them when people call out their trolling.
I have been tempted to troll myself and I have even fantasised about creating a burner account!
I have also mistaken someone for a troll and had to apologize to them. None of us are above irresponsible online behavior and we can all be tempted and led into sin for which we must repent and make it right. However, there is a difference between blowing it in a moment of weakness and someone whose intention is to hurt and stir up conflict.
I remember one time I got into a back and forth in the comments, I was so grateful that a sister texted me and encouraged me to not respond and she let me know that I said all I can say and it is time to let it go. I am so grateful for the people that have had my back as a Christian and in the ways I interact virtually.
We will not be perfect, but if we accidentally troll we can and should apologize as soon as possible.
Praying for healthy and encouraging online communities!