#ASKGOYO
Troll what? You heard me right. Troll banking.
I tweeted this last February 15, 2020. There is no definition of “troll banking” yet. I coined that phrase and define it as “the act of following a person or account online, for the purpose of attacking a person, starting a flame war or upset the person and his/her followers when discussion of a sensitive issue or topic is done in the future. The posting of inflammatory and offensive comments to elicit emotional responses from the person and/or his/her followers. This may also include joining online communities (such as a forum, chat room, group chat, or private messaging platform) for the specific purpose of launching disruptive comments and messages in the future”.
I’ve seen it happen in several instances, especially on Twitter. Accounts who follow you but just remain silent. The accounts may be newly created accounts, or even old accounts which were just recently “revived” and are active again. Many of the accounts don’t really tweet anything, but rather just retweet tweets of other individuals. Some have animated images or pictures of celebrities as avatars and many have numbers in the account name, probably to help their supervisors monitor their accounts. These accounts don’t comment or like your tweets. They’re just there. Added to your number of followers.
They usually stay dormant for some time. But more than just coincidence, they suddenly become active when you tweet something that hits a nerve. Then it’s time for the accounts to cash in and start commenting on what you tweeted about. Some take the “good cop” route by feigning surprise why you’d say what you did. They they’re so surprised how you could say that, since they hold you in high regard. Others take the “bad cop” route by attacking what you say, and in some instances attacking you as a person. Trying to besmirch your reputation and character. You’d think it should not matter because you really don’t care about what they say, knowing they’re just doing it because of their work requirements in the center.
But you’re not the target of those comments and replies. Oh no, definitely not. They’re after your followers. It’s a pretty simple concept. They comment not for you alone. But more for your followers. They WANT your followers to read what they say. That’s the objective.
So, for example, you tweet something and it offends some people who happen to have trolls working for him/her. They then flood your timeline with incendiary comments. If you choose to ignore them, they go after the replies of your followers or people who comment on your tweet. In many instances they try to start arguments and fights. You know it’s intentional because some of their comments are really doltish, brainless, and idiotic, and the only purpose is to elicit and an emotional response.
In many instances, it works. And when that happens, they hijack your timeline and tweets. They will cause a distraction which is the whole intent of their action. Try it. Observe some Twitter accounts of people you follow, especially in tweets relative to politics… You’ll see a pattern. It’s all too obvious. People have to be aware of this new modus.
Practice Physical Distancing. Stay away from trolls.