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Monday, May 16, 2022

How I Deal with Trolls

It was late 2006/early 2007 when I first encountered a troll. I was new at my job and he targeted me. He even threatened to email our president to tell him about me. The troll did it through blog posts and everything he said was not true. I immediately reported it to our PR lead and he advised me to ignore it and don't engage. The troll even made me a mistress! He did it several times, but I just ignored it. 

Good thing I was given that advise because the troll just got tired and stopped. A few years ago I was the target of trolls again. Friends alerted me about it. They were discussing my political affiliations and beliefs. They couldn't find any because I never really posted anything. I focused on my work and just continued to do the job at hand. 

It went on for some time and they started to uncover who my friends were. I was worried that they would target my family next. I think it helped I had close friends in Davao because that confused them a lot! I did the same thing and alerted the PR lead in the Philippines. She also told me to ignore it and they'll take care of it if it escalates. They stopped when I told a close friend about it. Almost immediately the trolling stopped. (I honestly don't know what he did to stop them or what his involvement with them was). 

So I continue to ignore them. Nowadays it's harder to identify real people versus fake accounts. I noticed this when I was still in Singapore. The "Filipinos in Singapore" group had a lot of trolls in it and they were pretty nasty people. I would randomly check profiles and lot were new accounts, obviously fake. It was useless to engage because they would just attack you if you tried correcting them. The group eventually became this place of negativity so I just stopped reading. Honestly, the tech companies who own these apps should do a better job of policing it. Also, companies who have been involved with these troll armies should be held accountable.

The best way to protect yourself from trolls is not to engage them. If you encounter one, report their profile. It's also important to make sure that your online properties are kept private. Don't just keep accepting invites. If you must do something, just share verified sources (preferably from valid news outlets). 

Family and friends are best enjoyed in person and in real life. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

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