In 2013, journalist Ginger Gorman was trolled online and 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?
Over the next five years, Gorman spoke to psychologists, trolling victims, law enforcement, academics and, most importantly, trolls themselves, embedding herself into their online communities and their psyches in ways she had never anticipated. She uncovered links between trolling, cyberhate and real-life crimes. She mapped out a cohort of men – mostly angry, young and white – who rightly or wrongly feel marginalised and disenfranchised and use the internet to express this.
Troll Hunting is an utterly engrossing, often frightening, but ultimately eye-opening and important window into the mindset of trolls and how they reflect a real aspect of our modern society. It will also change the way you think about the internet, and what it means to be a human online.
