How Trump Is Trying to Govern America Like an Internet Troll | Communications Major | Scoop.it

The term "troll" is now widely used to mean "a nasty person on the Internet," but it's worth keeping in mind its more specific, original meaning: someone who seeks to provoke outrage for their own amusement. This is, often as not, done through weaponizing insincerity: pretending to be something they're not, or to care about an issue in order to upset those who do. A classic example would be someone posting steak recipes on a vegan message board. His personal views on veganism are irrelevant – all that matters is his desire to upset the people on that particular forum and the pleasure he derives from it.