WASHINGTON — Most internet users would shake their heads in disdain at harassing, inappropriate, personal attacks from internet bullies, however a new study finds that most users are capable of being trolls — at least, temporarily.
Computer scientists at Stanford and Cornell universities found two elements — a person’s mood and online environment — generally contribute to trolling behavior, in which a user posts something online they wouldn’t say to a person’s face.
Many websites — including WTOP.com — have disabled the comments feature, to try to head off hateful attacks usually posted anonymously by a few users.
Some platforms, such as YouTube and Instagram, are using artificial intelligence tools to filter toxic commenting.
Researchers in the new study found a person’s negative mood often precedes trolling behavior.
In addition, being targeted in another instance, or reading a previous negative post in a thread makes users more likely to pile on.
“Our findings suggest that trolling, like laughter, can be contagious, and that ordinary people, given the right conditions, can act like trolls,” according to the study authors, Justin Cheng, Michael Bernstein, Cristian Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil, and Jure Leskovec.
According to the study, trolling behavior is most likely to occur Sunday and Monday nights, between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Websites trying to keep conversation civil with human moderators often face a difficult challenge because of the large number of posts generated.
A Norwegian public broadcaster is experimenting with a system that requires a reader to take a short multiple-choice quiz to prove they read an article before allowing the user to comment.
