How to Get Away with Trolling and Fake People

Kaelyn Walther

kw222519@ohio.edu

In today's age, "trolling" is considered a slang term for someone joking around on the internet or poking fun at someone else behind a mask of anonymity. They could be anyone from an angry customer with a grudge, a young person who thinks they are being funny, or just someone with a lot of time on their hands. However, in the world of news and journalism, trolls can be so much more harsh and devastating to people's lives and business' reputations. 

In an article from the Rolling Stone, the aspect of "trolling" has a much more sinister undertone. The article touches on how the Russians are suspected of using social media to infiltrate and sabotage the media. They use uplifting messages and innocent quotes in order to garner mass upticks in patronage to their pages, then publish small fragments of Russian misinformation to those masses of people. These people see these tweets, posts, and updates and it is harder to recognize it as misinformation because it is from an account they presumably trust. In the article, there are examples given of how these "troll" accounts use misinformation to split the media. They use things such as fake polls, fake surveys, and other things of that nature to further push one side or another. For example, one of the accounts posted a false survey saying that 55% of a Christian college would disown their child if they came out as homosexual. This problematic post further pushes the stereotype that all Christians, especially conservative Christians, are homophobic. 

In another article from The New York Times, the rise in digital models and digital influencers has become the new normal. Popular influencers include Lil Miquela who first sky rocketed to fame in 2016. This generated character was a first of its kind, but soon became a popular way for companies to market their brands without having to pay influencers or give away free items. All they have to do is give a general look they want for their "model" and let graphic designers do their work. 

Source: Instagram

In the photo, Lil Miquela is seen as an eerily human-like character. When the character first came to fame, it was difficult to discern whether or not they were an actual person. There are plenty of photos on their Instagram page showing them promoting different products from clothes, to makeup products, to hair care. 

Influencers like Lil Miquela, who are fictional characters, and Bella Hadid, a real life model and influencer have been subject to controversy in recent years due to advertisements and endorsements they made being taken as their own opinions, not something they were most likely paid to say. In an article from AdAge.com, this use of advertisement through influencers was shown to be unethical and misleading because fans of these influencers believed their role models were actually using these products when, in reality, they were being paid to say these to boost sales. Thus, this sprouted the demand for influencers to make advertisements obvious and be upfront about being paid to talk about certain items. 

This new age of advertisements comes with the rise of technology. With more new ways to promote products popping up everyday, it becomes hard to discern what is real and what is not, what is true and what is false, and what is genuine and what is not. With all of these qualities in mind, the reality of the world of influencers is also at stake. If a company can pay computer engineers and graphic designers to create their "perfect model," where do the real life people come in? Are they left in the dust and forced to work a regular 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. like the majority of us? Or will we eventually circle back to the authenticity of a real human promoting a product to other real humans? One thing we can count on for sure is, fake people are taking over the media, and we are letting them.