‘Don’t feed the trolls’ has become a valuable lesson for anyone who has frequented an online comment section. Be it online gaming or social media, trolls plague the internet denizens on every front. But there is some comfort to be found in a recent study done by the University of Manitoba titled ‘Trolls just want to have fun.’
Social media users were quick to voice their disapproval of MP Thandile Sunduza’s fashion sense after she appeared in a yellow shoulderless dress at the recent State of the Nation address. The ANC have since labeled the avalanche of derisive comments levelled at Sunduza as sexist cyber bullying.
By now, many people within South Africa’s news-following public are familiar with the recent burst of racism that took place on South Africa’s twittersphere involving a model and a “model”. Mistakes were made, but the backlash and long-term effects from a social and mainstream media clamouring may have devastating consequences on the individuals involved. Things begin to go pearshaped when the media is inaccurate with information that disperses frantically when a news story of this nature breaks.