By Brian Beutler
As both a blogger and a (once and future) political reporter, I can help Matt
with this one: “I really do enjoy all the blogosphere in-jokes and so
forth and would miss them if they went away, so maybe the only thing to
do is educate, educate, educate. So have at it, what’s an authoritative
definition of “concern troll” we can offer up to Time’s crack team of
political reporters.”
And it’s only fitting that the answer comes from a place beloved by both bloggers and their nemeses in the press corps. Wikipedia. The hallowed common ground.
Here’s the whole entry. It gives a solid definition, a relevant example, and advice on how to spot a concern troll when you’re looking into its lying eyes.
“A concern troll is also a fictitious online identitywhose proclaimed beliefs are not those its creator really believes andis trying to push.
The concern troll posts in web forums devoted to its declared pointof view (for example, Democrats or fans of the Prius), and attempts tosway the group’s actions or opinions while claiming to share theirgoals but with some “concerns”.
For example, in 2006 a top staffer for Congressman Charlie Bass(R-NH) was caught posing as a “concerned” supporter of Bass’s opponentDemocrat Paul Hodes on several liberal NH blogs, using the pseudonyms”IndieNH” or “IndyNH.” “IndyNH” was “concerned” that Democrats mightjust be wasting their time or money on Hodes, because Bass wasunbeatable.
Suspicion of concern trolls is hard to verify without clearcutinformation about the IP number from which their posts originate, asthere are people who naturally behave in such a manner.
Cross posted at Brian Beutler.
