John Launer: Troubled by trolls

Trolls are imaginary creatures in Scandinavian folklore who are dim witted, live far from human company, and are generally unpleasant when encountered. In modern slang the word refers to individuals who make themselves disagreeable on social media by persistently responding to other people’s posts in negative ways, ranging from discourtesy to threats and intimidation. If you write for the medical press and try to maintain a social media presence it’s almost impossible to avoid trolls. Some topics are guaranteed to bring them out in battalions.Depending on its scale and tone, being on the receiving end of trolling can be deeply distressing. Higher profile medical writers than me have had far more troubling experiences, in some cases having to involve the police to protect themselves from threats of violence and worse. At the less extreme end of the spectrum, being trolled still gives you an impression of some aspects of the…
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