There are so many trolls and most are not only hilarious but also merciless. Except for those inappropriately targeted, everybody else seems to like them and advocate them. As per the urban dictionary, trolling means 'being a prick on the internet because you can' - that means, throwing sarcastic remarks on anyone because it's the internet and you have freedom. Now, that is a cue to take.
Within a month of swearing in, most of the Kerala government ministers are at the receiving end of hilarious cyber jokes resulting from slip of their tongues. Sports Minister E.P Jayarajan and Health Minister K. K. Shailaja bore the brunt last week.
Celebrities like Mammooty have taken the trolls in good spirit despite being the butt of jokes after the poster release of his upcoming movie Kasaba. The star reposted some of the trolls in his social media page. That said, has Malayalis' knack for finding wit in every possible expression crossed the thin line between satire and intolerance?
ICU aka International Chalu Union, one of the most popular troll makers in Facebook, has to monitor more than 3,000 trolls appearing on their page every day. Hrishikesh Bhaskaran, one of the administrators of ICU, says their platform acts as an editor while upholding the freedom of expression. “The word troll has a negative connotation associated with it. Not all posts are trolls; some are satire while others are a personal insult. It is important to draw a line between the two.”
ICU started as platform for sharing jokes by a group of engineering students from Kidangoor, and it progressed from Orkut to Facebook with a neutral approach. There are over 30 admins for the group and they take the trolls based on a set of rules.
“Anybody can post in ICU, but we filter based on a set of rules. We don’t take any racial remarks or biased stand for a political group, whatever that takes the humour to a biased level. But, that doesn’t mean they cannot stop posting on their own accounts or pages. Thus we are not curbing their freedom,” says Hrishikesh. He further says that trolling has reduced the amount of threats and physical violence.
“This is an advantage, because between rival groups, a troll for a troll had replaced the element of physical violence and threats for defamation, which we can term as a healthy fight, and that is a good thing.” Vinay Menon, the most popular stand up comedian from Kerala, says trolling is more cyber bullying.
“This is only an evolution of comedy. But, what comes with it is cyber bullying. Internet definitely gives a free space to speak your mind and as observed, there is no disciplined approach to trolling. What I find is that Malayalis love to get offended and are always ready with tit for tat. As a comedian, I have to deal with heckles. I get trolled for being a Mallu and a Communist, not for being funny. I cannot take offence in these and it is better not to.”
Social media expert V.K. Adarsh says trolls are mainly targeted at political groups, which is a newfound way for the party to score against their rival. “But it can affect decision-making if people don’t understand the seriousness of the issue. I agree trolls give an opportunity to those not so articulate to voice their opinions. What I recommend is that the credibility of trolls should be checked and there shouldn’t be room for bias. Defamation is a serious charge and a chain of people can get into serious trouble if sued. While there is also an issue of copyright for the images, there is a number of underlying issues that run with it,” says Adarsh.
Emil Joseph, owner of Craft Comics, opines trolls are slowly killing the art of caricature. The entrepreneur is trying to bring back the cartoon culture inspired by Charlie Hebdo. “Troll is never an art, whereas caricatures and satirical cartoons are. In a way, trolls are good as people can express their ideas freely. We are also trolling, but we try to bring art through trolling and thus make a point,” concludes Emil.
