Internet trolls are a wonderful addition to the Internet. Sometimes they are working in your favor, and other times it may seem as though their sole purpose in life is to make you look like an idiot. Regardless, these witty anons almost always provoke the laughter of an adoring audience.
Many trolling causalities — instances where an online user is ridiculed using social media by another online user — occur on individual Twitter or Facebook pages. Recently, however, trolls have adopted larger-scale screen names such as Doritos ForHelp and Target Customer Service and are taking on issues much larger than incorrect uses of "there."
Doritos has recently launched a limited edition of rainbow chips — Doritos Rainbows. The intention was to raise awareness for its It Gets Better campaign, which serves to support struggling LGBT youth. However, many Doritos customers have not taken kindly to such a bold statement.
Doritos received backlash from numerous Facebook users who said they would be taking their business elsewhere. Luckily, a man who goes by the screen name of Doritos ForHelp has helped regulate their bigotry.
(Original screenshot from: Huffington Post)
Target Customer Service has done similar work lately, using comedy to combat bigotry via responding to complaints listed on the company’s Facebook page. Target’s decision to remove the "girls" and "boys" signs from toy sections received similar backlash to the multicolored chips. Many online users threatened to move their business elsewhere unless Target retracted this decision.
(Original screenshot from: AdWeek)
Neither of these users are members of the associated company. They are individuals who probably found the proposed bigotry as ridiculous as their own responses.
Supporting the humorous rebuttal between ignorant users and Internet trolls does not go to say I condone all online hazing. There are many instances where such taunting has snowballed into dangerous territory and I in no way support cyber bullying. However, there is a level of appropriateness to be had when battling the ignorant and those responsible for the Help pages have done so tastefully.
The comical relief surrounding these ForHelp pages should be more welcomed in the arena of combating ignorance. The nature of the Internet and the anonymity it offers fosters negative expressions and it is nice to know some have found a way to regulate it.
These Internet trolls have reestablished a sense of consequence for online posting and has produced some laughter in the process. Users can still close their laptops in avoidance, of course, but at least the rest of us get to chuckle at the slight defeat.
The real question is, where were Internet trolls when JCPenney released a Father’s Day advertisement featuring two dads back in 2012?
Related Links:
Legislation to prohibit Internet 'trolling'
Social media: where human decency goes to die
Reach the columnist at rblumen2@asu.edu or follow @500wordsofrayne on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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