MY NAME IS MAWAAN and I’m an actor/comedian. Seven years ago, I decided to upload my first YouTube video. Since then, my channel has had more than 86,000 subscribers and 20 million views. Not bad, eh? But with great online attention, comes great homophobia, racism and death threats. That’s right, during the past few years I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the phenomenon of internet trolling.
A troll, as you may know, is a person who posts inflammatory and insulting comments on public forums, to provoke a reaction and start arguments. They are usually kind enough to attack groups of people who are already marginalised in society, including women, people of colour and LGBT+ people. But who are these digital gremlins? And what do they want from us? In an age where everyone is their own public broadcaster, it’s important to know how to deal with them. So here are some of my strategies.
→ Let others fight the battle for you Where there are haters, there are also admirers. It’s great to see people who support your work and stand up to the trolls on your behalf. Last year, I received a comment saying: “This **** should be hanged off a tree and acid poured all over this ugly son of a bitch, the dirty scum.” A shocked fan replied, “Hey! Stop! Pause the video at 0:32! I have that lamp in my living room.” Thanks, I couldn’t have thought of a better comeback myself.