#DavidIcke, #troll or conspiracy theorist, or both?
Icke claims that he suspects the government pays #trolls to stalk #socialmedia using psychology based techniques for the purpose to influence and/or gain. With his accusations targeted at numerous agencies, is Icke a #troll? In this instance I would say Icke #trolls in a constructive manner using his #conspiracytheories to show us what goes on beyond the veil. To be trolled is to be made a victim, to be caught along in the undertow and be the butt of someone else’s joke. (McCosker 2014, p.205). Supporting this claim, Icke refers to Edward Snowden’s reveal of document leaking and propaganda. Where the misuse of the publics #socialmedia consumption is manipulated thanks to unregulated content, where our data is now unrestricted and sold to companies for their attempted financial and personal acquisition. If Icke is correct in his claims then all that we do online is viewed and monitored by what he calls the Elite. Owned and controlled companies such as #Facebook and #Google.
Watch the first 3 minutes of this video explaining more https://www.davidicke.com/article/472112/tech-giants-fight-dominate-data-developing-countries
While my mind is open regarding these claims, Icke must be onto something truthful, for when we search #Google, the algorithms base our result from our previous searches. For example, if a friend and I both search for ‘meditation’ our results will completely differ. If I have previously searched more spiritual content over my friend then I will receive a more spiritual based result. If it is my friend’s first time searching meditation, her result is low key. Another example, which happened to me less than 24 hours ago was after I made a purchase at #BigW. Again, less than 24 hours later I received an email asking if I would fill in a survey having just shopped at #BigW. This means that cyberspace is hacking my personal bank details. Now I feel like I am a victim of #trolling as my privacy has been abused. With clear cut evidence like this you could devise that yes the eyes of the internet are #trolling us!
The freedom that #socialmedia has allows pseudonymous participation. Because people can hide behind their screens being #fake, #socialmedia provides an outlet to express with lack of conscience. Boyd (2014,p.138) states “social media as a key factor in the escalation of drama.” Not only is that true but its what we see each day as digital citizens where the rush of in-the-moment dopamine commenting and loops of emoji’s etc. embeds us with the freedom to spread misinformation and #troll anyone and anything just to be seen, or was it unseen?!. Everything is now under scrutiny. Therefore, are we all #trolls in some way and form?
Using #socialmedia as a digital citizen, that is, reporting “a ‘life of their own’”, (McCosker 2014, p 206) #trolling and provocation can have a positive outcome. People are now creating unique and authentically raw self-created journalism, uploading videos to #YouTube and #Facebook to expose the dark side of the world. You could say they are playing the #goodcop. These forms of #socialmedia activity are then used (at times) in real-life evidence to catch the perpetrator. I see too often posts on #Facebook from people’s own video footage showing a thief caught on camera. It is then shared into groups and the newsfeed exposing the culprit. Due to the high turnover and clicking the #Facebook share button, the public display of support does help with identifying the criminal and spreading the word about what is happening in that persons town.
With the collective’s use of #socialmedia #trolling, be it used for good or bad, all online content are individual statements within themselves. They say you can tell alot about what a person posts, participates in and shares online.
Boyd, D 2014, 'Bullying: Is the Media Amplifying Meanness and Cruelty?', in It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, pp. 128-52.
‘Joshua Cox’s Photos’ [image], in Facebook 2014, viewed 30 April 2018, < https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=691616474262078&set=p.691616474262078&type=3&theater
David Icke.com 2018, Tech Giants Fight to dominate data of developing countries, 30 April 2018, viewed 30 April 2018, >https://www.davidicke.com/article/472112/tech-giants-fight-dominate-data-developing-countries
‘Same Master’ [image] Twitter.com 2018, David Icke, viewed 30 April 2018, <https://twitter.com/davidicke
‘Inside the state departments troll farm- Daniel McAdams on the Corbett report’ [image], Twitter.com 2018, David Icke, viewed 1 May 2018, <https://twitter.com/davidicke/status/972925186008862722
McCosker, A 2014, YouTrolling as provocation: Tube's agonistics publics, Convergence, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 201-217.
