Has the rise in reader comments encouraged online trolling?

As the digital era has progressed, so has the world of reader comments. Now on the boundless web, everyone has the chance to have their say. While editors would once have to limit their top picks to fit into their print, it is now simply impossible to monitor all reader comments online. The problem? Trolls have more power than ever before.

"I think that reader comments have definitely given trolls a platform to make negative comments. I think there has always been that many negative trolls but the advent of social media and the increase of platforms has given them the opportunity and tools to peddle their negativity and hate,"said XTRA RADIO presenter and executive producer, Josef Hollywood.

While there has been a lot of controversy regarding reader comments online, it was originally created with the intent of being both beneficial to the journalist and the reader. It's an opportunity for consumers to give insight and feedback on stories, developing a stronger connection between readers and writer and sparking a two way conversation. This step in going digital was to be revolutionary in the way readers could comment as opposed to the time consuming methods editors had to use previously.

However, as social media develops and more and more people have access to the internet and comment sections, we are also seeing the negative outcomes of them. The legal risks are higher than before, there can be negative impacts on understanding of stories as well as the perception of journalism quality, and trolls have the power to have their say.

The opportunity to troll can be considered 'off putting' to sources, causing reader comments to pose a danger to the people who are in the stories and the people who write about them.

Caroline Flack is a prime example of the trolling that an individual can be submitted to in a reader comment section. In December we saw the public exposure of her shocking arrest after being accused of domestically abusing her boyfriend, Lewis Burton. As the story went viral and tabloids increasingly published negative headlines on Flack, trolls had more motivation to take the comment sections by storm, hurling abuse at Flack. The TV personality later committed suicide on February 15.

The issue of trolling poses a very much real threat to the livelihood of many individuals and journalists. In 2016, The Guardian published research which showed that out of their ten most abused writers in online comments, eight are women and two are black.

So, if trolling is such a significant issue regarding reader comments, then what is the next step? Is it possible to monitor comments to minimise or eradicate this problem?

"Legally, Regulation 19 of the Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002 (EU Law) offers a defence in respect of unmoderated comments posted by readers which are in breach of civil or criminal law. This is very important and comments must be removed if the media outlet is made aware. That being said, I think that reader comments allow audiences to add their opinions and thoughts to the story. Not all comments are negative, but I do believe if people are more likely to disagree- they will say something," continued Hollywood.

While there have been efforts to monitor reader comments by the government and certain news companies, others have opted for removing reader comments from their sites altogether.

Since the mid 2010s, some major publications have begun using this method to ultimately end the struggle between free speech and tackling abuse. Some of these include: Reuters, CNN, This Week and Bloomberg, indicating the significance of online abuse that comment sections give trolls a platform in.

"I don’t think trolling can be avoided. It inspires discussion about certain topics, allowing people to listen and explain each other’s views. We live in a free society; the likes of Facebook & Twitter are privately owned, Free Speech doesn’t apply but we all have a right to comment. In terms of trolls, personally I have found that trolls tend to make themselves look a fool because they have no basis for their argument because it does not exist- there will always be negative comments," concluded Hollywood.