Bot, Troll or Sockpuppet and The Sharing Question

Bots are set up by individuals to run on their own and can be used for many different purposes, good or bad. Trolls are people who purposefully seed discord and may use harassment and bullying techniques. Sockpuppets are fake accounts established to manipulate online discussions, often posing as sympathetic to the creator’s target.

Items on our news feed can be the product of one or more of the above. Even if it is real or true, sharing may just be perpetuating an antagonistic cycle. There are many ways to be a better Internet citizen and one simple tactic can help establish a clear purpose — ask yourself why. And not just once. Ask and answer 5 times. No repeat answers and be honest with yourself.

Real or fake, if there isn’t good enough reason to share it — don’t.

Published on www.theinformationchase.com