a "ahem" person to look like. Odd that.
Pagan jim
You’re reading this article, which means you’re on the Internet, which means you’ve encountered a troll before. They’re everywhere: on forums, on social networks, and especially in the comment section of articles. While the arguably worst reside on YouTube, many also have Facebook accounts. They seem to post comments just to rile up other users. Sometimes you wonder: what do they look like? Well, the BBC (via TNW) decided to track down one such Facebook troll.
The full Panorama episode is available here, but only if you’re in the U.K.: Hunting the Internet Bullies. The above video is just an excerpt, but it shows BBC’s Declan Lawn tracking down a man who regularly posts bigoted and racist comments full of profanity, including things like “Rot in Piss” on Facebook Pages that are trying to commemorate a loved one who passed away. Online he’s known as Nimrod Severen, while offline he’s known as Darren Burton.
In the video, Burton doesn’t deny Lawn’s accusations about his Facebook postings. When asked about if he considers what effect his comments might have on other people, he answers: “Yeah.” Then he follows up with: “F*** ‘em.”
Burton also tells Lawn that “Facebook is an open forum.” This isn’t an excuse for being rude, but he does have a point that he can exercise his right of free speech. Then again, Facebook has rules and the U.K. has laws, and some things do just cross the line.
Unfortunately, Burton doesn’t seem to care for either. He says he doesn’t care about the consequences because the longest conviction for such actions is 18 weeks in jail, of which the person only served nine. He says: “Nine weeks? Nine weeks in jail? What’s that?”
See also:
- Man faces five years for ‘God does not exist’ Facebook post
- Australian deported from Bahrain over Facebook posts
- Russians use Facebook to protest alleged election fraud
- Man arrested for allegedly insulting Thailand’s king on Facebook
- UK men lose appeals against four-year Facebook riot sentences
- Facebook posts rush NinjaVideo ‘queen’ to prison
