The Troll Hunters

This is a very interesting and disturbing story in the MIT Technology Review called "The Troll Hunters," about Internet hate speech and journalists who cover/expose it in Sweden. It is sort of like Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" only instead of child molesters it's people who post hate speech online. Journalists track down Internet trolls who slander or harass others and confront them with the evidence, live on camera.

It strikes me about as worthwhile as "To Catch a Predator." On the one hand, it is great to see these men (and it's mostly men) get what they deserve, and it raises awareness. On the other hand, it's all done for television. Neither Dateline NBC nor Sweden's TV3 are entirely in this out of a sense of public service. It's great TV.

But more seriously, the Troll Hunters have delved into the online traffic of far right political movements in Sweden to track and expose neo-Nazi supporters. They have also exposed politicians for various malfeasance that was tracked online.

The article argues that Sweden is a uniquely fertile place for online hate because of its commitment to free expression and liberal freedom of information laws that make public information we consider private in the U.S., such as taxable income.