INTERNET TROLLS SPREAD ON THE INTERNET DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC PROCESS BY DILARA NUR OKA

Internet trolls have related a person or group that has the purpose of starting an argument on the Internet and giving it ironic explanations or ironic speeches for various topics. Internet trolls are online and deliberately try to start conflicts or arguments. They often use social platforms like YouTube's comment sections, forums, or chat rooms.

To give an example of online trolling/trolling in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to discuss its intent and impact on digital communication. Online trolls have increased backlash against Covid experts and health centers. Journalism platform Pointer has announced that a group of coronavirus skeptics and anti-vaccine campaigners has been spreading false and misleading information about Covid-19 with internet trolls since February last year. This group of digital trolls, also seeking confrontation with staff at the municipal health center, some politicians, and Dutch doctors misled people by trying to take them on their side. The troll group, which calls itself the Digital Army, urged its sympathizers to open fake accounts on social media via the messaging service Telegram and provided its members with false information, or fake troll, information about coronavirus vaccines daily, allowing this information to be shared with wider audiences. According to research, 708 URLs, 1,112 images and 528 videos containing false information about coronavirus vaccines have been shared by members of The Digital Army in the last 3 months. Even the e-mail accounts and questions that they pretend to be journalists led people to their troll information during the pandemic process of internet trolls. This came to light after Pointer tracked numerous fake accounts and conducted digital forensic investigations, and soon people were informed to be guided to the truth and this dangerous troll group was disbanded.

Unfortunately, social media can sometimes be full of dangerous and false information. Trolls prevent people from accessing correct information but when we notice such trolls or we are informed about them, if we spam them, report them or block them then they cannot harm us or cannot change our minds in a wrong way in social situations.