The WBUR podcast, Endless Thread, and their specific episode, "Turning Hate on the Internet into Humor'', was the most interesting and impactful to me. The first conversation that stood out to me was with the guest, Drew, and her experience as a trans person and her journey through life and transitioning. She is now the moderator of a subreddit (a group on reddit), and she remarks that there is at least one suicide post or call for help per day. This was heartbreaking to hear and eye-opening for me because like many others, I didn't realize there were support communities on reddit. She also mentioned that while trying to be a supportive person in this community, she wanted to locate the source of the problem. She found subreddits based on hatred for transgender people that said horrible things about people in the LGBTQ+ community. They explained something that I didn't know existed, that when a moderator of a subreddit gets their privileges revoked for inappropriate behavior, another moderator can request moderator powers over that subreddit. Drew says, "There is a small window where you can actually step in, and if you have a good idea, use your troll power for good and and not evil..." (Drew 13:24). This was a fascinating thing for me to learn and refreshing to hear that while there are communities of hateful people, there are communities of positive people that are also trying to create more positive on platforms like reddit, which can be scarily negative.
Another reddit user that goes by BardFin on reddit, saw what Drew was doing and was inspired. He is a perfect example of famous phenomenons like the butterfly effect. On the podcast they talked about how he changed a subreddit title ‘White Rights’, which used to be about white supremacy, but now it is about different shades of white whether or not eggshell is a white paint color. They use humor to turn negativity on the internet into positivity, and it has had a greatly positive impact on this specific site. This shows that the content you put out onto the interest can be seen by anyone and affect anyone. This means that it is particularly important to be aware of what you put on the internet because it can reach anyone, which can also be empowering in a situation like this.
The final anecdote that I got from this podcast that I found particularly interesting was what I previously mentioned before; these people use humor to educate people, and it has been effective. Penny (BardFin) said that, "We aim to put in front of people that kind of moment where they can look at anybody that they have set on a pedestal that is spewing hate, and we want them to laugh at them, because as soon as they laugh at them, that's the moment at which they change their mind" (17:13). This was so interesting for me to hear that humor is more effective than a long paragraph of lecturing. This can feel condescending and humor doesn't come across that way, but it is equally if not more effective at giving people a new perspective. Drew also stated that she has gotten messages from people that were previously putting hate on the internet that thanked her for instead of yelling at them, instead educating them in a way that allowed them to change their mind. This was so interesting to learn and hear that it is effective, as it is not a method I assumed would work so well to educate people and promote positivity online. It is refreshing to hear that there doesn't need to be an online war to resolve digital conflict, and instead humor can change the trajectory of negativity to positivity.
Kelly, Meghan B. “Turning Hate on the Internet into Humor.” Endless Thread, WBUR, 28 Sept. 2018, https://www.wbur.org/endlessthread/2018/09/28/league-of-extraordinary-trolls.
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