10 Things We Learned From Jon Ronson On Louis Theroux's Grounded Podcast
8. Twitter Trolls Are Finding Dastardly Ways To Beat Algorithm
Reputation is a subject that Ronson is fascinated by. His 2015 book So You've Been Publicly Shamed focuses on online shaming and the culture of humiliation that is prevalent among trolling communities of the internet.
In his chat with Theroux, Ronson brought up how trolls are getting around the algorithm of Twitter by altering their language when doling out abuse. Instead of using curse words that would flag the attention of those cleaning up the site, they use a word that isn't a swear word but it does destroy reputations: Paedophile.
It's common to see this word thrown around online without any justification for such a damning smear to be used. One high-profile example was when Tesla billionaire Elon Musk responded to criticism from Vernon Unsworth in June 2018. Unsworth, an experienced cave diver, criticised Musk for pledging to help the trapped Thai youth soccer team, dismissing his involvement as a PR stunt.
Musk decided to call him 'pedo guy' in response. A lawsuit followed, which Musk won. Unsworth would agree with Ronson that it's a word that causes damage to a reputation.