Trolls for Trump', virtual rape, fake news — social media discourse, including forms of virtual and real violence, has become a formidable, yet elusive, political force. What characterizes online vitriol? How do we understand the narratives generated, and also address their real-world — even life-and-death— impact? How can hatred, bullying, and dehumanization on social media platforms be addressed and countered in a post-truth world? Violence and Trolling on Social Media: History, Affect, and Effects of Online Vitriol unpacks discourses, metaphors, dynamics, and framing on social media, in order to begin to answer these questions. Written for and by cultural and media studies scholars, journalists, political philosophers, digital communication professionals, activists and advocates, this book connects theoretical approaches from cultural and media studies with practical challenges and experiences 'from the field', providing insight into a rough media landscape.

Sara Polak (Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society) is an assistant professor in American Studies, focusing on US presidents and their media. She wrote This is Roosevelt’s World — FDR as a Cultural Icon in American Memory and co-edited Embodying Contagion: The Viropolitics of Horror and Desire in Contemporary Discourse. Daniel Trottier (Erasmus University Rotterdam) is an associate professor of Global Digital Media. His current research considers the use of digital media for the purposes of scrutiny, denunciation and shaming. His books include Social Media as Surveillance, Identity Problems in the Facebook Era and Introducing Vigilant Audiences.