Meaning
Offering unsolicited 'friendly advice' or professed worry that is actually meant to undermine a cause, typically by a person pretending to be a sympathetic ally. The concern troll sows doubt, fear and hesitancy inside a group while appearing to have its interests at heart. Pejorative; alleging it implies the 'concern' is insincere cover for hostility. Regional use: General English; strongest in online and political contexts.
Origin
The phrase grew out of online forum culture in the early-to-mid 2000s, evolving from the phrase 'concerned troll'; dictionary.com dates it to at least 2005, with early spread in March 2006 via a Daily Kos article and a definition in Time by December 2006. A famous 2006 episode gave it wider currency: Tad Furtado, a staffer for US Congressman Charles Bass, posed as a concerned Democratic supporter on liberal New Hampshire blogs. The term soon jumped offline, as in Markos Moulitsas's op-ed 'Dems: Ignore Concern Trolls' in The Hill and James Wolcott's 2006 Vanity Fair usage. No single coiner is documented.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- concern troll
- concern trollery
- concerned trolling
Usage Examples
- The comments section filled with concern trolling about how the fundraiser 'might send the wrong message'.
- I don't mind criticism from supporters, but that email reads like pure concern trolling.
- Accusing every cautious ally of concern trolling can shut down legitimate internal debate.