The State of the Collective Form of Online Trolling Research: A Literature Analysis

Internet users collectively engaging in online trolling has become an increasingly pervasive phenomenon. To understand the current state of the art on this collective form of online trolling, this study synthesizes 26 related articles through a systematic literature review. Our analysis reveals that research on the collective form of online trolling is highly interdisciplinary, with most studies being exploratory in nature and focusing on the behavioral dynamics of collective trolling episodes. These episodes cover a broad range of topics, including (1) politics and ideology, (2) social issues, (3) ethnicity, gender, or religion, and (4) online subcultures. Qualitative studies such as case studies, digital ethnography, and content analysis dominate existing literature, with non-human subjects, particularly textual content (e.g., posts, comments, and hashtags), frequently serving as units of analysis. This literature review also indicates that few studies apply theoretical foundations in understanding this collective online behavior. We conclude that current studies focusing exclusively on the collective form of online trolling are still in their infancy. Future research directions and limitations are also discussed.