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How To Handle A YouTube Troll?

by Justin Hilbert
31 replies
Hello everyone,

We have a very specific youtube troll who spends a LOT of time and effort into trying to tarnish our brand. This person creates dozens of different email accounts to dislike and create negative comments. We know exactly who it is; just a jealous competitor -we know because we will ban him from LIVE chats and a new user with pick up right where he left off a minute or so later.

Is there any method of tracking and banning and IP Addresses instead of just a banning user accounts or any other methods that may be effective in mitigating this issue ... or do we have to just live with a troll under the bridge?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
#handle #troll #youtube
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  • Profile picture of the author Simon Baker
    I think any negative comment when false will always work to your advantage because you are given an opportunity to prove them wrong. It might be tiring but you'll at least putting a positive spin to things. Facts are always on your side. However if he does raise some valid points... well...
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    I follow a channel on Youtube and the guy has some hardcore trolls messing with him all the time, like every video he puts out. They create dozens of bogus Youtube channels mocking him with his own content. I kinda feel sorry for the guy, he has a good niche channel and still gets trolled.

    Anyways, he ignores the trolls, well, mostly. It works, he has a lot of fans that rip on the trolls.

    So, put out decent content and ignore the trolls. At least try it for a few months and see how it works out.
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
      Thanks for the advice.

      Yeah. We have one presenter specifically that this guy targets ... and it is very similar to what you just described. It has started to bleed over into our other products a little bit. But, mostly it is the one show. Basically, we put out a better product and presentation and instead of improving his business he spends all his time trying to make us look bad and steal people from our community.

      The community itself polices the trolls pretty well and people are getting pretty keyed into the fact that it's the same 1 or 2 guys creating bogus accounts.

      It's like if you have a fun party going on ... then there is just this one guy who is a total jerk ... the vibe of the party gets ruined.
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  • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
    Hey, thanks for the reply.

    No, he basically makes himself look like a tool. But yes it is tiring. I actually think that it helps our organic reach a little bit on the static videos ... as you eluded to a comment is a comment. I am ok with that. But we have a very active community and he harasses in the LIVE chat windows, making a previously fun conversation much less fun to be in. This is my main concern.
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    • Profile picture of the author Simon Baker
      Thats just terrible. I'd go with Yukon's tip, ignore. He'll eventually get get tired of keeping at it up or will eventually find something else to do that will actually help his business. Right now he might just be out of ideas.
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  • Profile picture of the author jbbryant
    A lot of courage to not get mad. And yes, don't feed the trolls.
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  • Profile picture of the author unifiedac
    I would report the activity and then block the user:

    https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/56113?hl=en
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
      Thanks. We do. But the guy spends time creating (or probably justs bulk purchases bunk email user accounts
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  • Profile picture of the author clairelynn23
    I do think that your audience might know that this individual is a troll, and they may be ignoring him/her already. I think trying to remain positive instead of negative will help the situation much more.
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Hi Justin,

    Tough to do in the beginning but ignore them 100%. Like crabgrass or a hacking cough, trolls are annoying and persistent and never seem to go away until you give your attention to something else and totally starve these folks of attention. Then they don't get what they want - attention - and vanish. Works like magic but ya gotta be disciplined.

    Let go the fear this guy could hurt your brand; your real viewers and customers see through the rantings of an unhappy person.

    I recall even during my green newb days of networking marketing attracting a handful of trolls who followed me around like pups. I fought, they persisted. I responded nicely, they persisted. I ignored all they did and they vanished. 1 guy in particular who had an ax to grind, the guy disappeared into the ethers because he only stuck around for the attention. When nobody responded or I didn't spam his comments, he gave up and moved on to the next guy whom he envied.

    All the best with your Ignoring Campaign

    Ryan
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
      Thanks a lot for the response. We do try to not engage, but sometimes my presenters (when in a live setting) can't help themselves. After reading everyone's feedback, I have instructed them to abstain from any acknowledgment whatsoever.
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  • Profile picture of the author benelijah
    Any lawyers on here? Just curious if there are any harassment laws about such stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
      That is something we are looking into (digital restraining order so to speak).
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  • Profile picture of the author sharmajison
    maybe you can just try to discuss his problems with yuh...
    theeasyway
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
      Yes. That is a fantastic idea and we tried it. I think that would work for a good 80%-90% of situations.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    People like that are looking for attention - they want to get a response. If there's no response...there's no payoff for them.
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  • Profile picture of the author gastly
    There's no way to ban him/ his ip from commenting on your videos since he keeps making new accounts. Your best bet is just to block him when he makes a new account. Just ignore them it's all you can do really.
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  • Profile picture of the author jjarrett
    I feel very strongly about this issue because I've had it done to me so many times in the veterans' community: cowards hiding behind their profiles who think they have a right to make someone else's life a living hell because they're miserable. You have two options: block them and delete all their comments. YouTube allows you to do that. Play their game and dig up their deepest, darkest secrets. I have learned that those who target others on social media do it because of the way they feel about themselves, are jealous of your success, want attention, and cannot stand to see others who are successful when they are not. You deserve better, and you don't have to take it. Don't. I'm sorry you're having trouble.
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
      Thanks. Yes it is tough. Especially since our situation is mostly in the LIVE arena.
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    • Profile picture of the author zenmack
      I did that also. Exposed their weakness. I attracted racial trolls also. I had one idiot paying 5 bucks every time I uploaded a video to fiverr to thumb down my videos instead of that fiverr thumbing up program.
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      • Profile picture of the author jjarrett
        Ultimately the best thing to do is delete the negative comments and take away their voice. If they're committing libel or defamation of character, which is a crime, then report them to YouTube. Don't feed the troll. They'll get bored and go away eventually. They were putting up pages on Facebook calling me a traitor and claiming to be me and then saying I was selling Get Rich Schemes. Facebook has a back door, and I used that to get the pages taken down. I did screenshots of every place they were in violation of the terms of service. Not only did Facebook delete the pages, they deactivated the accounts attached to them. The only way to get them reactivated was for them to prove their identities. Libel and defamation of character are serious. Take it seriously. Otherwise, you could end up like I did and be held up to even more ridicule, hate, threats, and harassment. Just don't feed the trolls. People like that are really pathetic. I have a lot better things to do with my time. Just remember, it's a reflection of who they are, not who you are.
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  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    If you can have (hire) a presenter for your youtube channel, then you should be able to get (hire) a VA to handle this (and maybe the next trolls). So you can focus on what matter more for your business.
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  • Profile picture of the author surya kumar
    [DELETED]
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  • Profile picture of the author Laksh
    Got to know about this video from a FB group. See if this helps to control the troll on your videos ....
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyqN7bX3K0k
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary Cole
    I'm sorry to hear that you're having this kind of trouble. To ignore is the best that you can do, don't feed the troll as they say.
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  • Profile picture of the author depotgang
    Make sure all comments are moderated before posting. I simple mark any comment I dont like as spam. Enough Spamm complaints and they lose their account. In the mean time their crap is not seen
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  • Profile picture of the author ChicagoRELawyer
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
      I agree. We are taking the ignore approach and all contributors have been instructed not to react. And at this point, months in, it is starting to work in our favor. We get the extra comments and dislikes ... which is just an interaction as far as youtube is concerned, and most of our regular audience is doing a great job of policing in the LIVE chats ... our only concern now is the new viewer 1st impressions. But overall it's almost reinforcing our brand/community strength Hate on Hater!
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  • Profile picture of the author wolexontop
    this happen mostly for many youtubers..so you dont want to get deeper into it..just leave it and concentrate on your videos..
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  • Profile picture of the author caitlynswanston
    Find a way to be funny without (obviously) cutting the other person down.
    When you do this, you will still be cutting the other person down, but in a more clever, interesting way, and your followers will respect you for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author cearion
    Banned
    To create different emails just to tarnish your brand, he must have all the time on the world to do that. You can access your Creator Studio to deal with this person. You can report him or block him. If he persists and creates another email, just do the process again. Or you can just go on and continue posting quality content. Let your channel speak for itself. Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author Athena December
    Better report and block
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