Meaning & use
troll farm
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabledisapproving
An organized group of people paid to post fake or misleading comments online, often to push political views or stir up conflict.
Grammar: Countable: a troll farm, two troll farms.
Patterns
- a troll farm in somewhere
- a troll farm run by someone
Investigators said a troll farm had posted thousands of fake comments.
The troll farm created accounts that pretended to be ordinary voters.
Experts warn that a troll farm can make a small view look popular.
Word forms
| plural | troll farms |
|---|
Common combinations
- run a troll farm
- The agency was accused of running a troll farm.
- expose a troll farm
- Journalists exposed a troll farm behind the posts.
- state-backed troll farm
- A state-backed troll farm targeted the election.
- shut down a troll farm
- The platform shut down a troll farm last week.
- troll farm accounts
- Troll farm accounts amplified the false story.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bot network
- A bot network uses automated software, while a troll farm uses real paid people.
- disinformation campaign
- This describes the whole effort, whereas a troll farm names the group doing the posting.
- click farm
- A click farm fakes likes and views, rather than writing misleading posts.
- sockpuppet network
- A sockpuppet network is made of fake identities, which a troll farm often uses but can be more than.
Word family
Commonly confused: troll farm or bot farm?
troll farm vs bot farm
A bot farm runs automated accounts, while a troll farm relies on human workers.
Practice
Investigators found that a ___ had paid hundreds of workers to flood the site with fake opinions.
Choose one answer.
A troll farm is a group paid to post fake online comments. The other farms produce fish, energy and milk.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “troll farm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.