concern troll troll

A person who pretends to support an ideology, often taking it too far, in order to discredit the ideology. They accuse someone of being a concern troll for simply bringing concerns or not being fully committed to the ideology. Their goal is to make the ideology look dogmatic and extreme to outsiders, as well as encourage paranoia, tensions, and infighting among supporters about who is really a supporter.

"In our last 'Flat Earth' meeting, David brought up a concern about how we would explain the moon's movement if the Earth was flat. Emily said that she was concerned that David was a concern troll because obviously the moon doesn't exist. I stated that I have concerns that Emily might be a concern troll troll and was trying to discredit our movement, but then she also accused me of being a concern troll. The rest of the meeting consisted of everyone arguing about who was really a flat Earth believer. Stacy tried pointing out that she was concerned we were getting nothing done and we should focus on our agenda, but Tom called her a concern troll for trying to distract everyone from their concerns that there might be concern trolls and concern troll trolls among us."

by concerntt April 17, 2022

concern troll

In an argument (usually a political debate), a concern troll is someone who is on one side of the discussion, but pretends to be a supporter of the other side with "concerns". The idea behind this is that your opponents will take your arguments more seriously if they think you're an ally. Concern trolls who use fake identities are sometimes known as sockpuppets.

In the 2006 election, an aide to Congressman Charlie Bass (R-NH) was caught concern trolling the opposition on local blogs. While pretending to support Bass's opponent, Paul Hodes, the aide argued that Hodes couldn't win because Bass was an unbeatable candidate. Hodes won the election.

by Weishaupt November 10, 2007

Concern Troll

A person who, under the guise of "concern" makes negative, condescending, or rude statements to another. Often used as a more socially acceptable version of fat/skinny shaming but has a wide range of possible usages.

Concern trolls may "I am so concerned that she got a piercing because it might get infected". "I am so concerned that she's didn't do her hair today maybe she's depressed" or "Wow you're so overweight. I'm just worried about your health"

by WeebEnable630 April 11, 2022

concern troll

A person who posts on a blog thread, in the guise of "concern," to disrupt dialogue or undermine morale by pointing out that posters and/or the site may be getting themselves in trouble, usually with an authority or power. They point out problems that don't really exist. The intent is to derail, stifle, control, the dialogue. It is viewed as insincere and condescending.

A concern troll on a progressive blog might write, "I don't think it's wise to say things like that because you might get in trouble with the government." Or, "This controversy is making your side look disorganized."

by thevineyard May 9, 2007

concern troll

A person who lurks, then posts, on a site or blog, expressing concern for policies, comments, attitudes of others on the site. It is viewed as insincere, manipulative, condescending.

A concern troll commented, "You should be careful about what you write because you might get in trouble with the government." Another concern troll wrote, "This debate makes our side look disorganized."

by vineyard May 21, 2007

concern troll

In a situation where there exists mutually exclusive positions A and B, a concern troll is someone who supports A but professes to support B around genuine supporters of B. However, they express their "concerns" about aspects of position B in order to sow doubt and uncertainty amongst genuine supporters of B.

Whilst this does genuinely happen, the term is used by some paranoid people to effectively mean "anyone who does not agree entirely with the standard dogma of position B, thus must actually covertly support position A", when said person does actually support B, just only 99%.

Thus: disagreeing *at all* with the standard dogma of B will get you branded by such people as The Enemy, and you will get generally treated with hostility and suspicion and, at worst, forcibly ejected from the B-supporter group. Result: everyone stops thinking about the issues, and discussion descends into not arriving at logical and interesting places but who can most furiously support B.

1: "All Democrats should be hanged, drawn and quartered! Grrgrrrgrrrgr!"
2: "Uh.. that's a bit excessive. I mean, I don't agree with the Democrats, but maybe we shouldn't actually, like, KILL them.."
1: "CONCERN TROLL! CLEARLY YOU ARE 100% DEMOCRAT! BEGONE, SINNER!"
(everyone flings rotten fruit at 2 until he leaves)

by bald_rick December 26, 2011

Concern troll

Someone who raises a false question as a means of injecting a totally unsupported allegation into the public discourse. When challenged on the barely-veiled insinuation, they claim that they were "only asking a question."

A concern troll would say, "I'm not saying Congressman Smith engages in oral sex with farmyard animals, but isn't it awfully coincidental that he has a picture of a sheep in his office and always carries a handkerchief? The public has a right to know!"

by WhatTheHolyHeck October 10, 2012