Anatomy of a Trolling

Early this week, long-time MSNBC contributor and occasional substitute host Sam Seder was fired by the network after a smear campaign launched by far-right trolls. The trolls had dug up an eight-year-old satirical tweet of Seder's which they claimed showed him joking about, and even supporting, child rape...despite the fact that the tweet was very clearly criticizing those who were defending convicted rapist Roman Polanski. Bob talks to Seder about his firing and why he thinks the network felt the need to respond to what was clearly bad faith antagonism.

MSNBC has since reinstated Seder, but the man who initially got him fired--"men's-rights" activist and conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich--is no less elated. In his mind, by supporting Seder, the mainstream media have definitively shown themselves to be hypocrites (and supporters of pedophilia). Bob speaks with Cernovich in an attempt to glean some understanding of the mind and methods of a bully, but the conversation is cut short when Bob brings up one of Cernovich's many offensive statements from his own past. 

Song: 

The Third Man Theme by Anton Karas