Ken M

Kenneth McCarthy (born c. 1980),[1] popularly known as Ken M, is an Internet troll known for his comments on news websites such as Yahoo! and The Huffington Post. Unlike the more common associations for the term troll on the internet, Ken's comments are usually benign, with his comments displaying a complete lack of understanding of the featured topic, while other commenters take him seriously.[2]

Ken M
Born
Kenneth McCarthy

c. 1980
Florida, US
OccupationCopywriter
Known forInternet trolling

Background

Ken M worked as a copywriter for Comedy Central and a columnist for CollegeHumor[1] and started posting to comments sections as Ken M in 2011 on various websites, mostly Yahoo! and The Huffington Post.[3] He has said that his aim was to "turn a toxic space into a source of belly laughter."[1] His absurd comments over the years made him widely considered one of the most prolific Internet trolls ever,[1][4] gaining thousands of fans on Facebook, Twitter, his subreddit, and Tumblr where he posts screenshots of all his comments as HorseySurprise.[4][5] Ken M was named one of the most influential people on the Internet by Time in 2016[4] and 'The Rembrandt of Yahoo Comment Trolling' by Uproxx.[5]

Internet character

The character Kenneth created (Ken M) has been described as "just an ill-informed old dude".[6] Unlike most internet trolls, he is completely harmless with the thought of others' enjoyment in mind, rather than his own. Kenneth has dubbed this form of trolling "do no harm" trolling.[6] Kenneth has also expressed his dislike for the term "troll" due to all the negative connotations it carries.[6][7]

References
  1. Natasha Umer (October 3, 2015). "Tracking Down Ken M, One of the Internet's Most Accidentally Prolific Trolls". Upvoted.
  2. Edwards, Phil (May 6, 2016). "The world's greatest internet troll explains his craft". Vox. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  3. Kaila Hale-Stern (October 28, 2015). "Ken M Is The Most Epic Troll on the Internet". Gizmodo.
  4. Samantha Grossman (March 16, 2016). "The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet". Time.
  5. Caleb Reading (February 10, 2012). "Meet Ken M, The Rembrandt of Yahoo Comment Trolling". Uproxx.
  6. Chloe Bryan (October 22, 2018). "Ken M and the lost art of 'do no harm' trolling". Mashables.
  7. Kari Paul (April 1, 2016). "Legendary Internet Troll Ken M on What Comment Sections Tell Us About Ourselves". Motherboard.


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