Ken M
{{short description|American Internet troll}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ken M
| birth_name = Kenneth McCarthy
| birth_date = {{circa|1980}}
| birth_place = Florida, U.S.
| occupation = Copywriter
| known_for = Internet trolling
}}
Kenneth McCarthy (born {{circa|1980}}),{{cite web |url=http://redditblog.com/2015/10/03/ken-m-interview-internet-troll |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508220213/https://redditblog.com/2015/10/03/ken-m-interview-internet-troll/ |archivedate=May 8, 2021|title= Tracking Down Ken M, One of the Internet's Most Accidentally Prolific Trolls|website= Upvoted|author= Natasha Umer|date= October 3, 2015}} 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 comical lack of understanding of the featured topic, while other commenters take him seriously.{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/5/6/11597960/ken-m-internet-troll|title=The world's greatest internet troll explains his craft|last=Edwards|first=Phil|date=2016-05-06|work=Vox|access-date=2018-05-17}}
Background
Ken M worked as a copywriter for Comedy Central and a columnist for CollegeHumor, and started posting to comments sections as Ken M in 2011 on various websites, mostly Yahoo! and The Huffington Post.{{cite web|url= https://gizmodo.com/ken-m-is-the-most-epic-troll-on-the-internet-1739028329|title= Ken M Is The Most Epic Troll on the Internet|website= Gizmodo|author= Kaila Hale-Stern|date= October 28, 2015}} He has said that his aim was to "turn a toxic space into a source of belly laughter." His absurd comments over the years made him widely considered one of the most prolific Internet trolls ever,{{cite magazine|url= https://time.com/4258291/30-most-influential-people-on-the-internet-2016/|title= The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet|magazine= Time|author= Samantha Grossman|date= March 16, 2016}} gaining thousands of fans on Facebook, Twitter, his subreddit, and Tumblr where he posts screenshots of all his comments as HorseySurprise-Blog.{{cite web|url= http://uproxx.com/webculture/ken-m-yahoo-comment-trolling|title= Meet Ken M, The Rembrandt of Yahoo Comment Trolling|website= Uproxx|author= Caleb Reading|date= February 10, 2012}} Ken M was named one of the most influential people on the Internet by Time in 2016 and 'The Rembrandt of Yahoo Comment Trolling' by Uproxx.
Internet character
The character McCarthy created (Ken M) has been described as "just an ill-informed old dude".{{cite web|url=https://mashable.com/article/ken-m-do-no-harm-trolling/#fxJPH76K3PqA|title=Ken M and the lost art of 'do no harm' trolling|website=Mashables|author=Chloe Bryan|date=October 22, 2018}} McCarthy is an advocate of "do no harm" trolling. He has expressed his dislike for the term "troll" due to the negative connotations it carries.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/legendary-internet-troll-ken-m-on-what-comment-sections-tell-us-about-ourselves/|title=Legendary Internet Troll Ken M on What Comment Sections Tell Us About Ourselves|website=Motherboard|author=Kari Paul|date=April 1, 2016}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:American Internet celebrities
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
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