Has internet anonymity unleashed a ‘dark demon’ lurking in all of us? A film that reveals the hard truths surrounding anonymity, dark instincts and freedom on the internet.

Smartphones have put the internet into our pockets and billions of people around the world are now connected online. Our lives have improved greatly, but this “freedom” has also made us vulnerable to a new kind of predator – the internet troll. Hiding behind a veil of anonymity, trolls indulge their darkest impulses, attacking whoever they want with impunity. Once you become the target of a Troll, what starts as a minor annoyance can escalate into a living nightmare. But who are Trolls? And will the fight to stop them destroy our personal freedoms? In Rise of the Trolls we meet:

• One of the internet’s most notorious trolls, who spends hours every week insulting and infuriating as many people as he can – just for the laughs

• Britain’s most notorious Troll. A young woman who was jailed in England for sending six threatening tweets.

• The very first recorded troll in internet history, who led a digital ‘invasion’ of a cat lover’s chat board.

• A feminist blogger whose trolls are ramping up their tactics to harass her family.

• A Canadian psychologist who published the first ever study of internet trolls, uncovering the four dark personality traits that drive trolls in their cruelty.

• An accused Twitter troll whose precedent-setting court case will affect freedom of speech online worldwide.

• A digital forensics expert who tracks down the most technically adept trolls.

Rise of the Trolls from Sideways Film on Vimeo.