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What Is NPC, the Pro-Trump Internet’s New Favorite Insult? | The New York Times
By Kevin Roose
“Non Playable Character” or NPC, is video game terminology for a computer controlled character who follows a pre-determined and scripted path. Various pro-Trump groups have taken to labeling various liberal activists, “NPCs”.
Twitter has barred hundreds of right-wing accounts for posing as soulless, “nonplayable” liberal activists.
Twitter accounts using fictional personas and a common avatar to promote the idea that liberals can’t think on their own.
Last week, a trolling campaign organized by right-wing internet users spilled over onto Twitter. The campaign, which was born in the fever swamps of 4chan and Reddit message boards, involved creating hundreds of fictional personas with gray cartoon avatars, known as NPCs. These accounts posed as liberal activists and were used to spread — among other things — false information about November’s midterm elections.
Over the weekend, Twitter responded by suspending about 1,500 accounts associated with the NPC trolling campaign. The accounts violated Twitter’s rules against “intentionally misleading election-related content,” according to a person familiar with the company’s enforcement process . The person, who would speak only anonymously, was not authorized to discuss the decision.
If you’re confused, you’re not alone. Here, we try to unpack the NPC meme, what it means and why it’s causing trouble on Twitter.
