Do you remember when we used to say ‘don’t feed the trolls’? Can we go back to that please?

Because when you react the way you do, you are giving them exactly what they want.

They often don’t even believe what they are saying. These people are just doing it for attention. So when you react, they love it. And they do it again.

These people are only relevant when you give the oxygen of the publicity they crave. When you react, it raises their profile even more.

If you were honest with yourself, you might conclude that you secretly enjoyed the conflict too.

The vicious cycle begins.

When you engage with someone who is lying, you contribute to the perpetuation of that lie.

Don’t feed the trolls. Because if you do feed them, they may end up in the White House, or hosting a a radio show on LBC, or a breakfast show on ITV.

ITV will be loving it too, by the way.

Think about it. The last time anyone knew who presented breakfast on ITV was when it was Adrian Chiles, presenting from a dark purple studio, looking as if he had landed on earth at 5:58am and had been told at gunpoint that if he didn’t present this programme he’d never be allowed to see his bed again.

Now everyone knows who presents breakfast on ITV. This is the best publicity that programme has had in years. And it raises the profile of all involved. Even though they are utterly odious.

So just stop it. Ignore it. Move on. Don’t feed the troll. Stop contributing to the vicious cycle.