TR(ol)L: New Kids on the Block, Total Request Live and the Chain Letter That Changed the Internet (2024)

Putting the TRL in trolling

In 1999, a chain letter went viral on the internet, MTV’s Total Request Live was put up to a decision. Would they play New Kids on the Block’s awesomely bad and equally dated “Hangin’ Tough” music video on the countdown? Or refuse to give into the trolls and risks their impression of a democratic vote.