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There has never been a better time for online trolls, and that’s saying something, given the internet’s history.
Thanks to the decimation of what little safeguards we had on social media platforms like X and Facebook, coupled with living in an era where the President of the United States spends his days posting memes and sh*tposting, it often feels like open season on the rest of us.
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That’s especially true if you’re someone who doesn’t fit with what some consider the socially acceptable way of looking, being, or living your life.
A recent Rolling Stone story by Lyz Lenz details one particularly wild example of what happens when online trolls attack someone who did nothing to deserve their attention, and people decide to fight back.
In January 2025, Des Moines Register reporter Tommy Birch posted a photo of then-Iowa State women’s basketball star Audi Crooks (she has since transferred to Oklahoma State) talking with six-year-old fan Kamdyn Rebollozo, who is wearing a custom-made shirt that reads “Smike Like Audi.” A heart-warming image, it immediately turned into troll fodder with seemingly anonymous X accounts piling on over their weight.
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The severity and caustic comments led Kamdyn’s parents (Emily and Priscilla) to start looking into the trolls, zeroing in on one named “Howard Steves, GPA.” They were able to piece together that this account was not a bot or someone in Russia, but a person who also lived in Iowa. Specifically, he seemed to be a student at the University of Iowa.
They reached out to a local T-shirt company called Raygun. Owner Mike Draper issued a public challenge, saying that if “Howard Stevens” came into a Raygun store and outed himself, Draper would give him a $1,000 check. Stevens briefly seemed to consider taking him up on the offer, but ultimately relented.
In April 2025, a man entered the company’s Des Moines store saying he was here to collect the $1,000. The man had the same face as the guy in Stevens’ profile picture, though he was not a student at Iowa. He was Boston Globe features writer Billy Baker. Turns out, the Howard Stevens profile had been using his photo, and he’d come to town to find out why.
Baker eventually tracked down Stevens, who is indeed a student at Iowa, ultimately leading to apologies and a few more twists and turns.
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You should go read the story for the full rundown, which also includes an interlude about Pat McAfee’s elevation of a rumor about Mary Kate Cornett, in which Stevens plays a small role.
You can also read Emily Rebollozo’s incredibly detailed blog post detailing the entire saga from her perspective here.
The post The wild tale of Audi Crooks’ biggest fan, online trolls, and a Boston Globe writer’s face appeared first on Awful Announcing.
