I think the blame here lies almost entirely with the "journalists", as they are supposedly the experts with the discenment to know when a an online comment is n

I think the blame here lies almost entirely with the "journalists", as they are supposedly the experts with the discenment to know when a an online comment is news worthy (almost never) and when it is not (almost always). The point of having professions is the expectations that the professionals will be, well, professional.