Activism on Twitter through a private-but-public account

I use Twitter a lot. I joined in 2011 when everyone was optimistic about the opportunities that technology could bring us - especially those of us negatively impacted by the digital divide. In 2012 I got a job by writing tweets. After all these years I’d say I’m a power user.

My situation is the opposite of what most people think we’re supposed to do on social media. We’re told to gain followers, create influence, be seen and liked. My Twitter account is private and I currently have 6 followers. I've endured extreme harassment and psychological abuse on Twitter and other online spaces. I've been the target of physical violence enabled through social media. Tech companies have stolen my work from my online accounts, and my personal data — online and offline — and monetized it. These are only a few of the personal harms I've endured. More regulations need to be put in place so this never happens again.

For reasons unknown to me, I’m under surveillance, so my Tweets have impact beyond what is verifiable through follows, likes and retweets. My private-but-public status has allowed me to write in a manner that is more incisive and direct, in regards to the harms created by nudging systems, trolls, anonymous social media users, corporations, the US government, other governments, international organizations and international courts when there's a lack of accountability.

I started writing on Twitter, on my blog and on other apps, about how individual people were affected. Then through interacting with members of Congress, I was able to raise the issues further. People at the highest levels of power in the US are aware of my situation, as is the G7 and also the International Court of Justice.

At the moment that I’m writing this, no conclusive action has taken place, but I am optimistic that something will happen if we hit a tipping point.

When I step back and look at how much progress we’ve made toward solving crimes that would otherwise have gone unsolved, and the fact that this happened on Twitter through a private account… I realize all of this is pretty amazing.

Since Twitter doesn't have a Trust and Safety team, the harms that I write about are as a result of its absence. Sometimes I think of myself as the head of the Trust and Safety team that would exist if it had one. I write posts on Twitter about what I'd do if I had that job. I’ve been writing blog posts on my website on this and other related topics since 2019.

Since Twitter is struggling financially, and since the quality of the community of people is ever-shifting, other times I think of myself as the CEO and try to anticipate the problems that I'd need to solve from that position. The CEO has to think about sources of funding; they have to think about protecting people’s fundamental rights on a global platform; they have to think about how to cultivate a healthy community; they have to create product features that people love; they have to think about safety; they have to think about influencers: how they get paid, how their personal safety can be put to risk and how to protect them from that risk.

Alternating between these roles, and others, is difficult since they are somewhat at odds with each other. It's an interesting puzzle that, if I was the CEO of Twitter, I'd solve in a way that benefits users first.

Sometimes I think the solution is not to stay on Twitter but to go to a new platform and create something new. One of the advantages is it would create an opportunity to rethink the business model and pursue funding in a new way. But there are downsides: I don’t want to lose the list of 1400 interesting, responsive and impactful people I follow. I wouldn’t have gotten any answers if it weren’t the for people on Twitter who found a way to get them and to give them to me. Another thing I don’t want to lose are the posts I wrote during this educational and formative time. They’re a record of how I learned what I learned, who helped, and what we did about it. They’re priceless for me, and for anyone else whose life was positively impacted by these efforts.

One day, I’ll find a way to package them up in such a manner that retains the archive without sharing too much private information. After all, what was said through my private account was sayable because it was private. And this goes to fundamental aspects of free speech and privacy rights — two of the most important human rights affecting social media users today.

For now, I’m searching for that moment when we hit the tipping point and make change happen. I’m optimistic that it will occur. Anything is possible.