#real names policy

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How Facebook's Real Names policy helps Cambodia's thin-skinned dictator terrorize dissenters

A common refrain from Facebook apologists and anti-anonymity activists is that its “Real Names Policy” promoted “civility” by making users “accountable” for their words. In this conception, snuffing out anonymous speech is key to protecting “the vulnerable” from trolls and other bad actors.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/24/nationalize-moderna/#hun-sen

But while some trolls hide behind anonymity, others are only too happy to sign their vitriol. Donald Trump didn’t need an anonymous account. Tucker Carlson is right there in the chyron. Nick Fuentes isn’t hiding behind a pseudonym — he’s proud to be associated with Holocaust denial.

Despite the moral panic about “cancel culture,” the powerful can say outrageous and disgusting things without any meaningful consequence. But when it comes to speaking truth to power, anonymity protects the vulnerable from retaliation.

Nowhere will you find a better case-study of this phenomenon than in Cambodia, a basket-case, one-party dictatorship that has been ruled over by the corrupt, authoritarian dictator Hun Sen, a former general, since 1985.

Hun Sen’s corruption and authoritarianism chafed at the Cambodian people, but his repressive statecraft allowed him to keep a tight grip on the reins of power. But all that nearly came to a halt in 2013, when an opposition movement, organized on Facebook, came within a whisker of defeating him during what should have been a sham election.

Other dictators would have used that moment to block Facebook, but not Hun Sen. After squeaking out a narrow victory, he decided to take control of Facebook in Cambodia and co-opt it as a tool of oppression. To do this, Hun Sen would weaponize the Real Names policy.

Because he was dictator, Hun Sen already knew the real names of every person in Cambodia, which meant that he could tell when a Cambodian poster used a pseudonym. Armed with this knowledge, Hun Sen forced Facebook to order Cambodians to post under their real names (which made them liable to arrest and torture) or fall silent.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/facebook-cambodia-democracy#.km2QBoKME

Hun Sen then spent public funds to hire a bleating army of astroturf supporters from Filipino clickfarms who would “like” his posts and shout down Cambodians — especially exiled Cambodians speaking from abroad — who dared to criticize him:

https://qz.com/1203637/facebook-likes-are-a-powerful-tool-for-authoritarian-rulers-lawsuit-says

All of this created cover for the “Khmer Riche”: politically connected insiders and Hun Sen’s relatives, who looted the country, hired Pricewaterhousecooper to help them offshore their money through Cypriot banks, and procured glden passports from Cyprus to let them trip through the EU on luxury spending-sprees:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/cambodia-hunsen-wealth/

Earlier this month, Hun Sen took an “official visit” to the Maldives, which was commemorated by an official Facebook post that included a gallery of Hun Sen relaxing in a seaside luxury resort:

https://www.facebook.com/hunsencambodia/posts/pfbid02KYoqDAJbeMGyRP9xMYpntYEdKsczGQijRGYJiDDiPSV4u5DDxmwXuCjpRrse8AEtl

As Mech Dara1 wrote for Vod, the post racked up thousands of “fawning comments,” along with a single, brave remark from “Ver To” (a pseudonymous account): “Yes, our beaches are the most beautiful, but our leaders are the dirtiest in the world, aren’t they?”

https://vodenglish.news/hun-sen-orders-police-to-find-facebook-beach-insulter/

Within hours, Hun Sen had vowed to use Facebook to hunt down and punish the person behind “Ver To,” writing “This is a wicked man’s words. Please, police, find it immediately. Where is it?”

In an expanded version of Daral’s article on Global Voices, we see Hun Sen’s Interior Ministry swing into action to punish this mild act of dissent, with ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak saying:

> This is not freedom of expression — this is insulting the leader of the country. … Even for me, we cannot accept this.

> People who live abroad can say anything, but in Cambodia they cannot.

> Even though the prison is crowded, there is enough space to hold these people.

Hun Sen knows that Facebook will help him hunt down this dissenter and jail them in one of his “crowded prisoners,” because Facebook’s Real Names policy dictates that this will happen.

The Real Names policy might as well be called “The Zuckerberg Doctrine.” It originates with Mark Zuckerberg’s oft-stated belief that people who present a different facet of their personality to different people are “two-faced.” This is an abysmal, idiotic belief, one that requires that we related to our bosses the same way we relate to our lovers, and also to our grandparents. But on the plus side, outlawing anonymity and pseudonymity makes it a lot easier to assemble nonconsensual surveillance dossiers on our activities, social graph and beliefs, and then sell access to those dossiers to advertisers:

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/01/22/social-scientists-have-warned-zuck-all-along-that-the-facebook-theory-of-interaction-would-make-people-angry-and-miserable/

Lots of companies have tried for their own Real Names policy. Famously, it was a feature of Google Plus, Alphabet’s failed Facebook competitor. More recently, Twitter’s new owner has made moves to link Twitter accounts to identities by hiding posts that aren’t from “Twitter Blue” accounts, and then insisting that these accounts must be verified with a phone number.

The powerful can abuse the powerless and get away with it, in large part because the powerless can’t speak back without risking retaliation. Sexual abuse was a feature of many industries and large companies for decades, but it too anonymity to create the #MeToo movement. There, anonymity is a force for accountability — not a way to avoid it.

Image: Hun Sen/Facebook (modified) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=765259764955813&set=pcb.765259798289143&type=3&theater

Fair use: https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property

[Image ID: Cambodian dictator Hun Sen's Facebook photo of himself swimming in the blue Maldives sea. Superimposed over him in white sans-serif lettering on red rectangular backgrounds is a quote from a Cambodian Facebook user: 'Yes, our beaches are the most beautiful, but our leaders are the dirtiest in the world, aren’t they?']

#pluralistic #streisand effect #cambodia #nym wars #real names policy #dictators #public-private partnerships #hun sen #facebook #meta

[lavellyne]

can ai bros like. talk with artist without calling them derogatory names and insulting them for five seconds

#i've been sitting on deviantart since yesterday due to their “newest ai flagging policy” (which btw is once again them trying to help ai not #real artists) and me and artists around me have been called names like dog. idiot. and more. the list goes on #can these assholes fucking leave us alone and idk evaporate #just perish #nobody wants you here #also proudly admitting to profit from stealing from us... disgusting trash #lave talks #ai bros #artists support

[urmomsstuntdouble]

not to be political but I've seen a lot of people saying that those who call Israel an apartheid don't know what they're talking about and um. As someone who has studied South African apartheid as well as grown up in a Jewish community. This claim has more merit than you think

#this post is brought to you by an article i read “debunking” the claim that israel is an apartheid and their “evidence” #included several policies that are the same if not more intense than apartheid era policies against black south africans #there are comparisons that hold weight here #although one thing i dont get and havent had explained to me yet. it looks to me as though both arabs and jews are indigenous to the region #in the way that both the hopewell culture and lenape people are indigenous to my state of pennsylvania #and thats a flimsy comparison i suppose since the hopewell culture (who lived here first chronologically) has died out #but anyway theres a case for indigeneity for both jews and arabs #its so silly to me that we dont consider both to be indigenous? yes many jews that came into israel in the early 20th century were #white europeans and carried the colonial baggage of that with them #but idk why its so hard to believe that an oppressed group can also be an oppressor?? like where's the intersectionality babes #anyway. the original point of this post was that maybe more of yall need to look into what south african apartheid was actually like #much like h*m*s leadership a lot of the ANC leadership was forced into exile and had to live and work outside of their country #(and this comparison is not perfect im aware. the tactics of the anc and h*m*s are totally different. however i think this comparison has #weight in that they are both one of the biggest names in opposition to the government. they do this in different ways at different levels o #intensity and violence. that is not to be ignored. but there are some comparisons that we can make and exile doesnt strike me as a bad one) #the bantustans in south africa were also constructed in a way that much like the west bank makes it highly difficult for an actual real #state to form #and the way that theyre set up invites puppet governments and corruption. this gives a major advantage to the apartheid state #id recommend reading Trevor Noah's Born A Crime if you havent #its a great introduction to what daily life in aparthid and after was like (its a memoir from about 1990-2005ish) #(apartheid was legally ended in 1994 but there are still remnants of it today and there were even more at the time of Born a Crime) #anyway these are my political thoughts of the day #edit: to my tangent about both groups being able to have some sort of claim to indigeneity. that in no way justifies any of the brutality #going on #i think its espeically cringe of israel to claim indigeneity and a sacred relationship with the land then create an environmental #catastrophe like they have in gaza. making the land unliveable is a bit of a perversion of the relationship you have with that land innit #in case it wasnt clear: ceasefire now and free palestine

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

PSA: if you ever, ever feel the urge to make assumptions about the abuse history of a real ass person in a discussion about depictions of fictional abuse--in particular, any variation of the words 'you don't know/should learn what real abuse is'--

a) don't

b) you're a piece of shit

c) never ever ever fucking do that

d) step on legos for the rest of your life.

#whosebaby talks #the salt files #anti-survivor cw #people absolutely cannot fucking resist doing this ever #and the ones who go mask-off usually have some lovely things to say about how you should--in fact--*experience '''real''' abuse* #it happens over and over like clockwork every fucking time #this is a big reason i appreciate LL fandom these days so much because not one single person has done that #including when i'm talking on my own blog about characters they personally like #shoutout to y'all this is the only media-specific fandom i've ever been in that was like this #anyway hi i'm an abuse survivor and the next time someone says this shit to me i am posting screenshots with no names edited out #that's not something i'm in the habit of doing even about shitty takes that upset me deeply; but i am putting my foot down on this one #if you can't fucking behave about this basic bit of decency on the posts i make on--again--my own damn blog #and you don't want to get ripped into then block me and/or filter tags; and mind your own fuckin business #blog policy

[skrillien]

ok i never post about DID on this blog but shout out to sys dads. more specifically mine because i love him so, so fucking much.

#didposting #this blog has a strict policy of not addressing my alters by their real names for privacy reasons #so i won't say his name #but my dad is the best and he deserves the world and he means so so much to me

[simptasia]

mum and i were almost not able to buy our house because a real estate lawyer heard us casually say i'm autistic and alarm bells went off in her head, because she believed that meant i wasn't mentally capable of understanding what i was signing up for

#and she demanded a doctors note. which not how any of this works #theres no policy that works like that AND gps are not the people who are like #''yup this person sure is a person alright'' #she just had heaps of prejudice and she let it affect her job #so a lady from one of those places that advocates for ND and disabled people tore her apart #she lost the 4000 dollars she was gonna be paid. and she got fired #and everybody else from that company that we spoke to was either appalled or pretending to be appalled about this #either way it worked out #i was so upset at the time because it was literally a week before it was time to move??? #and i was so afraid of us losing all our progress #plus. yeah i was hurt by the insinuations and the attempted disrespect to my agency #also even if i was cognitively disabled... i think cognitively disabled people deserve to own houses too #i was a fucking adult and i managed to get to every gosh forsaken appointment to sign forms #and then do it all again because what i was signing didn't match what was on my birth certificate! #...not my fault - turns out the nurse wrote my fucking name wrong #anyways. i was exhausted but i did it damn it. so that bitch trying to rob us of our home??? fuck her #6 years later and the house is now 100% mine instead of 50% #and im gonna assume that bitch never got a job in real estate again #she was totally cool with me until she heard the word ''autistic'' #and clearly pictured somebody... how do i put this... somebody with vacant eyes who smacks the side of their head when they're upset #not a bad thing by the way! hell i've been that flavour of autistic plenty of times. we contain multitudes!!!! #don't mean we don't deserve to own property. we live in a society!!! let us be a part of it #but yeah that was the most serious case of me being dehumanized due to what i am

[cator99]

The Owl House anon, I just sent my ask because you sound like someone who watched Steven Universe, back in the day. I thought you might be watching TOH then

another one of those "damn the hate mail game on this website is insane" moments

#no never seen it and i joined tumblr in 2021 #the closest it got to being relevant to me was during the years i ran my hs gsa #i loved my theythem friends but they had a tendency to act like every major plot development in SU was the next stonewall while i was #giving speeches at the legislature about anti-GSA bills and attending roundtable discussions with conservative MLAs #that's kind of why the whole Cartoon Activism and concerns about Cartoon Representation leaves a bad taste in my mouth #And yknow back then i was aware of this sort of goofy bullshit... and it felt contained to the internet or ppl who spent all day online and #certainly didnt volunteer w pride orgs or join the consulting boards for these things- everyone who did this stuff alongside myself #were very smart level-headed responsible people who paid attention to the real-world policy and could name all the local politicians #at one point there was a really drastic shift and. i'm tired of talking about this i'm gonna go eat lunch

[sunfoxfic]

today on Random Things That Are Aggravating Me: the tag “Alternate Universe - Skyrim Fusion” on AO3. There’s no “Alternate Universe - Skyrim Setting” or “Alternate Universe - Skyrim” tag, just “Skyrim Fusion.” Any variation of “Skyrim AU” seems to get synned with “Alternate Universe - Skyrim Fusion.” Why? I damn near guarantee that most of these fics are not fusion fics, and if I used the non-canon freeform tag “Alternate Universe - Skyrim Setting,” I’ll get synned to a tag that is innaccurate to my fic. I’m basically being forced to tag inaccurately, which is?? Annoying?

#rambles #or more accurately #grumbles #i love ao3 but sometimes the decisions that the tag wranglers make aggravate me #because once a decision is made Once by One Person a precedent is set #and sometimes that precedent lasts a LONG time #i mean. look over at the mcyt fandom. #they hated SO MUCH that they were lumped into Video Blogging RPF for so long #they hated that they didn't have individual fandom tags. they hated that they were classified as rpf. #they hated that their character tags were such big messes #this was a Big Issue for 2 years before AO3 fixed it #and they still haven't fixed all the issues #(I don't care how you feel about Dream as a person: he did not willingly put his name on the internet #and so by their own definition of doxxing AO3 is doxxing him by including his name in his character tag) #(and other content creators are being doxxed by their tags too because ao3 has a policy to include real names #if the person is having rpf written about them. but like. 1. half the fandom doesn't think it's rpf and 2. that's a dumb policy #if it doxxes people) #and it's just. ao3 is supposed to be by fans for fans. #like that's the whole schtick. #and i just sometimes think that they get so caught up in being fair and consistent that they don't step back to review policy #especially in cases where the precedent was set by a single tag wrangler #this has gotten far away from the point at hand but there's definitely a point to be made #about how it's really dumb that ''skyrim au'' is synned to ''alternate universe - skyrim fusion'' #when no part of ''skyrim au'' implies that the au is a fusion au #and i think precedent cannot trump accuracy when the precedent is set by a single volunteer who may or may not have known the complete story #and how if you claim to be by fans for fans you need to listen to fans even when they're not official volunteers #maybe even especially when they're not official volunteers #i just. akljsfkjsfad #this isn't anti-ao3 at all i just think sometimes they get so caught up in precedent #they don't see that they have the chance to set a new precedent

[h-i-raeth]

Maybe I should re-read The Simulation by XeroXiiva & maybe I'll calm down.

#think about this fic constantly #do you want to read a 300k+ word fic about K/S in a post-apocalyptic earth? trick question: you absolutely fucking do #it is also simultaneously a very fucking good activism intrigue plot about whether it's okay to retraumatize/traumatize star fleet members #in the name of routing out corruption (it takes place after Into Darkness & fucking delivers about it) #(disproportionately affecting non-human members & it fucking delivers on That too) #the simulation storyline is a masterpiece in it's own right & is only elevated by the pre-&-post-sim plotline/s #do you want to read the fallout of Kirk & Spock going into a simulation together #where they don't have any knowledge of the legal/beaurocratuc reasons why them being in a relationship would be complicated #and falling in love & getting married & surviving & dying together? #AND THEN THEY WAKE UP? And they remember all of this but worse—other people were fucking. watching along & grading them on it? #and they have to come to terms with a large chunk of thier life & people that they cared for not being real in the literal sense #and the public is Also realizing how deeply fucked up making people go through simulated stress tests informed by their own minds is? #& there's a public movement to get star fleet to turn the policy back off and kirk & spock get involved in seperate capacities #while they're still reeling from their sims? #oh & also there's a really fucking good tarsus IV element & the themes are fucking immaculate #of course you want to read this fic. I want to reread it. I can't believe it's been almost five years #since I last so much as saw a sign of life from the author

[feralprancinghomosexual]

Is my mental health the worst it's been since leaving uni and being diagnosed properly? Yes! Are me and jo trying to do everything to avoid becoming homeless and placed in emergency housing even though no other authority seems to care very much about that? Yes! But did I have the ingredients for a mountain of bruschetta and did it make me feel a little better? Also yes!

#Blog post #Things have descended in the housing front ngl #The council is refusing to allow us to apply for council housing together bc I don't provide 24/7 care for Jo even though I do a fair bit #And we will both be much worse apart #We asked them to send the report and the name of our caseworker so we can appeal it #And turns out there's no written report and we don't have a caseworker 'bc there's just the 3 of us' which!!!! #Don't even know where to start with that!!! #We asked them to send something to us so they sent and e-mail saying that they're refusing our joint application bc it's not in the policy #And then attached the policy #Like!!! Not even citing specific paragraphs or rules!! We had to go through it #We've had one viewing in like a year/year and a half #And apparently we were in the final two for consideration but they chose a family so the kid didn't have to change school #Which like yeah changing school sucks especially in the middle of the year #But they would survive! #70% of landlords will not rent to people on benefits!! #Also many landlords won't allow basic accessibility changes to the property and she would #Yes I am bitter about a child's welfare and no it's not a good look #It really sucks me and jo are trying everything to not end up in emergency housing and like everyone else is trying to do the opposite #Can anyone just like real quick systemically change the entire housing market or the council house system? Like as a prank??

[i8i8t]

Wilky May on facebook

#Wilky May #Spoonerism #Real #Name #Policy #facebook

[chewwytwee]

The heritage foundation released a transphobic manifesto? Oh nooooooooo, America is dead in the water and republicans are gonna kill all trans people :|. Tumblr needs to stop Being so susceptible to fear mongering and learn how the real world works. Are you really gonna fall for every conservative ploy for relevancy? This is like operation Pridefall all over again because no one on this site has a frame of reference outside of anime and fan fiction. Of COURSE the heritage foundation is going to release a manifesto before an election where the GOP is more divided then it’s been in decades. Even if the GOP wasn’t divided, a think tank releasing a long document detailing their political project the year before an election year is not strange at all and just because they happen to be bigots doesn’t mean their hope for the future is any more tangible than anyone else’s. Conservatives are still convinced they can sell their party on transphobia and anti-queerness and they CANT. We saw what happened with the midterm elections, common conservatives aren’t resonating with the message their party is sending out. Republicans aren’t turning out to vote for their transphobic candidates because transphobia just isn’t enough to them The GOP hasn’t noticed this so they’re doubling and tripling down on the message of ‘America is going to be destroyed by progressive policy (queer people) and you need to vote for us to stop it’. It’s that simple, and if you actually paid attention to the real political landscape of America you would know this is bullshit, but tumblr sees transphobes being transphobic for clout and start quaking in their boots because they’ve never seen a publicity stunt or quarterly plan before ig. Brain dead fucking user base, someone needs to pass around a basic document on critical thinking because it’s dangerously low on here and it’s making it annoyingly hard to find good meme content when everyone is shitting their pants over nothing

#.txt #the real issue is tumblrinas need to start getting their politics #outside of tumblr #bitches will say ‘I’m a leftist!’ #then not be able to name a single policy that they would want implemented to make the world a better place #tumblr is very comfortable being politically illiterate and conspiratorially minded

[rottenpeach2001]

Things I learned for WRI227 cont.- Lecture 6

Hello lovely people of Tumblr, this is my last post of the “Things I learned for WRI227” series.

Here is a question I pose: Have you ever felt gaslit by a social media platform but couldn’t quite tangibly understand why you feel that way? Have you suddenly started seeing less and less LGBTQ+ related media? Have you ever had your Facebook account suspended because of your name? What was up with the Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light controversy? Do you ever wonder who monitors the millions and millions of content on social media platforms?

The Concept of “Black-Box Gaslighting”

I’ll be honest and say that I have never heard of this term ever used until this class. This term is for when someone intentionally utilizes the complexity of a situation in order to manipulate and deceive a person is called “black-box gaslighting” (Trusolino,2023). This can be prominent with the lack of transparency around algorithms, this can undermine the perceptions of reality for people and in turn question their own ability to perceive such reality clearly. This can be difficult for when you want to hold social media platforms accountable

2. TikTok’s shadow-banning of LGBTQ+ influencers might be a response to the increasing far right movement.

According to Pink News and article by Emma Maurice states that TikTok admitted to restricting LGBTQ related contents in different languages after the crackdown by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). Especially restricting the terms “gay”, “lesbian”, and “transgender”. Shadow bans are a form of stealthy bans that don’t outwardly tell the user they are banned and some users may not been aware that they are being censored. TikTok has stated this was more a localized issue and such geo-blocking has been due pleasing more conservative governments.

3. Facebook’s Real name Policy affects people of non-normative identities.

During the Fall of 2014 and Summer of 2015, people of the LGBTQ+ community, Indigenous peoples, and sex workers banded together to go against Facebook’s real name policy cited a case study journal by Maggie MacAulay and Marcos Moldes. Their identities were not considered “real”. Whilst media depicted this protest as a problem as an inclusion problem, it goes deeper than that. This policy creates the a culture of policing people of non-normative identities and the consequences of disruption against the norm is erasure and isolation. Facebook often justifies it’s enforcement of policies as a safety issue and actually do little prevent the abuse that it perpetuates. This also allows Facebook to wield power of the state as they enforce personal information and ID documents to be submitted.

4. The idea of the Influencer economy and how the LGBTQ+ community and brand safety are tied into it

Since the advent of social media, influencers are a marketable and profitable industry for many advertisers. However, not all influencers are equal . Queer and non-gender conformative influencers are unsafe for market branding. A clear example was the Bud Light brand deal that Dylan Mulvaney had that resulted in backlash from the conservative customers of the brand with many refusing to buy Bud Light products which resulted in a 28% drop in sales in June of 2023. Now you might wonder why? Dylan Mulvaney is a trans influencer and the conservative right did not find it appealing to have someone like Mulvaney as the face of Budlight (Trusolino,2023). Sadly, this is where trans visibility stands in the US today. Dylan was ridiculed and reported feeling dissociative during the whole uproar. Dylan later added that BudLight did not even reach out to her during the whole fiasco and stated that “it was even is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all.”

5. People working as content reviewers are at a high risk of getting PTSD.

Content reviewers have arguably one of the hardest and emotionally draining work in the world. This is a topic that is overlooked as many content reviewers are under NDA and their works are often receive a lack of recognition (Trusolino,2023). The constant exposure to disturbing content including violence, hate speech, and self harm can lead to emotional distress. The emotional turmoil they experience is often overlooked as there is not a lot of proper support for counselling for the people in this field, and seeking emotional support is limited. This and other factors can amplify the feelings of anxiety and depression and hence repeatedly viewing distressing content can contribute to the development of PTSD.

Sources:

Trusolino, M (2023). Lecture 6: Social Media Policy and Community Standards(Class Slides)

MacAulay, M., & Moldes, M. D. (2016). Queen don’t compute: reading and casting shade on Facebook’s real names policy. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 33(1), 6–22.

Maurice, E. P. (2020, September 12). TikTok admits it enacted a “shadow-ban” censoring several LGBT+ hashtags, including #I am a gay/lesbian. PinkNews | Latest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans News | LGBTQ+ News.

‌

#content reviewer #influencer economy #Facebook real name policy #shadowbanned #Blackbox gaslighting

[jtblog]

TIL about social media policy and community standards

Social media platforms are bad (this is an understatement with a lack of context, but soon you'll understand).

Labour, but reproductive?

Labour comes in different forms, many of which I didn’t know. As talked about in lecture, reproductive labour consists of acts of work that help “renew” the person working and where they work. Reproductive labour extends into types of qualities like care, socialization, and planning, as listed in the lecture slides. It is so disappointing to see this type of labour go unnoticed and unrewarded, although it occurs everywhere and is essential for other forms of labour to occur. Understanding how reproductive labour is mostly associated with women makes society’s lack of acknowledgement make a lot more sense to me.

It's the patriarchy at work again.

Information from my prof's (Madison Trusolino) lecture and slides.

2. Facebook is sexist and racist.

This image is from Facebook's slides which train their content reviewers. Oh dear.

It’s not surprising that Facebook is a terrible platform that doesn’t care for its users. What is surprising to me are the secret guidelines enforced by the platform regarding its differing demographic groups. Facebook teaches its content reviewers to remove hate speech about white men over hate speech towards female drivers and black children. Facebook views all races and genders as equal. The platform personified would most likely say, “I don’t see colour.” In fact, they would also be the type of person who wouldn’t speak up against hate symbols, because that is exactly what is said in their guidelines. My goodness.

Thank you to ProPublica's article for rightfully exposing this platform!

3. TikTok is homophobic.

Can we stop supporting these social media applications? Time to become cave people again.

Shadow-banned videos during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 were widely talked about in my social media feeds, as most of the videos that were shadow-banned included important information that wasn’t covered on the news. However, videos aren’t the only thing TikTok shadow-bans. TikTok receives views largely from LGBTQ+ content creators, but chooses to censor their work out of homophobia and out of the fear of receiving backlash from conservative countries. The platform removed the hashtags “gay,” “lesbian,” and “transgender” in specific regions. This means that although local creators post with the hashtags, their content is not discoverable to their public.

The PinkNews article is linked here.

4. Facebook risks their users’ safety with the Real Name Policy

Again, Facebook? Are we surprised at this point?

Learning about Facebook’s Real Name Policy shocked me. (Facebook does not have the best track record and it shows in this blog). The policy essentially forced drag queens and other people off the platform until they displayed their legal names on their accounts. It was intended to address impersonation, but even when people are impersonated on the platform, Facebook doesn’t really do anything about it. People that didn’t fit normative identities, performers, and even victims of abuse and stalking were put in danger by Facebook.

Source is here.

5. Content reviewers have the worst job ever.

I liked the photo, but the following information is not from The Guardian. Pretend that logo isn't there (but credit goes out to them :D).

For some odd reason, I thought that bots reviewed the content posted on social media platforms. I think the artificial intelligence hype got to me. Finding out that content reviewers are people forced to signed NDAs came as a surprise to me. (The NDAs are already a warning of how bad the content they review can get). The mental health risks that content reviewers face every day at their job are astounding. They don’t get mental health support and are often diagnosed with PTSD, which is another indication that social media platforms don’t care about their workers.

The information is from Madison Trusolino. Credit to her again!

If you liked the facts I listed or if you'd like to learn more, follow me on my blog, jtblog (creative name, I know).

#reproductive labour #facebook >:( #facebook is being bad again #mark zuckerberg #tiktok #real name policy on facebook #content reviewers

[foone]

I think I grew too much on the internet to understand how some people have blog names.

Like, I'm from IRC and trans communities, if your username is bball24, that's your name. I assume your mom addresses you by that name and it reads the same on your driver's license and maybe even birth certificate l.

I never think "oh, best-tardis-in-the-galaxy is a blog run by some gal named Sarah!". No, if I think of the name at all, it's like obscure trivia. My good friend Ms. Best-tardis-in-the-galaxy has the government name 'sarah'. Perhaps she hasn't been able to change it yet, too much paperwork or something?

I just sometimes see people post things like "what's your blog name mean?" and I'm like "it's me. What else would it be? You mean kirk's-big-saggy-tits isn't your name?"

Basically it's something like Facebook's real name policy but from the other angle. I think everyone is named what their username is, not vice versa.

(and yes, my name is foone. My mom calls me that and it's what's on my license. Isn't that true for everyone?)

#Names

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

Fanfic Thieves on Youtube

A collection of youtube channels have been uploading preexisting fanfictions in videos with little to no credit to the original authors. These are not podfics, these channels copy-paste the fics into text-to-speech readers then upload the unaltered audio over static or unrelated backgrounds, either art that is also stolen or mobile game footage. In addition to not naming the authors, they alter the title to make it that much harder for readers to recognize or find the original uploads. Some go so far as to pretend they themselves are creating the fics in question. Many claim that their stealing actually helps give fics "exposure" despite the intentional steps they take to conceal the origins of the fics they profit off of. However, this practice has lead many authors to discontinue fics after the frustration of having their hard work stolen. Many of these channels claim they will remove videos upon request, but will either argue with the author in order to keep it up, or simply unlist the video for a time until they think the author isn't paying attention anymore. And their solution to receiving strikes against their channels in the past has been to further obfuscate the origins of their content instead of even considering asking first.

”I got caught stealing, so instead of not stealing anymore, I’m doubling down on stealing even more so it’s harder for people to find out and prove I’m stealing. Stealing doesn't count if the specific person I stole from didn't call me out. I am the real victim.”

That, plus the incessant tag scumming in all the videos (spamming unrelated tags in order to appear in more search results) proves to me that these are lazy attention seekers who don't want to put in creative effort when they could just leech off of the passion of others.

In order to report them, go to their channel's "About" page and click the flag icon. Said icon might be behind the three dots in the top bar on mobile. Go to "Report User" at the bottom and tick the "spam and scams" button. This will allow you to list multiple videos as offenders instead of reporting them individually. Youtube's policy states that video spam constitutes:

Massively uploading content that you scraped from other creators.

Auto-generated content that computers post without regard for quality or viewer experience.

If you recognize one of your fics among the stolen, say so in the additional comments box, and perhaps call out the channel directly in the video's comments. If you recognize someone else's fic, please let the original author know so they can report the channel as well. Many have been confronted for stealing previously and refuse to admit wrongdoing.

Most of what I've found has been My Hero Academia fics since that's my fandom and those are the ones I can recognize as stolen, but there are many other channels that steal from other fandoms, so I invite anyone and everyone to reblog this with their own findings.

The reality is that this extremely low-effort content and new youtube channels are both very easy to make, so most likely they'll start new channels once the ones on this list are run through. But hopefully, if we all work together and keep whacking these moles, perhaps we can instill that same defeatism they caused so many creators who didn't deserve it, and eventually they'll give up.

My sincerest thanks to everyone who helped bring additional channels to my attention. A special thanks to ao3 user InArduisFidelis who brought the initial attention to the issue, and @owlf45 whose work was stolen.

Links under the cut.

YurikoFanfics - Not only stole content, but acted in comments as though they were the one writing these stories.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@YurikoFanfics

What-IF-Anime - Has the exact same "disclaimer" about not being the original author as the one above. Either they're the same person or the thieves are stealing from each other.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@What-IF-Anime

quirkywhatif7 - Either an alt of the above, or all these people are talking to one another because this one made a community post identical to a comment the one above made in response to being called out (the above screenshots).

https://www.youtube.com/@quirkywhatif7/about

DekuFanfic - It's the same fucking guy again.

https://www.youtube.com/@DekuFanfic/about

InfiniteParadoxfanfics - Nothing notable, same deal as the others.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@InfiniteParadoxfanfics/about

WhatIfAnimeChannel - Admits in their community posts that other people write the fics they post but still doesn't give credit. Migrated to a new channel after issues with youtube, likely being flagged previously.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfAnimeChannel/about

WhatIfAnimeAll - Alt of above.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfAnimeAll

FWNWorld - Makes sure to tell you that the videogame footage is theirs, but can't bother to credit anyone else.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@FWNWorld/about

WTFW - Claims to have "[A] team of talented writers, voice actors, and artists work together to create immersive fan fiction stories that are sure to captivate your imagination." Just the same test-to-speech stolen content over videogames. So straight up lying claiming that everything is theirs (and that anything they make is quality).

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WTFW

MHA2.0Fanfics - Lots of crossover theft.

https://www.youtube.com/@MHA2.0Fanfics/about

Collerwhatiif - Pretty sure this one is the same guy as the previous 2, also has one for another fandom.

https://www.youtube.com/@Collerwhatiif/about

https://www.youtube.com/@GoJoFanfiction/videos

ko_sensei - Another that claims to have a "team" that makes the stories they steal: " passionate about creating compelling and engaging fanfiction that explores the various "what ifs" in the anime universe."

https://www.youtube.com/@ko_sensei/about

FantasticWhatIf - Multifandom stealing, uses the exact same bs disclaimer as many others.

https://www.youtube.com/@FantasticWhatIf/about

LettuceHeadFanfics - No credit, no acknowledgement of anything. Next one is an alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@LettuceHeadFanfics/about

brocollifanfics - Alt of above, once again admits to stealing with a declaration of "☆If you want to takedown any videos. You can mail us or leave a comment below the video☆"

https://www.youtube.com/@brocollifanfics/about

whatifofficial786 - Focuses on MHA/Naruto crossovers. Identical format.

https://www.youtube.com/@whatifofficial786/about

NotWhatIf - I've lost track of who's an alt of who but yet another identical format, descriptions, and bullshit claims of "enhancing the viewer experience" by putting a robot voice over bootleg fortnite footage.

https://www.youtube.com/@NotWhatIf/about

weebxds - Same again.

https://www.youtube.com/@weebxds/about

ItachiFanfics - Naruto channel, we can at least confirm that this one is run by a human given the rare different descriptions and a real voice at the beginning of videos before the robot comes back.

https://www.youtube.com/@ItachiFanfics/about

WhatIfDN - As if mockingly, a bunch of videos have a "credit" section in their descriptions that is of course blank.

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfDN/about

SpiceandBooks and spiceandfiction - Apparently Youtube itself has started picking up on the bullshit, because this multifandom channel is being dinged as ai spam so they started a new one.

https://www.youtube.com/@SpiceandBooks/about

https://www.youtube.com/@spiceandfiction/about

theoriginalastra - Doesn't even bother with disclaimers, the following are multiple alts/potential alts for different fandoms.

https://www.youtube.com/@theoriginalastra/about

SillySenpai12 - Highschool DXD alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@SillySenpai12/about

RosieRealms - Naruto alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@RosieRealms/about

DekuWhatIfs - Potentially another astra alt but not sure, doesn't matter because all these channels do the same thing anyway.

AnimeStark688 - No credits or disclaimers.

https://www.youtube.com/@AnimeStark688/about

Please take the time to report these channels, spread this post around, and reblog with any additional offending channels you find.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #naruto #highschool dxd #the debacle #mha #bnha #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #naruto fanfiction