So this thread is a dissection of how digital disinformation campaigns happen and also what it’s like for me, as an academic, to be the focus of disinformation in relation to white supremacists/fascists outside in the larger networks involved in the US and also w/in academia. 4/
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The gist of that goes back to what my medieval studies chief harasser at the U of Chicago did in round 1 in 2017 [discussed in the article "What's with Knights and Nazis." The alt-medieval disinformation line about me follows some of these tenets. 15/
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1. I have never published 2. I am a bully & harasser 3. I am actually a white supremacist. It very much follows a version of what Ahmed writes about “naming the problem & becoming the problem” & what happens to BIWOC when they do this but w/ a stochastic violence scale-up 16/
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Point 1. “I have never published anything”—this was a disinformation point that circulated publicly & in academia amongst medievalists. Apparently, medievalists or academics cannot google. The sign that I did not “publish anything” is that I do not post my c.v. 17/
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If U know how the far right doxxes & goes after people (read Zoe Quinn’s Crash Override or Femtechnet) then you do not post a c.v. so that these far-right swarms come for you, your info, & your collaborators. But yes, you can find what I have published by doing a search. 18/
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Point 2. I am a “bully and harasser.” This is a classic racist/gendered tactic that has been discussed regularly here. If WOC say, let’s be antifascist & work on antiracism, critique white women suddenly they are called “bullies and harassers.” 19/
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You can read Mikki Kendall’s book here for a whole discussion of this that started online w/
#SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen in 2013 20/: https://www.amazon.com/Hood-Feminism-Notes-Movement-Forgot/dp/0525560548/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mikki+kendall&qid=1605904153&sr=8-1 …Show this thread -
This is a regularly happens in my life especially w/ white women. I say nothing, do nothing, respond not at all (the advice that senior folk give me) but I am still roped into some “issue” and called a “bully” or “harasser” even when it has nothing to do w/ me. 21/
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Point 3. “She is a white supremacist.” I am a regular target of violent white supremacists. But apparently this does not matter b/c I must be a white supremacist even though these folks hang out w/ ppl who say Milo is her best friend, podcast violent white supremacists. 22/
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So we have come to this point because of Disinformation issues. I want folks to read this and understand the 3Ds of Disinformation: Detect, Document, and Debunk.
@BostonJoan's piece 23/:https://medium.com/political-pandemonium-2020/how-civil-society-can-combat-misinformation-and-hate-speech-without-making-it-worse-887a16b8b9b6 …Show this thread -
OK. I need to add a second thread to this, so coming back soon. 24/
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Unfortunately we are going to have to do this b/c the disinformation about me in this case is not going away & apparently M*stress Sn*w has now intersected w/ the “alt-medieval” folks which means this will mushroom & I will have to deal with potential security issues. 25/
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I am doing this as a form of 3. “Pre-Bunking”. I am the “wedge issue” in this disinfo. campaign b/c “In order for a lie to take hold in public discussion, audiences usually have to encounter it numerous times.” As I have said the alt-medieval have been at this since 2017. 26/
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So M*stress Sn*w is using me as “wedge issue” & upholding the white supremacist disinformation. In this instance, b/c M*stress Sn*w seems to have now intersected w/ the alt-medieval, 27/
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we have reached a stage where I cannot ignore it & it is affected others who have are public about antiracism in medieval studies since this usually triggers some potential violent targeting. It’s been a week, and M*stress Sn*w seems to want to continue to fuel this fire. 28/
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“Media manipulators & disinformation agents are not as numerous as once thought. However, manipulators are having an outsized impact on the news media b/c they employ a diverse set of tactics & do whatever it takes to keep their campaign alive.” 29/
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Disinformation: I am attacking M*stress Sn*w, “bullying and harassing” her, and am a “white supremacist.” 30/pic.twitter.com/seg7i9ybPX
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Document: In this instance, I have not even said anything. I have not tweeted, responded, said a thing about this on here. But apparently M*stress Sn*w decided that I was “harassing” her even when there is no evidence at all & everyone can find that by looking at my TL. 31/
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Also, let's debunk more disinformation. I have not "reported her tweets" (she can ask Twitter, though I doubt they will tell her) & "called up people's employees." The medieval white supremacists targeting me can't show evidence that I have done this b/c there is no evidence. 32/
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Debunk:There are no “receipts” anywhere. But apparently you should go ahead & believe the disinformation b/c it’s easier than doing the digital literacy work to check or wonder why this terminology & what it says @ how much racialized/gendered stereotypes are easier to repeat.33/
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As she seems to be happy to share screen shots, there is no evidence of me doing this & erasing either b/c someone would have screen shot it. But I am the “harasser” on here even though I have not tweeted, said, responded to a thing. 34/
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“She is a white supremacist.” I expect by now by watching our politics for the last 4 years, we’ve seen the moves to this particular play. It’s the same move as the “antifascists are the violent ones, not the white supremacists w/ guns” etc. 35/pic.twitter.com/donWFMz8gZ
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I hope this “Pre-Bunk” is enough & this will stop, b/c the intersection of this ARVO (no D in this since I had not said anything to her or accused her of anything before she waved all this disinformation) w/ the alt-medieval means issues w/ my security. Alt-med talking here 36/:pic.twitter.com/fYRdYqxwBz
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People can disagree w/ me, critique me & also ask for accountability, people can also dislike me. I can also disagree w/ others, critique & ask for accountability, & also dislike other people. I can also try to make amends, work on accountability, fix my mistakes, etc. 37/
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But this is none of that. If she is happy to use me as a weapon to stoke some digital misinformation fire, what this does is just put me & others in harm’s way. Medieval is an academic ecosystem where we have a built-in white supremacist/fascist supporting group. 38/
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The Disinformation that they use & that you repeat, mainstream, & wave around has consequences & already stochastic violent ones in this field. 39/
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We tell students that digital literacy requires that they ask if they trust their online information source. No, I do not trust her as a reliable source of information b/c in regards to me, I have “documented(ing) a pattern of malicious behavior.” 40/ https://webliteracy.pressbooks.com
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As for the premodern ecosystem, you have to ask why the BIPOC scholars who work on CRT & antiracism did not jump on this “unmasking” & run w/ it. And not like anyone checked w/
#RaceBeforeRace but our work is @ CRT & we have had white scholars present at our events. 41/ FIN.Show this thread
End of conversation
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