About those rogue US government twitter accounts... [View all]

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

OK, so, I'm guilty as charged in this article.

As the first full week of the Trump administration draws to a close, many anti-Trump Twitter users have been heartened by the rise of a group of more than 50 (according to CNN) “rogue” Twitter accounts supposedly affiliated with U.S. government employees. These employees, the story goes, have been disgruntled by moves the administration has made to tamp down on these agency’s abilities to spread their messages — particularly messages having to do with subjects like climate changes — and have taken to Twitter to resist Trump’s authoritarianism.

As a result, some of these accounts have quickly amassed huge followings — 1.25 million for the most famous one, @AltNatParkSer. But at the moment, according to multiple news stories about the accounts, no one really knows who is behind them, since it doesn’t appear anyone has verified the identities of the Tweeters. Therefore, Anti-Trumpers who spread them are engaging in the exact same sort of motivated, credulous sharing that fuels the dissemination of all sorts of crazy internet rumors, including those which targeted Hillary Clinton during the campaign.

I don't know, I agree that we don't want to legitimize fake news, but I might agree more with the first commenter than the article's author:

bareshark1975 1 day ago
Well, if anyone is actually that damn scared about being played, here's an idea: go out and actually VERIFY the facts being spread with actual scientists on respectable websites. It's a good idea anyway and you might just learn some more than you would have. In the meantime, F*** humility.

Here's a list of the accounts in question.

A couple examples:

AltUSDA ‏@altusda

Scientists to Trump: Torture doesn’t work http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/01/scientists-trump-torture-doesn-t-work … #resist

Link to tweet

Small farmers win 8-year fight against National Chicken Council, then Trump takes over and blocks USDA rule change

Link to tweet

AltBadlandsNatPark ‏@AltBadlandsPark

2016 was the hottest year on record, worldwide. Also, @realDonaldTrump is a man-baby.

Link to tweet

Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor, trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere and warm the planet. #climatefacts

Link to tweet