More dirty tricks by a desperate minority: The 2012 election taught conservatives that they are the minority, even on social media like Twitter and Facebook. While the Tea Party has started their own version of Facebook (tick tock — waiting for them to be sued for stealing the layout), their solution on Twitter has been to silence speech they don’t agree with by spam blocking en masse to get progressives suspended. Last weekend they got over a dozen accounts suspended.
“#TGDNexposed” was trending on Twitter after progressives uncovered the coordinated assault. Zach Green, Founder of UniteBlue.com, explained to Politicus how conservatives are trying to silence the speech of progressives using the hashtag #TGDN, “A group of conservatives organized under the hashtag #TGDN has been targeting progressive accounts with the intention of getting them suspended. They report progressive accounts as Spam, which is particularly effective against smaller accounts with few followers. We’re helping the Left find and follow one another so they are protected.”
Into this assault stepped #UniteBlue. Mr. Green described #UniteBlue in an interview with Politicus as “a watering hole for progressives to connect on Twitter. Our sole purpose is to connect the Left with the understanding we’re stronger together.” Unite Blue functions on Twitter as a list to protect progressive accounts from being suspended via conservative “spam blocks” by getting them more followers.
Zach warns progressives not to respond to trolling attempts by conservatives, “Do not respond. Twitter’s spam-block detects accounts trying to promote a product by @mentioning everyone. So if you reply, then they block, you are much more likely to be suspended. Same with following then being blocked. Simply avoid them.”
Unite Blue has been trending off and on over the past week, proving that with solidarity comes strength (same argument used for unions). Anyone who wants to join Unite Blue should tweet, “I want to join @UniteBlue” then follow other members on @UniteBlue lists. It may take a while to be added to the list because they vet everyone first.
Unite Blue does not engage in the same unfair tactics of spam-blocking people, and Zach warns that any progressive who spam blocks in return will be dropped from the list. The best way to respond to a troll is to simply ignore them and block them if you don’t want to read their tweets anymore.
Unite Blue also has an app for Twitter that will help progressives find interesting people to follow, and each person is hand vetted by the Unite Blue team. I gave the app a trial run and it’s streamlined and easy to use, plus it does not automatically tweet or follow without the user explicitly asking it to. Zach assured me that it won’t spam people “unless your cat gets on the keyboard.”
That could happen. I’m just saying.
Spam blocking in order to silence progressives is just another tactic of a minority trying to hijack the dialogue. Remember the death panel town halls of 2010? If they can’t win with messaging, they will resort to dirty tricks executed with the necessary belligerence of the minority.
Zach broke it down for Politicus readers, “The 2012 election showed progressives simply outnumber conservatives now. Republicans saw that, and their solution is to silence the Left. Make voting harder. Gerrymander districts. Rig the Electoral College. Spam-block and suspend accounts. UniteBlue will work to connect the Left on Twitter because we’re stronger together.”
The key to Unite Blue is solidarity among progressives, while refusing to engage in trolling behavior aimed at getting you suspended from twitter merely for being a progressive. There’s nothing that annoys conservatives more than a united left, as proven by their attempts to hijack the UniteBlue hashtag (which, I confess, is what got me interested in the hashtag to begin with, so thanks conservatives!).
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Tom
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Cons never quit. Can’t win playing by the rules so they lie cheat and steal.
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novenator
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 9:54 pm
Yep. From the Digg “Patriots” to the Grand Old Party, scheming and cheating seems to be in their nature. I guess their mommies didn’t love them enough.
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Reynardine
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 6:12 pm
In fact, I had my Facebook account destroyed by the same techniques you described here, and Facebook was utterly unresponsive to any contact I tried to make with them, so I had to cancel the account.
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Sugapea
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 9:02 pm
And my Twitter account was attacked with spam being sent out in my name.
I’m sure it was my responding to Internet comments by ‘Misguided Pubs’.
This is WAR to the RightWing! I wish their ‘clear-thinking’ members who read here, would pull the reins on their moonbats, the wingnuts, the whackjobs, the Conspiratorialists…because it’s becoming horribly out of control!
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Just A Dumb Fireman
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 10:13 am
56 years of living with right-wingers has taught me that they are all people with substantial mental problems. They preach virtue while hiding their own filthy behavior and schemes, being textbook examples of psychological progression; they are almost all examples of either the dominating or submissive authoritarian personality, and in general are not very bright. I really think the ability to pass a critical thinking test ought to be a requirement for voting.
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Just A Dumb Fireman
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 3:52 pm
Substitute “projection” for “progression”!
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Reynardine
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 9:06 pm
In fact, it’s called DARVO- Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. It’s such a classic tactic of abusers and oppressors that it has its very own acronym.
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majii
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 11:44 pm
Facebook sent me a warning a while back about offensive language after I responded to a RW’s erroneous claim by saying that one is entitled to one’s opinion, but facts matter. I guess the RWer reported me to FB based only on my telling her she was wrong. RWers talk so much about how “strong and brave” they are, but they dissolve at the least bit of push back. They seem to think that free speech exists only for them, and that anyone who disagrees with them should be silenced.
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galactusX
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 9:03 pm
Repukes are the vilest puddles of goo in the universe.
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mjh
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 9:15 pm
While the Tea Party has started their own version of Facebook . . . their solution on Twitter has been to silence speech they don’t agree with by spam blocking en masse to get progressives suspended. Last weekend they got over a dozen accounts suspended.
Um — weren’t these the same people who whined that their freedom of speech was being taken away when President Obama publicly called out Rush Limpballs and Fox Noise?
.
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SickupandFed
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 9:43 pm
They have done the same thing to a Democratic Congressman. Spam blocking his video to Facebook.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5IEEv4RVIc
Go there and try to share it to facebook. Rotten bastards.
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novenator
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Also remember the hashtag #ConnectTheLeft ( #CTL for short), which is another strong community that is eager to network. Similarly the shortened version of #UniteBlue is #UB.
Other main progressive hashtags include #p2 and #1u
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LOrion
Feb. 2nd, 2013 at 11:02 pm
Come on in and JOIN us as we UNITE BLUE! Follow and get followers back!
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Debra Vermaas
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 12:11 am
I LOVE #UniteBlue. The sight is very user friendly. I have already found many many great progressive voices using the sight. Bravo to Zach Green for an excellent job.
There is strength in numbers. All progressives should go to @UniteBlue and check it out. I think you’ll like what you see.
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LookingForward
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 12:37 am
Thanks for the information and opinion on UniteBlue…will check it out. During the election my Facebook was hacked but I received a alert to change my security settings. Someone at the commerce center in Columbus Ohio was logged on to my account election night…weird! My yahoo account was also hacked…they notified me to change my password right after the election.
Remember Gun Appreciation Day ….our MLK service Day, they came here by the herds, they were everywhere. They invaded all blogs for about a week then disappeared!
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Matthew Underwood
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 1:26 am
TGDN behaves like a hit squad – like it is their responsibility to clean up the city. What scares me most about them is what they might do if they succeed here – will they be emboldened to go out into the real world and do the same?
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Reynardine
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 10:31 am
And what the Hell do you suppose they need unlimited access to military-style weapons of mass murder for?…
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SJ Reidhead
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 3:48 am
#UniteBlue is not just for progressives. They have become a haven for those of us who are Republicans but voted for Obama. I’ve noticed a huge difference during the past week, after I joined with them and put their ‘ribbon’ on my site. I’m still a Republican, but can’t stomach what is going on now, within the GOP. For months I have been targeted, harassed, and literally threatened by the same individuals who report a person in the #TGDN. When they attack, they do so in packs, like wild dogs. About 3 weeks ago they managed to get me suspended, but I had made screen shots of what they were doing to me. I’ve been making screenshots of their threats since September. I went to Twitter and turned the tables on them. I now very “politely” explain if they go after me, I have copies of their threats and am working with #UniteBlue. So far, it is working.
During the process, I’ve discovered that I would much rather work with progressives. They are nicer, more polite, tolerant, and have a better sense of humor. The so called #TGDN conservatives are the same suspects, the ones who harassed those of us who joined Republicans for Obama. I suspect it will come as a shock to no one that some of the ring leaders track back to organizations that receive most of their funding from the Brothers’ Koch.
I know of several dozen Republicans who are working with #UniteBlue in order to be protected from the vindictive vultures of the extreme right. I can’t thank them enough for helping us!
SJR
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Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 9:41 am
This is a person who puts country before party. A good example for all of us. Well done SJR
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George W
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Finally this explains what happened to my @us_reps account. It’s been suspended three times and I have absolutely no idea why. It’s currently suspended now and Twitter is not responding. I thought Twitter intended to expand speech but is silencing mine. If anyone can find a violation among any of my tweets I’d be very surprised. Thanks for this article – if I ever get unsuspended I’ll make sure to follow this advice.
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Churchlady
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Joining #UniteBlue helped me NOT at all since Twitter’s own processes were UNfollowing me almost as fast as I was being followed. I got dumped for I also don’t know what.
The problem with the ‘don’t answer’ direction is that some of the trolls are in long strings of contacts, and they get your answer without your knowing it. They also go systematically through #UniteBlue and report each of us for spam – sometime all without our even being online when it happens!
We may need a new version of Twitter if Twitter can’t figure this out fairly. Peep? Whatever – Twitter is NOT enhancing free speech but potentially destroying it.
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ChristineIAm
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 11:01 pm
My Twitter acct has been suspended for about a week now – and I have no idea why. This article, and similar comments, lead me to believe it has to do with nonsense, connected to this.
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Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 11:17 pm
Never respond to the right wing nuts. Just ignore them, or block them
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Susan
Feb. 3rd, 2013 at 11:16 pm
The GOP is putting our democracy in danger and we can’t stand for it. They proudly claim they are “patriots” but they are an embarrassment to our country. They have no respect for the will of the people and the majority rule. It’s their way or no way at all. The freedoms they preach about are only the freedoms they themselves value and if they don’t, then it just shouldn’t be. They are selfish and simple minded and have no real leader. Maybe that’s why they are so lost.
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George W
Feb. 4th, 2013 at 7:35 pm
I got my @us_reps account back today, finally, after much pleading. Still can’t understand why/how I got blocked. Is the advice here simply to not respond, even if someone responds to one of our tweets? Feels like I’m losing my ability to engage.
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Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 4th, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Well you can engage if you want to lose your account again.
My personal thoughts are this.
#1 I am not going to change their minds.
#2 they retweet what you say to many others of their twitter friends then you have more against you if they want to block you.
#3 I tweet for liberal minded people, not to change the hearts and minds of people who are already half insane.
but thats just me
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George W
Feb. 5th, 2013 at 10:44 am
I guess you’re right. I got the following boilerplate explanation from Twitter:
“This account was suspended for sending multiple unsolicited messages using the @reply and/or mention feature. These features are intended to make communication between people on Twitter easier. Twitter monitors the use of these features to make sure they are used as intended and not for abuse. Using either feature to post messages to a bunch of users in an unsolicited or egregious manner is considered an abuse of its use, which results in account suspension.”
Their technique for suspending accounts is clearly flawed. In this case I had posted a comment with not a single @ included. It generated a heated debate with 3-4 people @replying to each other. Then I was suddenly suspended. WTF?
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physicsmom
Feb. 5th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
What does TGDN stand for?
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Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 5th, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Twitter Gulag Defense Network
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Wisdom
Feb. 7th, 2013 at 12:02 am
I’m a progressive, and constantly break down conservaderp talking points with facts in most political hashtags. I’ve never been suspended (or even blocked from posting- some call it “jail”? Never had that happen for some reason) so far, despite publicly embarrassing most of the “top” (loudest) conservatives on Twitter.
I told Twitter in a support/ticket complaint, listing the creator of TGDN (and linking directly to two instances of him calling for mass spam blocks of two progressive accounts) that if Twitter failed to ban his account/IP, I would take that as a sign that ALL of Twitter’s terms of service are moot and to be ignored as desired, since he CLEARLY is breaking their TOS and I provided undeniable evidence.
I won’t join Unite Blue, because I refuse to follow more than I do currently- even following 500ish as I do, I miss 80% of Tweets I would have liked to see. The “lists” feature is a joke- I would have to spend hours keeping them maintained per day… not how I desire to use Twitter. I told them if my account is spam-banned, I WILL take matters into my own hands by doxxing the person(s) responsible, as well as using third-party tools and my skillset to identify, hack, and delete those Twitter accounts… since Twitter seems uninterested in policing their own rules.
Twitter is clearly conservative leaning, though- #tcot trends every day, completely breaking the very detailed rules regarding the trend engine Twitter has provided, meaning they’ve created a hard-exception for #tcot to trend indefinitely.
Either they have lied in regards to the functionality of their trend engine, or they are specifically allowing #tcot to trend outside their own engine’s rules. There’s no other possibility. The latter is more likely, and I find it a disgusting abuse of their service.
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