A glance at any list in Facebook will easily reveal many obviously made-up names. So why are only some people losing their accounts? Because Facebook uses their reporting system to identify accounts that users think are fake. Why would a user report a fake name account? One is that they are a troll. They hate people with opposing views and want a chance to find and harass them in real life.
Another is that they are a transphobes.
By using pictures, posts and memberships in trans-related groups, transphobes have identified and had suspended hundreds, maybe thousands of accounts of people who self-identify as trans. This is embarrassing, humiliating and potentially dangerous for those closeted, part-timers and others requiring a level of privacy from those who wish to do them harm.
Corrine is one such person. It has been two months since she was forced to use her "dead name" account on Facebook. This is more than an inconvenience. This has caused untold misery in the face of her courageous journey of transition.
Facebook has made itself indispensable in terms of contacts with friends, contacts with support networks, including professional services. For those who are disabled or otherwise socially isolated, it has become a lifeline. Leaving Facebook is inconceivable for the many, who have experienced the benefits of social-networking, and have found that nothing right now can replace it, at least not for average people without resources like Caitlyn or Janet or Kristin or Jazz.
So why does Zuckerberg insist on continuing a policy that not only empowers trolls but strips victims of their privacy and protections?
Does he not recognize that only certain groups of people are being targeted for account suspension? Of course he does, and he's good with it too.
We are fighting back and right now, we have nearly 1800 others who have signed our petition to fight back. Can you please sign our petition and share it wherever you can?
Thank you,
Corrine and Michelle (and Stana)
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| Wearing BB Dakota. |
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| Actor/comedian Paul Lynde femulating in the 1966 film Glass Bottom Boat. |
