Twitter Security for Activists

 

Twitter Activist Security
Many people are starting to get politically active in ways they fear might have negative repercussions for their job, career or life. It is important to realize that these fears are real, but that public overt resistance is critical for political legitimacy. This guide [by The Grugq] hopes to help reduce the personal risks to individuals while empowering their ability to act safely. 

 

How to Run a Rogue Government Twitter Account With an Anonymous Email Address and a Burner Phone
The technical ability for people to remain anonymous on today’s internet, where every scrap of data is meticulously tracked, is an entirely different issue. The FBI, a domestic intelligence agency that claims the power to spy on anyone based on suspicions that don’t come close to probable cause, has a long, dark history of violating the rights of Americans. 

 

The DigiActive Guide to Twitter (PDF)
This short guide provides an introduction to Twitter, offers some advice on best practices, and draws on five case studies to demonstrate possible uses of Twitter for political activists.

 

It's Very Hard to Maintain an Anonymous Twitter Account That Can Withstand Government-Level Attempts to De-anonymize It
It's one thing to set up an "anonymous" Twitter Hulk account whose anonymity your friends and colleagues can't pierce, because the combination of your care not to tweet identifying details, the stilted Hulk syntax, and your friends' inability to surveil the global internet and compel phone companies to give up their caller records suffice for that purpose. But as government whistleblowers set up "rogue" agency accounts that send out information that the Trump administration has told them to keep confidential, the scope of the tasks necessary to maintain anonymity in the event that a state-level actor wants to unmask them widens significantly.