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Facing Information Crackdown, Federal Agencies Go 'Rogue' on Twitter
"Rogue Twitter accounts are fun, but gov't employees and scientists are very afraid of being fired if they speak out & share facts." —@RogueNASA
Jan 26, 2017
Taking on President Donald Trump on his preferred battleground, roughly two dozen "rogue" Twitter accounts have sprung up since Tuesday, allegedly created by anonymous federal workers in irreverent protest of the Trump administration's anti-science stance.
The phenomenon began when the official Badlands National Park account started tweeting the facts about climate change--an effort that swiftly went viral earlier this week. While that account's tweets were later taken down, the spirit of the endeavor lived on in the face of an information crackdown by the incoming president and his alt-fact-promoting "beachhead teams."
@AltUSNatParkService was one of the first copycats, calling itself "the Unofficial 'Resistance' team of U.S. National Park Service."
@RogueNASA, @ungaggedEPA, @ActualEPAFacts, and @AltHHS soon followed.
A few users have compiled lists of all the current "resistance" accounts.
It remains unclear how many of these accounts were actually registered or being maintained by current or former federal employees, with The Verge noting that gleeful re-tweeters "should remember that these accounts are emotionally gratifying, not edifying."
Indeed, @RogueNASA reminded its followers of the very real reason for the rogue accounts on Wednesday:
As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, momentum for a Scientists' March on Washington has grown dramatically in recent days.
If a war on facts "is actually part of your governing philosophy," California Academy of Sciences executive director Jonathan Foley wrote to Trump at Scientific American on Wednesday, "I would give you a warning on behalf of my fellow scientists: Do not mess with us. Do not try to bury the truth. Do not interfere with the free and open pursuit of science. You do so at your peril."
"Americans don't look kindly on bullies, people who try to suppress the truth, or people who try to intimidate scientists and the press," Foley wrote. "In the long run, this always backfires. The dustbin of history is full of people who have tried, and failed. You will too."
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Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Taking on President Donald Trump on his preferred battleground, roughly two dozen "rogue" Twitter accounts have sprung up since Tuesday, allegedly created by anonymous federal workers in irreverent protest of the Trump administration's anti-science stance.
The phenomenon began when the official Badlands National Park account started tweeting the facts about climate change--an effort that swiftly went viral earlier this week. While that account's tweets were later taken down, the spirit of the endeavor lived on in the face of an information crackdown by the incoming president and his alt-fact-promoting "beachhead teams."
@AltUSNatParkService was one of the first copycats, calling itself "the Unofficial 'Resistance' team of U.S. National Park Service."
@RogueNASA, @ungaggedEPA, @ActualEPAFacts, and @AltHHS soon followed.
A few users have compiled lists of all the current "resistance" accounts.
It remains unclear how many of these accounts were actually registered or being maintained by current or former federal employees, with The Verge noting that gleeful re-tweeters "should remember that these accounts are emotionally gratifying, not edifying."
Indeed, @RogueNASA reminded its followers of the very real reason for the rogue accounts on Wednesday:
As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, momentum for a Scientists' March on Washington has grown dramatically in recent days.
If a war on facts "is actually part of your governing philosophy," California Academy of Sciences executive director Jonathan Foley wrote to Trump at Scientific American on Wednesday, "I would give you a warning on behalf of my fellow scientists: Do not mess with us. Do not try to bury the truth. Do not interfere with the free and open pursuit of science. You do so at your peril."
"Americans don't look kindly on bullies, people who try to suppress the truth, or people who try to intimidate scientists and the press," Foley wrote. "In the long run, this always backfires. The dustbin of history is full of people who have tried, and failed. You will too."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Taking on President Donald Trump on his preferred battleground, roughly two dozen "rogue" Twitter accounts have sprung up since Tuesday, allegedly created by anonymous federal workers in irreverent protest of the Trump administration's anti-science stance.
The phenomenon began when the official Badlands National Park account started tweeting the facts about climate change--an effort that swiftly went viral earlier this week. While that account's tweets were later taken down, the spirit of the endeavor lived on in the face of an information crackdown by the incoming president and his alt-fact-promoting "beachhead teams."
@AltUSNatParkService was one of the first copycats, calling itself "the Unofficial 'Resistance' team of U.S. National Park Service."
@RogueNASA, @ungaggedEPA, @ActualEPAFacts, and @AltHHS soon followed.
A few users have compiled lists of all the current "resistance" accounts.
It remains unclear how many of these accounts were actually registered or being maintained by current or former federal employees, with The Verge noting that gleeful re-tweeters "should remember that these accounts are emotionally gratifying, not edifying."
Indeed, @RogueNASA reminded its followers of the very real reason for the rogue accounts on Wednesday:
As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, momentum for a Scientists' March on Washington has grown dramatically in recent days.
If a war on facts "is actually part of your governing philosophy," California Academy of Sciences executive director Jonathan Foley wrote to Trump at Scientific American on Wednesday, "I would give you a warning on behalf of my fellow scientists: Do not mess with us. Do not try to bury the truth. Do not interfere with the free and open pursuit of science. You do so at your peril."
"Americans don't look kindly on bullies, people who try to suppress the truth, or people who try to intimidate scientists and the press," Foley wrote. "In the long run, this always backfires. The dustbin of history is full of people who have tried, and failed. You will too."
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