The Reply Trap: A #TwitterGulag Tactic?

As the systemic abuse of Twitter’s spam block feature to silence conservatives on social media continues to be exposed, a number of dedicated users continue to share the knowledge and evidence they’ve collected regarding this tactic. Recently, user @SemperBanU (SBU), shared his theories on what he referred to as a “reply” trap, in which two or more users engage a single user and then report for spam.

SBU laid out this theory in a series of tweets that can be seen below. To avoid confusion, each bit of description is describing the tweet below the description.:

So we start out with some typical trash talk. Anyone who follows SBU knows he’s acerbic to the nth degree.  His war of words continues in this next tweet:

Now, in this tweet, SBU mentions user @GottaLaff in something of a random fashion. Laff doesn’t reply, but another user is drawn into the conversation.

SBU has continued his back and forth with the other user at a fast rate, meaning his @ reply rate is shooting up. The trick comes when the third user gets him to @ her. So what’s happened is he’s been operating at a furious pace with @ replies to the first user, and then @’s the second user.  This is likely what makes him vulnerable to the spam block.

In this next tweet, the third user announces her intentions.

This tweet shows the two users congratulating themselves on a successful operation. As SBU notes, the pink banner across the top of the screen is notifying him his account has now been suspended.

This shows Twitter’s response to his suspension, mentioning a large number of unsolicited @ replies to other users as the cause for the suspension. Remember, it started with verbal sparring between him and another user, a third user was drawn in, and then once they received the @ from SBU, they hit the block and report button.

In 2008, Brooks Bayne covered this trick being used in attempts to silence conservative speech. In 2010, it was used against conservative Twitter personality Greg W. Howard in an attempt to silence him, as well.  And now, in 2012, it spread to rabid LGFers. In fact, according to those who have been watching this situation since it spread to LGF, those rabid band of blockers have attacked approximately 15,000 accounts in total. Also, not to be left out, everyone’s favorite angry kitty,  Shoq has been in on the action too. (Very bottom of the linked post.)

But hey, random Lefty’s out there who say we’re just a bunch of delusional right wingers… Go ahead, keep telling us. We know. But it sure is strange there’s all this damn evidence laying around telling us otherwise. Funny, that.

 

About

, , , ,

  • http://twitter.com/xRedRoverx Kristi

    On one hand, this is nice research. On the other hand, you guys probably need to get out of the house a little more often. 

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/F4JPJYY5WB243BA6HU4ZA5KUVU Tammy

    And yet on another hand, Kristi, you must not have any principles. Whether you agree or not , everyone is entitled to voice their opinion. Maybe the people that are getting everybody suspended on twitter need to get out of the house more often or take a valium. I don’t let delusional liberals drive me insane.But these people go crazy if you don’t agree with them. As of right now, it still is the USA. 

  • http://twitter.com/MattTGrant Matthew T. Grant

    My main takeaway: In 2009 there existed a kinder, gentler Brooks Bayne who could write, “I’m not dogmatic about my views when I discuss issues with the other side.”

    • http://brooksbayne.com brooksbayne

      lol. 

  • Jeanette Victoria

    This happens on Facebook as well. Liberals hate opposing speech with a scary passion

  • Pingback: Dangerous Games and Free Speech | US Daily Review

  • http://twitter.com/JoeHilgerman Joe Hilger

    Charlie Johnson:  Great way to inform and educate!  Recently yours truly had been suspended by a similar tactic employed by those seeking to silence STRONG Conservative voices upon Twitter.  Eventually Twitter is not to be seen as a Social Media where conversations are encouraged.  Tweets are merely a ways and means to provide and promote off-the-cuff thoughts being presented for everyone else to see and simply enjoy its content and context. 

  • Pingback: Trenches Labs : How #TwitterGulag Works Part 1 – Setting Reply Traps | The Trenches

  • Pingback: Hey Coattail Riders, Try and Keep Up: Twitter Tactics 101 | The Trenches

  • https://twitter.com/#!/dudgeohpolitics Dudge OH Politics

    GottaLaff is one of those libs who screams for their followers to spam/block other twitter users as soon as she feels she’s losing an argument.