fake twitter identity

[Stephanie]

It appears the founder of MeTooSTEM faked a twitter account where she was pretending to be an indigenous professor, who she then killed off with covid.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/styl ... -hoax.html

Every time I read something like this, I feel exhausted. I have enough trouble keeping up with the accounts I manage for work purposes, let alone faking an entire identity like that. Why do people do this sh.t?

[Woodchopper]

Every time I read something like this, I feel exhausted. I have enough trouble keeping up with the accounts I manage for work purposes, let alone faking an entire identity like that. Why do people do this sh.t?

It looks like McLaughlin used the fake account to boost her own reputation, and McLaughlin appears to have made a lot of money through her activities. If you look t it as a full time job then it makes sense, and McLaughlin may have created may other fake accounts to promote herself.

[Stephanie]

Sure, but like just the level of effort needed to have successfully gotten away with it for that many years makes me tired.

[Ijon Tichy]

If you're into the whole podcast thing, Blocked and Reported have a good show about this appalling case.

[Martin Y]

How strange. It looks like a cross between having an imaginary friend and inventing an alter-ego who can tick more sympathy-earning boxes than yourself.