Don’t be a Twitter Twit: Careless Talk Costs Lives

If nothing else, the post-election disturbances in Iran have given Twitter a viral advertising campaign to die for.

Now, I’m not a Twitter user myself, but I’m passing this on as food for thought for any of you who’ve become involved in attempts to help Iranian tweeters (for heaven’s sake, given the gravity of the situation, couldn’t Twitter have come up with something a bit less, er, twee to describe its users?).

The Twitspam site has drawn up a list of suspect Iranian tweeters:

Fake Iran election Tweeters
June 17th, 2009

The tweeters shown below are possible fakes accounts and may have connections to the Iranian Security apparatus. Do not re-tweet anything from these accounts. You can block them using the link attached below: Block Now.

Obviously, any such list is going to be a work in progress, and mistakes may happen. Given the dangers to Iranians who may be exposed to the security services by someone else’s well-meaning carelessness, it seems sensible to err on the side of extreme caution.

With that in mind, here’s some thoughts on “Rules of Engagement” if you’re already involved or are thinking of getting involved in the Iranian Twitter campaign, courtesy of Virtual Lee’s Just Sayin’. The first one, which I’ve bolded, looks like it’s the most important:

So the First Rule of Twitter Engagement has to be: if you have no idea what’s going on, stay out of it. As enticing as it is to want to help, you can put others in harm’s way which is something many are learning now and over the last four or five days.

Next I offer, here, a list of rules as they were expressed by different voices who I have not identified. As they exist they are the new Rules of Engagement in using Twitter for any revolutionary operation. I’ve taken these directly from the Twitter posts.

Again to all who wish to help, PLEASE DO NOT BROADCAST PROXY SERVERS! Set them up but only DM to people in Iran #IranElection

Jun 15, 2009 11:58 PM GMT ·

Don’t overload #iranelection with things not about iran as it is becoming hard to follow and share news inside Iran

Jun 15, 2009 11:54 PM GMT

Iranian government is watching Twitter; when RTing Iranians, replace username with “Iran” (”RT from Iran”). #IranElection Please RT

Jun 15, 2009 11:57 PM GMT

WARNING! Do NOT go to shortened links or RT unless you know the Twitter ID who originates #IranElection #gr88 #Tehran RT PLZ

Jun 16, 2009 11:40 PM GMT

BE AWARE! @FreeMediaNews is a liar and spreading governmental propaganda! #IranElection

Jun 16, 2009 11:58 PM GMT ·
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We are all learning how this tool can be used. And in whose hands. Clearly the tool can be crafted by and for both sides in any political endeavor. As for by-standers, go ahead and watch, read, wear green, talk to each other. But if you aren’t, as @persiankiwi says,

DO NOT RT any other tweeters posts unless u are 100% sure they are GENUINE

And that knowledge is hard to come by on Twitter.

Full article here.

Posted by YAFB on 06/19/09 at 08:30 AM • Permalink

Categories: Geek Speak • Politics •

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Sounds like we need an update on the old “Loose lips sink ships” line from WW2:

Loose twits are stupid shits?

Make sure your tweet doesn’t put someone in the hot seat?

Tweet fail could mean jail?

Comment by Betty Cracker on 06/19/09 at 09:46 AM

After I’d published, I had second thoughts and wanted to title it “Don’t be a Tweeting Twit,” since it turns out there’s already a booklet with this title.

But what the hey.

Comment by YAFB on 06/19/09 at 09:55 AM

This may be our first opportunity to see how large-scale, real-time thought-jamming can be used in a difficult-to-verify, anonymous public medium where a handful of agitators (aided by uncritical, eager repeaters) can cascade a bad meme across the network, hijack the “mind-space” of an event (or a battle) and transform bogus misinfo into accepted truth through mirror-tweets and other artifacts that give the appearance of independent verification from multiple sources.

Take a good look. This is the first 4th-Generation War—courtesy of Twitter—and it looks like everyone with a horse in the race is using the Iranian protests to field-test and refine their Virtual Warfare/Counter-Insurgency tactical manuals. And that’s not even counting the usual sick-fuck psychopathic hackerz who are likely spoofing, sock-puppeting and mal-meme-ing the thing because they’re bored with Grand Theft Auto VII.