From vaxxing to doxxing: The social media power of <PERSON> · Global Voices
<PERSON> performs a medley of ‘Majesty,’ ‘Barbie Dreams,’ ‘Ganja Burn,’ and ‘FeFe’ at the 2018 Video Music Awards in New York City, USA on August 21, 2018. Screenshot by MTV International on Wikimedia Commons, under (CC BY 3.0).
The <PERSON> vaccine controversy, heavily covered by international media and responded to by the likes of Dr. <PERSON>, director of the United States’ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, British prime minister <PERSON> and Trinidad and Tobago's health minister <PERSON>, has taken an unexpected turn.
On September 17, after local reporter <PERSON> contacted <PERSON>'s Trinidad-based relatives for an interview—a request that was allegedly declined—<PERSON> reportedly took to her Instagram account to share <PERSON>'s telephone number—an ironic choice of platform, considering that she recently claimed “it's not that easy [for Trinbagonians] to get on Instagram.” Within minutes, as a result of the harassment that ensued from “The Barbz,” as <PERSON>'s fan base is called, the journalist had to fend off hundreds of phone calls.
.@CNN y’all are about to know how protective the barbz are towards <PERSON> and her family, you are not prepared. pic.twitter.com/UAJbTApj2h
— <PERSON> ?? (@onikamajestyy) September 17, 2021
The posts in question appear to have since been taken down, but local social media users wasted no time in reporting <PERSON>'s stories to Instagram, and urging the reporter—however comically—to seek legal redress. Meanwhile, Rampersad has deleted her Twitter account.
What appears to have set <PERSON> off was the journalist's modus operandi. Regional news platform Loop reported that <PERSON> asked <PERSON>'s family for an interview via text message. <PERSON> allegedly said that the Cable News Network (CNN) was in Trinidad pursuing the story—a claim that Global Voices has been unable to verify—and would reveal the family's personal information if they got an interview, whereas she would not.
<PERSON> allegedly shared screenshots from this correspondence to her IG Story, calling the reporter “a dirty hoe”; <PERSON> responded that she would be taking <PERSON> to court.
<PERSON> says her family in Trinidad have been harassed and threatened by journalists. 550
pic.twitter.com/s6AzYUN2lT
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 17, 2021
Doxxing, or the release of personal information, like phone numbers and addresses—usually online—is listed as an offence in Trinidad and Tobago's Cybercrime Bill, as it “can lead to actual physical harm” and irreparable damage to victims’ reputations and livelihoods. In the United States, where <PERSON> lives, the federal legislation against doxxing appears to apply to only certain categories of people.
<PERSON>'s employer, Guardian Media, quickly issued a statement, which the local Facebook page Newsauce found “quite weak”:
<PERSON> was following up on a legit story, and shouldn't have to face attacks…but blackmailing a potential source is poor form.
The company's statement failed to address the journalists’ tactics, as this tweet also pointed out:
Do you also denounce the threat of doxxing private citizens, their girlfriends, and any other people they know by your reporter? It appears that @NICKIMINAJ has the receipts showing that your reporter did that. https://t.co/fZCfJxPc5b
— GaelicKat ?️?✒️ (@GaelicKat) September 17, 2021
<PERSON>, the hip-hop editor for the popular culture website Uproxx, weighed in:
[This] reporter crosses a line by intimating that a competing outlet, CNN, is also pursuing an interview. The texter suggests that CNN would reveal personal information about the cousin — something against the journalistic integrity policy of any legitimate news outlet — and assuring that the Guardian would not. Aside from being the dirtiest of dirty pool, this sort of thing isn’t common practice at most outlets and is actually against the law in many jurisdictions. […]
While <PERSON> certainly has a right to be upset at the unsolicited contact, there’s 1. no proof that the texter actually is this person, and 2. 957