Authenticity in the age of bots and trolls

Can you prove your identity and protect it at the same time?

Photo by Elijah O’Donell on Unsplash

Some Mondays remind you that malicious pricks still inhabit the world. Like the most recent one. The morning opened on a weird note. With a message from Medium, asking me if I’d sent them a message.

No, I hadn’t. But someone had, and they’d used my email address.

Apparently someone wanted Medium to think I was some kinda online cyber-stalker, who’d blackmailed a former porn star by catfishing her. Gaining her trust. Then threatening to expose her past.

So they tried to write a confession in my voice and then sent it through the support staff’s contact page.

I’d never do something like that. Blackmail a porn star? Sounds like way too much work. I’m fundamentally lazy. That’s why I became a professor.

Besides, I like porn stars. Some of my best friends happen to be porn actors. I’m not even joking. Or am I?

Nothing really came of this weirdo’s clumsy attempt to get me in trouble. But the incident marks the upteenth time someone’s tried to fuck with me online. Either ripping off my content. Creating a bot account with my pics. Or (gasp) sending me nasty pictures on Twitter.