Bard spotting on Bluesky 17 January 2025

Ms. Penny Oaken, SkyWitch (@skywitches.net):

I guess my point about the detransition subreddit circa 2019 is that it was clearly operated by transphobes and heavily astroturfed by transphobes. The top commenters had unlikely narratives; one relating being prescribed Testosterone in the UK for transition without any consult with a physician.

Ms. Penny Oaken, SkyWitch (@skywitches.net):

Her narrative included the claim that she never met the prescribing physician, was given a brief questionnaire over email, and that she was never warned by physician or pharmacist that she might grow facial hair, have a deepend voice, and experience MPB.

Ms. Penny Oaken, SkyWitch (@skywitches.net):

The most prolific commenter in the subreddit was indistinguishable in rhetoric from pure GenderCritical transphobia - telling trans people they "crazy" to expect society to treat them as their gender, flatly negging them, & using sexual anxiety claims of high rates of STDs in demographic

Ms. Penny Oaken, SkyWitch (@skywitches.net):

Finding a research note I wrote 5 years back on this person, that she ascribed the increase in transgender identification to MKULTRA, in that subreddit.

throws up hands and slumps

Ms. Penny Oaken, SkyWitch (@skywitches.net):

And now that I've run the account through the newer classification algo, it turns out this account also platformed antivaxx fearmongering in other subreddits, and promoted naturopath products / supplements.

Of course. Of course.