The hippy gives you his hot take on the terrible state of Twitter, and why you should still be on it anyway.
I’m still on Twitter (the website no one calls “X”), and I still use it nearly daily. I’m definitely not on there as much as I used to be, but I’m still there. And you should be too.
When the Nazis occupied Paris during WWII, did all the Parisians flee? I’m sure some did, but the majority stayed. The French were there first, they outlasted the Nazis, and helped drive them out. I was on Twitter first. I’m not going to let some stupid, racist, fascist douchebags drive me out. Fuck them. That’s why I’m still on Twitter.
The Muskification of Twitter has been nothing short of a disaster for us Twitter old timers. Twitter used to be a mostly friendly place, full of quality information. It was the place to find breaking news first.
When I originally signed up for Twitter, it was for professional reasons. As a journalist, Twitter was an excellent resource for guidance, or finding footage, or eye witness accounts of major incidents.
Twitter kept me ahead on many different stories, and just off the top of my head, I got first confirmation of Michael Jackson’s death on Twitter, and I saw the first moving video of the Grenfell Tower fire here in London on there as well.
Twitter is much different today. It is full of misinformation confidently posted by the owner of the platform, his acolytes, and other “far right influencers”. It’s a lot of noise to deal with constantly, when all you want to do is find truth. People need to call out the bullshit. That’s why I’m still on Twitter. And why you should be too.
Many people I followed, and genuinely liked on Twitter have left the platform. I miss their tweets popping up in my feed, I miss the engagement, the conversations, the sharing of ideas, and links to interesting stuff.
I still read my replies when I get them, but I don’t sit there endlessly scrolling like I used to do. More recently, I tend to tweet, and run, with only two real goals: 1) To provide some giggles for all the cool, hip, empathetic people who remain on the platform, and 2) To trigger, and piss off the knuckle draggers. It’s not really difficult, it takes up very little time, and it’s fun.
I’ve become a prolific shitposter, mainly since Trump was inaugurated again. To be fair, I’ve been making silly graphics for a few years now, but never so many in such a short period of time.
My shitposting rules are simple: I don’t spend more than 5-10 minutes making a graphic. I try to be as timely, and newsworthy as possible. And I whenever I trigger a stranger enough to send me a snotty reply, I consider it a victory. That’s why I’m still on Twitter.
Even better, I use Musk’s AI, Grok, to generate many of the grotesque images I include. There’s a certain satisfaction knowing I’m using his technology to attack him, and the far right.
Obviously I don’t pay for a blue tick, but I don’t need one. As long as I tag the right celebrity, or politician, or use a trending hashtag, I get plenty of views, and engagement. And don’t forget retweets. There are still plenty of good people who haven’t left, and they are more than happy to amplify my shitposts. You should be one of them.
You need to fight the fascists where they live. In the 1940s, my Dad went to Germany to do it, and he “deleted” lots of them. Today, they all seem to live on Twitter, especially after so many banned accounts were reinstated, including the fascist-in-chief. I don’t claim to be anything more than a small thorn in their sides, but I’m doing what I can to combat them. That’s why I’m still on Twitter.
I don’t limit my shitposting to US politics, I am also partial to attacking our own homegrown, far right grifters, and evildoers, and their supporters.
During last summer’s riots here in the UK, I was also a bit prolific in my attacks against the racists. Again, the fun comes from their hate-filled, fat-fingered replies. That’s why I’m still on Twitter.
As a general rule, the nastier the response, the more random digits the attacker will have in their Twitter username. Add to that their lack of followers, and both are dead giveaways that these are relatively new accounts set up by people who have been banned, probably more than once, or paid for bots. You can help get them banned again, just by triggering them. Fish, meet barrel.
And believe it or not, Twitter is actually pretty good about hiding the seriously egregious replies, either as probable spam, or just disappearing them completely. You need to actively seek them out to see them. And don’t forget, the mute button is there for a reason. You don’t ever have to put up with anyone’s bullshit. I certainly don’t.
I’m on other platforms, like BlueSky, and Mastodon, and I am a prolific Redditor, as both a poster, and a scroller. It’s not as if I don’t have other options, but I am not going to let a bunch of grifting, far right scumbags occupy Twitter forever.
We were there first, and we can outlast them all. The only way I’m leaving Twitter is if Elmo bans me, and I really hope one of my graphics finally hits his screen. I dare him to ban me, and if he ever does, I’ll wear that shit like a badge of honour.
And that’s why I’m still on Twitter.
After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press and Reuters, and 15 years as a duty news editor for BBC News, Doug – the northlondonhippy is now a full time hippy, and writer. And for the last few years, he’s been #EpilepsyHippy. His life was a whole lot more fun before gaining that new title. For real.
Doug is also the author of “Personal Use by the northlondonhippy.” “Personal Use” chronicles Doug’s years of experience with mind altering substances, while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!
If you want even more, (and who wouldn’t?) you could always check out Hippy Highlights – which is the best of the best stuff on the site, and it’s all free to read. What are you waiting for?
