Those with Platforms Should Wield them Better for the Sake of Victims

Since May 2020, there has been a rise in demand for influencers and creators with platforms to speak up about current events and human rights. And certainly, there has been no shortage of coverage — effectively, opinion pieces— from publications on the topic over the last four years.

These last few days have been an absolute frenzy of influencers and creators trying to beat journalists to cover an incredibly difficult and nuanced topic because it involved another influencer — inappropriate misconduct with a minor.

Over the last five days, I watched as influencers played both sides of the story so that if “enough evidence” didn’t come to life they could pick the side their audience would be most satisfied with.

Other creators created rushed YouTube videos spreading incredible and obvious misinformation jumping to the least likely conclusions at every turn.

The situation involves at least one known victim, who was (and may still be) a  minor. I wasn’t old enough to watch what happened to Monica Lewinsky, herself a famous victim, but I did have an opportunity to meet her (after many years hearing her name as the butt of a joke).

I’ve seen how Lewinsky has been treated by people and how they still treat her today. The most powerful man in the world abused his position of power to his ends. He was a 49 year old President of the United States and she was a 22 year old intern. That is an abuse of power on numerous levels. She was a victim and was openly treated without dignity, and since then many publications and outlets have acknowledged how damaging the coverage was to her.

Yet today, despite the benefit of hindsight with analogous situations like Lewinsky’s, there are people calling for the private and openly admitted “inappropriate” Twitch Whispers between a 35 year old man and a minor of unknown age. If the mob found the identity of this victim it would change the victim’s life even more so than it already has. Much of this fervor for the release of the Twitch Whispers centers around figuring out “how much of a minor” the victim was - were they nearly 18, or were they younger?

But does it matter how much of a minor this person was?

This situation truly couldn’t be much more complex and nuanced — and yet, creators who have balked at speaking up against any of the current genocides felt comfortable and qualified enough to speak up and spread misinformation with their whole chest.

It seems that when its sexual assault or violence against women, everyone seems to be educated enough to weigh in, have an opinion, and trumpet it from the rooftops. Yet these same people deem themselves not educated enough to speak on any one of the humanitarian crises caused by other humans going on around the world.

As a woman, I am so heartbroken at the ease at which those with platforms and outlets acted so carelessly and callously by spreading misinformation and speculation, all while ignoring the victim. As a human, I am disappointed - because it is clear as day to anyone with a pulse that what these individuals cared about was scandal, clout-farming, and engagement over anything else.

There are innumerable reasons why victims do not immediately report their experiences, or, later on, choose not to testify. Even if you don’t understand these reasons, most people in the United States have watched procedurals like Law & Order SVU, where almost every episode includes a victim struggling to testify. When they do, they are vilified, attacked, and denigrated on the stand. 

On today’s internet, these victims now have even more to fear - the clout-farming influencer who wants to break a story, regardless of the social impact or effect on another individual’s life. I hope that as a community we learn to be better to the victims of tomorrow, even if this story continues to unfold, and we try to support the alleged victims of today. 

Some facts & Information on Sexual Crimes

• From RAINN

  • Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.

  • And every 9 minutes, that victim is a child.

  • Only 25 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.

• Why Society Goes Easy on Rapists

• Reasons Victims Choose to Report—or Not

• Why Don’t They Tell?

• The Underreporting and Dismissal of Sexual Assault Cases Against Women in the United States

• People Are Sharing What "To Catch A Predator" Men Were Like Before They Were Caught On The Show, And It's Pretty Scary