People Spammed An Anti-Abortion Snitch Site With ‘Shrek’ Porn
Ask the internet to snitch, and this is what happens.
The internet has created a wonderful opportunity for online activism. And in a stunning display of immature humour and smart tactics, people have bombarded an anti-abortion snitch site with Shrek porn and prank submissions.
The anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life has invited “pro-life whistleblowers” to report on people who have or helped with abortions that are past six weeks gestation. This comes in line with a new bill which will come into effect on 1 September that will outlaw anyone with a pregnancy more than six weeks to access vital abortion care in Texas. Six weeks is barely enough time to confirm a pregnancy and arrange an abortion appointment.
More than 20 abortion providers in Texas have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the law from taking effect — this will happen this week.
The bill authorises individuals to take legal action and enforce the Texan law “against any person who performs an abortion… or knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of the abortion.” This is particularly threatening to staff who work for abortion clinics, but could even apply to people who helped someone pay for an abortion, or drove a patient to the clinic.
Texas Right to Life has already set up a website in anticipation for the law to take effect, encouraging “whistleblowers” to anonymously snitch on those who have aided in abortion services, and written into the bill is the reward of $10,000 in damages paid along with all court costs. A questionnaire by the pro-life organisation promises to “plug you into the best way you can enforce the law.”
Texas Right to Life’s director of media and communication, Kim Schwartz, told Vice, “Hopefully there won’t have to be any lawsuits, because abortionists will follow the law.”
The Texas Right to Life website provides a space for people to submit anonymous tips, with the ability to upload “evidence”. And this is where all the beautifully hilarious prank submissions have taken place.
User @Williamshaughn_ shared that he had found the form to ‘help enforce the Texas Heartbeat Act’. “You can attach any file you want to, so I ah, I just sent them a bunch of Shrek porn, and you can do it too.”
Shrek porn is a lot. I do not recommend you Google it.
Another submission to the snitch site.
The aim was to crash the site, and it did last weekend, according to Vice, but the aforementioned media manager for the pro-life group, Kim Schwarz, said they anticipated the spamming. “If you give people a form on the internet, the internet will do what the internet does. So we weren’t surprised by any of this… We have it all under control.”
The site now blocks VPNs outside the country.
Other people have been more creative, encouraging digital hexes. I mean, whatever you gotta do.
