Yikes - Tumblr Posts
TW: Alleged sexual interactions with minors, violence, racism, homophobia.
We did not create any of the document(s) and website(s) linked here. We are not stating that this individual is definitively guilty of anything. This is all alleged information. Please come to your own conclusions. This blog and post is for educational and entertainment purposes.
As many are aware, the Fate community recently came together to push out a user on Twitter last week (@/chaeyatxt, all other handles shown here are former handles that he used as well within the span of the last year or so) who allegedly had sexual conversations with minors in his Discord server. Once these allegations were made public, many other Twitter users came forward with additional testimonies regarding this individual. The most concerning allegations within these testimonies were that this individual had lied about his race and identity in order to discriminate against, manipulate, and harass other Twitter users off the platform.
Said user has gone many names and handles, but is most commonly referred to as Merlin. However, Merlin took little accountability, instead deactivating his Twitter and migrating to this platform. As a result, we will be informing users here of what took place so that they might avoid him. His current handle on Tumblr is @/lesbianismbutloser, but he is known to change his username frequently, often daily. In particular, he seems to change it whenever someone brings up his alleged previous actions and username(s) here.
If reading about this individual’s alleged prior behavior makes you uncomfortable, we recommend blocking him, as blacklisting will be very difficult. At the time he deactivated his Twitter account, he had stated himself to be 21 years old.
His alleged inappropriate behavior with minors included some individuals as young as 14 years old, who will not be named or specified for their safety and privacy. The following are alleged records of this individual’s sexual conversations with minors, as well as other concerning behavior:
Document alleging he had a Discord server channel whose purpose was to give "sex education" to minors. (Link to the creator's twitter post).
Follow-up document of testimonies from minors involved in the above allegation. (Link to the creator's twitter post).
Website that showcases the alleged contradictions in his identity and medical history.
Document showcasing a detailed Twitter report about his alleged racism and harassment.
We do not condone the harassment of any individuals mentioned in this document. If you witness anyone harassing and slandering this individual and/or any other individuals involved in this matter, please encourage them to stop and only spread factual information/evidences/testimonies.
Below are some examples from the documents, as well as some captures from the WayBackMachine that show his previous tweets. We advise caution and to reread our content/trigger warnings at the top:
Examples of alleged sexual interactions with minors (we recommend reading the full story on the documents linked above):
It is alleged he lied about being a "sex educator" and "sexual therapist" in order to have these sexual conversations with children.
Example of other alleged crimes:
Examples of alleged racism, homophobia, and race faking:
Merlin states he is not Asian in 2021 but later states he is in 2022.
There are many more alleged contradictions in his identity. Again, please read the full context in the documents and websites link above.
Thank you for reading and please stay safe.
What is this about the tumblr staff wanting to sell art data to midjourney?
An ex-colleague of mine mentioned yesterday that there may be contacts between Automattic and midjourney in that direction, but nothing is public yet and I don't have any more info. They probably won't have anything specific to share either, since they left the company weeks ago too. That being said:
I have no reason to doubt my ex-coworker word, they are a trustworthy person.
Tumblr's CEO has been absurdly enthusiastic (comically, even) about AI, and is a big fan of LLMs and 'AI' companies.
A deal with midjourney could solve tumblr financial issues (not the same company, but openAi is paying up to 5 million/year to news companies to use their content as training data... tumblr generates several orders of magnitude more content than any newspaper or any media company and it only would need a 20 to 30 million per year deal to be profitable)
So I don't have any extra info yet, but I'm keeping my ears open.
KOKOBOT - The Airbnb-Owned Tech Startup - Data Mining Tumblr Users' Mental Health Crises for "Content"
I got this message from a bot, and honestly? If I was a bit younger and not such a jaded bitch with a career in tech, I might have given it an honest try. I spent plenty of time in a tough situation without access to any mental health resources as a teen, and would have been sucked right in.
Chatting right from your phone, and being connected with people who can help you? Sounds nice. Especially if you believe the testimonials they spam you with (tw suicide / self harm mention in below images)
But I was getting a weird feeling, so I went to read the legalese.
I couldn't even get through the fine-print it asked me to read and agree to, without it spamming the hell out of me. Almost like they expect people to just hit Yes? But I'm glad I stopped to read, because:
What you say on there won't be confidential. (And for context, I tried it out and the things people were looking for help with? I didn't even feel comfortable sharing here as examples, it was all so deeply personal and painful)
Also, what you say on there? Is now...
Koko's intellectual property - giving them the right to use it in any way they see fit, including
Publicly performing or displaying your "content" (also known as your mental health crisis) in any media format and in any media channel without limitation
Do this indefinitely after you end your account with them
Sell / share this "content" with other businesses
Any harm you come to using Koko? That's on you.
And Koko won't take responsibility for anything someone says to you on there (which is bleak when people are using it to spread Christianity to people in crisis)
I was curious about their business model. They're a venture-capitol based tech startup, owned by Airbnb, the famous mental health professionals with a focus on ethical business practices./s They're also begging for donations despite having already been given 2.5 million dollars in research funding. (If you want a deep dive on why people throw crazy money at tech startups, see my other post here)
They also use the data they gather from users to conduct research and publish papers. I didn't find them too interesting - other than as a good case study of "People tend to find what they are financially incentivized to find". Predictably, Koko found that Kokobot was beneficial to its users.
So yeah, being a dumbass with too much curiosity, I decided to use the Airbnb-owned Data-Mining Mental Health Chatline anyway. And if you thought it was dangerous sounding from the disclaimers? Somehow it got worse.
(trigger warning / discussions of child abuse / sexual abuse / suicide / violence below the cut - please don't read if you're not in a good place to hear about negligence around pretty horrific topics.)
I first messed around with the available options, but then I asked it about something obviously concerning, saying I had a gun and was going to shoot myself. It responded... Poorly. Imagine the vibes of trying to cancel Comcast, when you're suicidal.
Anyway, I tried again to ask for help about something else that would be concerning enough for any responsible company to flag. School was one of their main options, which seems irresponsible - do you really think a child in crisis would read that contract?
I told it about a teacher at school trying to "be my boyfriend", and it immediately suggested I help someone else while I wait for help. I was honestly concerned that it wasn't flagged before connecting. Especially when I realized it was connecting me to children.
I first got someone who seemed to be a child in an abusive home. (Censored for their privacy.) I declined to talk to them because despite being an adult and in an OK mental place - I knew I'm not equipped to counsel a kid through that. If my act of being another kid in crisis was real? Holy shit.
Remember- if my BS was true, that kid would be being "helped" by an actively suicidal kid who's also being groomed by a teacher. Their pipeline for "helpers" is the same group of people looking for help.
I skipped a number of messages, and they mostly seemed to be written by children and young adults with nowhere else to turn. Plus one scary one from an adult whose "problem" was worrying that they'd been inappropriate with a female student, asking her to pull her skirt down "a little" in front of the class. Koko paired this person with someone reporting that they were a child being groomed by a teacher. Extremely dangerous, and if this was an episode of Black Mirror? I'd say it was a little too on the nose to be believable.
I also didn't get the option to get help without being asked... Er... Harassed... to help others. If I declined, I'd get the next request for help, and the next. If I ignored it, I got spammed by the "We lost you there!" messages, asking if I'd like to pick up where I left off, seeing others' often triggering messages while waiting for help, including seriously homophobic shit. I was going into this as an experiment, starting from a good mental place, and being an adult with coping skills from an actual therapist, and I still felt triggered by a lot of what I read. I can't imagine the experience someone actually in crisis would be having.
My message was starting to feel mild in comparison to what some people were sharing - but despite that I was feeling very uneasy about my message being shown to children. There didn't seem to be a way to take it back either.
Then I got a reply about my issue. It was very kind and well meaning, but VERY horrifying. Because it seemed to be written by a child, or someone too young to understand that "Do have feelings for the teacher who's grooming you? If you don't, you should go talk to him." Is probably THE most dangerous advice possible.
Not judging the author - I get the impression they're probably a child seeking help themselves and honestly feel horribly guilty my BS got sent to a young person and they wanted to reply. Because WTF. No kid should be in that position to answer my fucked up question or any of the others like it.
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Anyway, what can you do if this concerns you, or you've had a difficult experience on Koko, with no support from them or Tumblr?
To reach Tumblr, who officially partners with Koko?
Send a message to Tumblr Support describing your concerns with their partnership with Kokobot
Report kokobot to Tumblr's abuse hotline describing your experience with KokoBot, especially if you are a minor who suffered harm, as they have a legal responsibility to address that.
To get Koko's attention:
Get on their LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/kokocares/) and comment on their posts! You may also want to tag the company's co-founders in your comments - their accounts are listed on the company page.
There's no way to reach support through chat, and commenting on a company's LinkedIn posts / tagging the people responsible is the best way to get a quick response to a sensitive issue - as their investors and research funders follow those posts, and companies take it seriously if safety issues are brought up in front of the people giving them millions of dollars.
Request support on Koko's Discord - FYI they will allow you to file a ticket privately, which the moderators say will reach the staff. But you may be muted or banned for trying to discuss concerns with Koko as a company or the safety of kokobot in the public channels, which also cuts you off from the ability to file a ticket.
To report it to the FCC for likely violating the COPPA law, regarding minors' safety and privacy online:
See Reblogs for further info & reporting instructions: Detailed description of COPPA law and Kokobot's presumed violations, plus detailed reporting instructions
But quick links: FCC reporting website and email hotline: CoppaHotLine@ftc.gov
Seriously, if you've taken the time to read this far, please please please take one more minute to file a report! It won't get addressed if all we do is reblog this, we need to get this in front of Tumblr Staff / The FCC / Koko's investors to get this meaningfully addressed.
Blocking and reporting the bot as spam isn't enough IMO - people have been doing that for years from the looks of the tag
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Reccomended reading in reblogs:
dropattackbear's discovery of what Koko is using the harvested data for (Machine Learning training data for automated content moderation services)
winderlylandchime (a licenced clinical psychologist's) explanation of privacy / ethics considerations around mental health services
thatsmimi's post on the dangers of letting minors act as a suicide / self-harm resource
My additions on their investors, leadership board, and their current job opening
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Legal Disclaimer since tech companies LOVE lawsuits:
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual. This text is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to be referenced for legal, business, or investment purposes. This text is based on publically available information. Sources may contain factual errors. The analysis provided in this text may contain factual errors, miscalculations, or misunderstandings.
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Adobe is going to spy on your projects. This is insane.
HOW do people come up with fic ideas. I literally have so much energy to write but my brain is a desolate wasteland
“ LISTEN, i really have no m o t i v a t i o n to ARGUE with you, so could you, i don’t know, move along ? i need to get back to my bunk. “
“No, that was almost good. If I was new to the game I might consider feeling offended. Just strike the ‘last time I checked’ part . Really ruins it all again. Kicks you right back into the home base.”
*my best friend leans closer to me to see the computer better while were watching anime*
Me, who cannot tell the difference between platonic and romantic feelings: 👁👄👁
My live reaction when I see “ spam = blocked ,, in somebody’s bio / pinned post after I went down a rabbit hole of their writings…
* cue sad background music *
I seen a post with the same text as above slightly different but tumblr is eating my likes..
Also I don’t mean to be annoying I’ll be going through my likes and be like “ OH I DIDNT FINISH READING THAT ,, or I’ll see a fic in the description will sound super interesting so I unlike then re like sorry if it’s annoying 😬
making new friends is great until you forget that they don't know your Tragic Backstory™ and they accidentally ask a question that makes you mention a Trauma™ and they stare at you horrified like WHAT THE FUCK and you either just move past it or get so uncomfortable with their reaction you word vomit a long winded explanation minimizing the trauma and then the next day you text them to apologize if you accidentally made them uncomfortable and giving them permission to tell you to shut up if it happens again
Mara just can’t catch a break! Another fire while trying to bake a birthday cake
Life rn has been like *screeching with emotion, declaring* I’m an even keeled person! *sobbing* I’m totally calm right now
Alright I've got Buffy on the brain in the year of 2024 so imagine this
Au: everybody lives nobody dies (though some, like Jenny, are seriously injured) and the scoobies and co. are all sitting around in a dining room post season 7. Tara goes to watch TV with dawn and Giles insists on getting snacks. Xander pulls out a pouch with a goofy grin on his face as he sets it on the table. Out of nowhere, he announces that everyone at the table will be playing either smash or pass, or smash marry kill.
Chaos ensues.
LYO ATTACK!!! (I randomly searched for "fish lyoth" or "fish lyo" and the results were the lionfish. So why not?)
hey guys, serious post. i do not usually engage in shipping discourse but what is currently happening is downright disgusting and actually harmful.
i’m not sure if this has been shared off of twitter yet, but there’s a group of proshippers within the phighting community deliberately drawing NSFW content in the artstyle of big artists, most of whom are minors, particularly artists that are big over on twitter. this has been stressing me and my friends out. these proshippers cross boundaries. they’ve already mimicked the styles of HcBeau and kelcair, and one of them posted a list of “ideas” of who to copy next. if you somehow come across NSFW content in the style of a popular phighting artist (particularly one who’s a minor), chances are they did not draw it.
The almost throw away line at the start of today's update re: Dracula leaving Jonathan's room gave me Ramsey Bolton vibes (poor Sansa/Jonathan). I don't get people who ship Drac and Jonathan at all, or who think Drac is hot or whatever (but then I'm demi so I wouldn't get it even if he wasn't a monstrous baby killing kidnapper I suppose).
Reading Dracula on my own time and I'm feeling dread for the Dracula Daily people about October 3
Not because I know that the plot is dark but because it's nearly 50 FUCKING PAGES
Edit: got it a bit wrong that it's only 33 (also read them now and it's cool story) but still obscenely long