Following Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s signage of the controversial “heartbeat” bill that bans abortions in the state, a conservative group created a website where individuals can anonymously name suspected violators of the law. But the move quickly backfired as Texans flooded the tip line with fake reports.
As noted by MySanAntonio.com, the conservative group Texas Right to Life “set up prolifewhistleblower.com, a website site that has a form where whistleblowers can write out details of the supposed violations, including doctors behind the alleged abortion, and even upload files to support their claim if they wish.
In a tweet from August 23, the religious group urged whistleblowers to “simply submit an anonymous tip and we’ll do the rest.” The organization doesn’t clarify exactly what that means or what it would do the anonymous tips were received.
The bill, considered one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country, is set to go into law on September 1. But people are already using the site to submit fake tips. Many Reddit users are including photos of pornography, some in reference to animated characters like Shrek.
The trolls are not only giving a headache to whoever has to go through the anonymous tips, but standing up for Texas women in the process.
“I saw someone uploading Shrek porn to it all day,” claims u/c0nkah.
“I’m definitely sending in pictures of my menstrual cup dump outs when I get the opportunity in a couple weeks,” admits u/cordial_carbonara.
“An anonymous tip website with the ability to send pictures? The solution here is simple,” says a confident u/chopandscrew. “Send them pictures of your poop.”
“People will use it to report ex-girlfriends, girls they don’t like,” points out u/Dan-68. “This has lots of potential for misuse as a form of revenge.”
“Can you imagine if you have a miscarriage, are very emotional, and your neighbor reports you?” questions u/redtron3030.
“An anonymous tip website with the ability to send pictures? The solution here is simple,” says a confident u/chopandscrew. “Send them pictures of your poop.”
One user, u/Mr_Prestonius, said that since the site is hosted through GoDaddy, it will have to abide by the company’s rules. One of those rules includes not collecting “non-public or personally identifiable information” about another person without their written consent, meaning that all non-trolling submissions that include a real person’s information would not be allowed.
Other users said they have reported the website for violating this rule, and it may have resulted in the website giving error messages at times on Wednesday.
Trolls, you might actually win this one. Stay tuned, Texas.
