Abbie Richards

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Abbie Richards
Personal information
Born1996 (age 27–28)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Online personality
  • Science communicator
Websitewww.abbiesr.com
Instagram information
Page
Genres
  • Science communication
  • Anti-conspiracy

Abbie Richards (born 1996) is a misinformation educator and environmental activist whose conspiracy theory charts went viral on Twitter in 2020 and 2021.

Early life and education

Richards was born in 1996 and grew up in Newton, Massachusetts.[1][2] She graduated from Colorado College with a degree in environmental science, and in 2022 she graduated with a masters in climate studies from Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.[1][2][3]

Comedy career

After graduating from Colorado College, Richards moved to Melbourne to work in standup comedy.[2]

Social media career

Richards has written articles for the Global Network on Extremism and Technology,[4] Media Matters for America,[5] and Newsweek.[6] Her written work often focuses on correcting online misinformation or discussing TikTok culture or trends.

On May 30, 2020, she posted a video showing a protester at a racial justice march during the George Floyd protests talking to an emotional police officer, which received 6 million views.[7] By July 2020, views of her TikTok posts had dropped to under 9000 each in what Screen Rant called an apparent case of shadow banning, either intentional or due to a faulty algorithm.[7] She also was restricted from live streaming on TikTok without explanation.[7]

Environmental activism

Richards began posting criticism of golf and golf courses on TikTok after running past a golf course in the spring of 2020 and noticing the course's "no trespassing" signs.[1][2] She told The Daily Dot that "the privatization of green spaces, especially during a pandemic when people need to maximize their distance from one another, made me furious."[2] She posted to TikTok a video "about running for president to make golf illegal" which went viral.[1] Her posts focus on concerns about environmental impact and social inequality, but she also includes among her criticisms that the game is boring and "the clothes are ugly".[1][2][7][8] According to Richards her posts "started as a joke, and 100 percent is not a joke anymore" as her concerns became more serious as she did more research.[1][2]

ESPN commenter Kenny Mayne referenced the anti-golf content in a tweet, saying "The producers think the TikTok Golf hater girl @abbieasr is too avant-garde for a full SportsCenter segment".[1][7]

In January 2021, Richards published an op-ed about golf on Euronews Living entitled "Golf is a giant board game damaging the planet: Time for it to go."[9]

Richards is a member of EcoTok, a TikTok collective which focuses on creating environmentalist content.[10][11]

Misinformation education

In 2020, Richards created "The Conspiracy Chart", an inverted pyramid assessing various conspiracy theories on a spectrum from "Grounded in Reality" to "Detached from Reality", which according to New Zealand journalist David Farrier "went bonkers on Twitter".[12][13][14] In 2021, Richards created an updated version of the chart that went viral.[15][16][17]

Richards has created TikToks on and spoken to news outlets about misinformation and conspiracy theories on the app,[18] such as videos promoting QAnon and other antisemitic conspiracy theories,[19][20] or misleading videos of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21][22][23]

TikTok research

Richards has conducted research on TikTok and its algorithm.[24] One of her reports describes pervasive white supremacist content on the app.[25][26]

Recognition

Richards was included on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2023, in the category of Consumer Technology.[11]

Personal life

As of February 2022, Richards resides in Boston.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Martinelli, Michelle (2020-08-03). "Meet TikTok's viral environmentalist 'anti-golf girl' who argues against golf courses". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Schroeder, Audra (2020-06-04). "Meet the woman who is trying to cancel golf on TikTok". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  3. ^ "About". Abbie Richards. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  4. ^ "Abbie Richards – GNET". Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  5. ^ Richards, Abbie (27 February 2023). ""National Rape Day" hoax goes viral on TikTok for second time". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  6. ^ Richards, Abbie (2023-03-22). "Hands off My TikTok. Banning It Would Hurt the Most Marginalized". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  7. ^ a b c d e Davis, Hubert (2020-07-25). "TikTok Shadowbanned: Major TikToker Shut Out of For You & Live". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 2020-08-28. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  8. ^ ""Cancel golf!" - Internet personality wants sport..." Bunkered. 2021-01-09. Archived from the original on 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  9. ^ Richards, Abbie (9 January 2021). "Golf is a giant board game damaging the planet: Time for it to go". Euronews Living. Euronews. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Our Team". EcoTok. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  11. ^ a b "Abbie Richards". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  12. ^ Farrier, David. "I talk to the creator of the Conspiracy Chart". Webworm. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  13. ^ "Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?". Brut. Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  14. ^ Myrman, Dan (6 January 2021). "Abbie Richards & The Inverted Conspiracy Pyramid". Podcasts.nu (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  15. ^ Larson, Shannon (2021-11-29). "This chart on conspiracy theories has gone viral. A local disinformation researcher breaks down what to know". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  16. ^ "Conspiracy theories are everywhere and people don't understand how harmful they are". Twitter.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  17. ^ a b Tauber, Rebecca (2022-02-09). "Abbie Richards fights TikTok disinformation with a cup of tea, a conspiracy chart and a punchline". GBH. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  18. ^ Raphael, Rina (2022-06-29). "TikTok Is Flooded With Health Myths. These Creators Are Pushing Back". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  19. ^ "Unpaid Fact-Checkers Are Getting Burnout From Debunking So Many Nazis on TikTok". www.vice.com. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  20. ^ Wong, Jessica (3 November 2022). "Antisemitic conspiracies are rampant online. Students, experts share how to combat them". CBC. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  21. ^ Richards, Abbie (25 February 2022). "TikTok is facilitating the spread of misinformation surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  22. ^ "TikTok sees a surge of misleading videos that claim to show the invasion of Ukraine". NPR. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  23. ^ Tenbarge, Kat; Collins, Ben (25 February 2022). "Video games and fake livestreams: War in Ukraine sparks new wave of misinformation". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  24. ^ "How TikTok swept the internet". The Washington Post. 14 October 2022.
  25. ^ Richards, Abbie (18 July 2022). "Examining White Supremacist and Militant Accelerationism Trends on TikTok". GNET. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  26. ^ Press-Reynolds, Kieran. "TikTok could serve as an 'amplifier of hateful ideologies,' according to new report analyzing Buffalo shooter's beliefs". Insider. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
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