• Skip to main content

Brendon Marotta

  • Work
  • Blog
  • Show
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Archives for June 2020

Why Twitter Banned Me (And How I Got My Account Back)

June 28, 2020 By Brendon Marotta

First, the question everyone has been asking me:

“Why were you banned on Twitter (and how did you get your account back)?”

Here is what I’ve been able to piece together:

The ban was an automated ban generated by Twitter’s new “Get the facts about COVID-19” anti-fake news pop-up. If you type “Corona 5G” into twitter, Twitter automatically adds a “Get the facts about COVID-19” alert to the bottom of your post, regardless of context. Many users were testing this feature by making tweets like “I think Corona 5G is false conspiracy theory” or “probably going to drink 5 gallons of corona beer tonight, Corona 5G!” only to have the system assume they were making an actual conspiracy theory post about coronavirus being caused by 5G wireless towers.

One of the interns I had helping me with my film twitter account posted multiple “Corona 5G” tweets to his own account – not mine or my film twitter accounts – and got locked out and asked to enter a PIN code to get back into their account. However, this automated system locked every account they were logged into, including mine and the account for my film.

While their account was fine because it got PIN code for re-entry, mine were not. I’ve had an ongoing issue with Twitter where they do not send my phone number an auto-mated PIN. I learned over a year ago when I tried to set-up two-factor authentication and could not because of this issue. I tweeted Twitter support about it but never received a reply. It was like talking into the void. This meant that although twitter listed the ban as “temporary” and said “just enter the code!” it was not temporary, and there was no code.

So tl;dr version: Twitter locked me out due to a poorly implemented censorship system and technical bugs.

While this was not personal, it is political. When Twitter makes a decision to censor certain content or theories, and the system they use to implement that causes accounts to be banned, that is a political decision. It’s just that Twitter is so bad at censoring their users that they don’t always attack the speech they intend to target.

In some way, this is far worse. If twitter had looked at my content and decided it violated their rules it would at least be a conscious decision. What actually happened was Twitter made a robot to censor speech and it malfunctioned and started shooting innocent bystanders.

What this shows is that Twitter is an incompetent technology company. They don’t fix basic features like 2FA when users report errors because they are too busy implementing censorship rules, which also don’t work correctly, because – see point one – they are an incompetent technology company. (I was sweating every technical issue on the platform that I’m launching, but after seeing what a mess the preferred platform of Presidents and journalists is, I’m much less worried.)

The worst part as that there was no one to contact. Twitter has two options – and an automated system and a support email. The support email takes 2-3 weeks to reply, and every time you send a new support email you go to the bottom of the queue. Every reply I received from that email was a form letter, clearly not generated by a human being.

These platforms are important. I’d gladly pay a couple of dollars a month for each social media platform I use if it meant I could have a support phone number to call when things like this happen. Sadly, the business model they’ve chosen is surveillance capitalism, so instead, they’ll spy on everything I do while logged in, except when I send support emails.

I appealed the ban June 6, 2020. They unlocked my account June 24, 2020. 18 days. During that time – June 17, 11 days after the ban – I made a new account (that is now my backup account) and wrote about what had happened so far here.

When I wrote about the ban, I made sure to include just the facts: This is what happened. This is what I was working on at the time. This is where you can follow me now. However, most were quick to assume it was targeted censorship for my work on the issue of circumcision. Even haters were quick to pull out the “Twitter is a private company, they can ban who they want” argument. Strange how they’ve gone silent since Twitter endorsed my content by letting me back on and admitting what they did was a mistake!

The fact this was everyone’s first assumption shows that Twitter has such a reputation for censorship. Given the fact they don’t fix basic bugs and use their resources to implement censorship AI, it’s deserved. However, activists and users are wrong to assume it is mostly implemented manually. Maybe it is a human censoring in the case of Presidents, politicians, and major public figures. But in most cases, it’s robots and AI that are being trained to censor. Anyone who has ever worked with AI can tell you – it doesn’t always do what you expect.

This is relevant for activists because these companies might not implement their policies in an intelligent way, and if you avoid certain phrases or behaviors, you could still push any idea you want on their platform. In fact, censorship policies are most likely to impact regular users, not skilled activists, because activists quickly learn which phrases and behaviors to avoid, while regular users are not thinking about the political dimension of their speech in the same way.

Anyway, my account is back – @bdmarotta here – but I still can’t get 2FA working on my phone number. I doubt they’ve fixed the bug that got me banned, so if you have access to brand account that you want to TANK, here is the formula, which I am only sharing this as an example of what-not-to-do, in the hopes Twitter will fix their bug if enough people know about it.

How to get an account banned:

  1. Change target accounts phone number to one that will not receive a PIN
  2. Log into target account and a burner account at the same time.
  3. From your burner account, tweet “Corona 5G” or other banned phrases repeatedly.
  4. Twitter locks out all accounts.
  5. Brand account is locked without any way to get back in.

This might not last long for a bigger brand, but it’d be enough time to screenshot the account and write a news article about it. People might laugh if Twitter claimed a multinational brand was tweeting fake news, and would be a good story for a blog. It might even get Twitter to actually fix their bugs or rethink their censorship approach.

To protect your account: If you have interns or anyone else who has access to your account – make sure they are only logged into one account at time, including from the app. I know it’s convenient to switch accounts from the app, but Twitter might target all accounts you’re logged into at the same time.

One last thought:

Much of the “crazy” you see people exhibiting in the modern era comes from the fact they are trapped in impersonal systems when human beings are designed for personal relating. When someone says something, they expect to be heard. When they speak into social media, their message enters a system that shows some people, but not others. When they listen, they assume they are listening to reality. When they listen to social media, the system shows them some messages, but not others. That system is usually designed to show messages that will provoke an emotional reaction or get them to buy something.

When people have public meltdowns because of a video they saw on the internet or a message they saw on social media, they are having a human reaction to an inhuman system. That is not reality, and you have to learn to see it as such unless you want robots to program you to become crazy. Political polarization, increased teen suicides, and rising depression rates are all functions of robotic programming. (There is hard data linking all three to increased social media use.)

I’m actually glad I got banned on Twitter – not because of the censorship, but because it forced me to take a break from social media, step back, and see what effect it was having on me. It’s not good. With just a month off Twitter, I noticed I was calmer, and spent more time reading books. My vision extended beyond the eternal “moment” of social media into a wider view. Twitter is all about what is happening now. A meme or event everyone is talking about intensely might disappear from relevance in a day or even an hour. When that wasn’t taking my focus, it created more space to focus on the bigger picture.

The executives of smoking companies do not smoke. The owners of casinos do not gamble. The founders of social media companies do not use their products either and restrict their children’s social media use. Even the top performers I know have a team or agency that handles their social media, so they can focus on their excellence. Most are not are endlessly scrolling, the way regular people do. There is a reason for this. It’s called not “getting high on your own supply.” These products are designed to be addictive. Don’t get hooked.

I still plan to use social media. This is where the attention is, and if you have a message to share, you need a presence on these platforms. However, I plan to use them differently.


If you want to change your social media habits, and still want to read my writing, I recommend two things 1) subscribe to my email list here where I send my posts out as a weekly email 2) use an RSS reader, which allows you to subscribe to the feed of blogs you trust and like, without scrolling the content a platform chooses for you. My RSS feed is here. (Just cut and paste that link into your RSS reader.)

Also – I have a book out. It is print only. You should read it because it will help you think more long-term.

The Intactivist Guidebook Is Out Now

June 24, 2020 By Brendon Marotta

The Intactivist Guidebook: How to Win the Game of Intactivism and End Circumcision reveals the full path from where the Intactivist movement is now to the end of circumcision. Written by a media creator who has documented the movement for nearly a decade and introduced more audiences to it than any other, this book shows how activists can make a real difference on this important human rights issue.


  • Buy the book here.
  • Read the first chapter for free here.

Author Brendon Marotta writes:

Since making the film American Circumcision, people all over the world have asked me what they can do to make a difference on the issue of circumcision. This book answers that question by providing practical advice to individual activists and a broad strategy for the movement as a whole. It is based in nearly a decade of observing the Intactivist movement, over a year of research into activist strategies, and my own personal experience sharing the issue of Intactivism with more people than any previous media creator ever before.


About the author:

Brendon Marotta is a filmmaker, author, and speaker. His feature-length documentary American Circumcision explores the issue of circumcision and the growing Intactivist movement. He currently lives in Austin, TX.


You can read the first chapter for free here.

Buy the book on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Intactivist-Guidebook-Game-Intactivism-Circumcision/dp/1735113417

  • Paperback: 217 pages
  • Publisher: Brendon Marotta
  • ISBN: 978-1-7351134-1-8

(UPDATED: I’m back) Twitter Has Banned Me

June 17, 2020 By Brendon Marotta

Update June 24, 2020: We have successfully appealed and I am back! Please follow me here:

Tweets by bdmarotta


Twitter has permanently banned me from their platform. I am locked out of both my accounts, @bdmarotta and @circmovie, and cannot create any new account from my phone number, despite following all Twitter rules. I have received no reply for two weeks after emailing Twitter support, so I am sharing the story here.

In order to get back into my accounts, twitter is asking me to enter a verification code sent to my phone. The problem is – the verification code is never sent to my phone. I know twitter can text me, because when I text their support number I received automated replies. They simply will not send a verification code to allow me back into my account for whatever reason.

If I try to register a new account, I receive the same problem. After a certain amount of use, Twitter asks you to verify your phone number, which I cannot do because of the same problem where it never sends a verification code. I could use a friend’s phone number, but Twitter has effectively permanently banned mine due to this authentication block.

This ban comes on the heels of two things. First, an article I wrote saying the medical organizations should not be given censorship power over twitter, which you can read here. Second, a social network I am developing and preparing to launch for activist organizing entering private beta.

My previous tweets are still on the platform. You can see that nothing I shared violated Twitter’s rules. Prior to the ban, I had multiple friends and followers suggested I should apply for a verified blue checkmark badge. The account for my film only made automated tweets sharing advertisements for our film, which was on Netflix and covered by multiple mainstream publications.

This is a stealth ban, because it masks itself as “temporary” when it is really permanent and prevents me from accessing the account while making it look like I’m still there.

I reached out to Twitter support June 6, 2020. At the time I am writing, I have not received any human reply. You can contact Twitter Support here.

If you are interested in following my work, I would recommend subscribing to my email list here.

I am developing censorship-resistant activist tools. My new platform is currently in private beta, but when we announce it to the general public, that email list will be the first to hear about it.

If you are serious about organizing or making your voice heard, you cannot rely on existing social networks. We have to create our own. My solution is currently in development. Subscribe here.



In the meantime, a “friend” has created a new fan account for me on Twitter which you can follow @MarottaBrendon. It might share some things on my behalf. It is not registered to my phone number.

Update: Since the publication of this post, Twitter has moved from claiming they are “temporarily redistricting” the account to an outright ban. They have still not contacted me to respond to my appeal or let me know why the ban was given in the first place.

 

Copyright © 2025 · Brendon Marotta