Most internet and social media users may not be powerful enough in terms of delivering their opinions. But when they come in swarms, they can make themselves heard.
Pro-choice people are those who advocate legalized abortion. And in Texas, the U.S., an abortion law wants to stop abortion after six weeks, saying that any Texan "can bring a lawsuit against an abortionist or someone aiding and abetting an abortion after six weeks,” a website reads.
And those who are proved to be violating the law, can be fined a minimum of $10,000.
Six weeks is considered too short, and has been been widely criticized as unconstitutional and overly restrictive, as many women aren’t aware of their pregnancies until after that timeframe. And although the law makes exceptions for instances in which the mother’s life is in danger, it still bans abortion procedures for cases of rape and incest.
Furthermore, an online form allows anyone to submit an anonymous “report” of anyone who is illegally obtaining an abortion, including a section where images can be uploaded for proof.
This angers pro-choice users on TikTok and Reddit, as they have together launched a guerrilla effort to thwart the Texas’s abortion law, by flooding the website with bulks of false reports, Shrek memes, and porn.
The website that is attacked, is the anti-abortion organization Texas Right to Life, a powerful entity in Texas politics.
It should ne noted here, that the whistleblowing site is not affiliated with the state government, but was functional at least the month before the law went into effect.
In most cases, attempts to traffic bomb a website won't be able to keep the website down or change the law. However, coordinated attacks are like petitions, where people gather together for the same purpose, and by their sheer number, they can make themselves heard.
This kind of coordinated attack is similar to the movement back in June 2020, when internet users flood a Donald Trump rally with fake sign-ups, resulting in an empty stadium for the actual event.
In other words, by making noises like this, activists can sometimes get the job done, despite companies operating the platforms are reluctant to say whether collective activism is a driver for change.
