Abbie Richards

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

Abbie Richards
Personal information
Born1996 (age 26–27)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Online personality
  • Science communicator
Websitewww.abbiesr.com
Instagram information
Page
Genres
  • Science communication
  • Anti-conspiracy

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. 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. 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. 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. "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. 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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