While anonymity on Twitter allows people in oppressive communities to speak online freely, it can also allow people to harass others or spread bogus claims without accountability.
Twitter's rules permit bots and anonymous users as long as they refrain from online manipulation, racist imagery, violent threats or impersonation.
The actual whistleblower's identity has not been released or verified. The Associated Press typically does not reveal the identity of whistleblowers. Following Trump's retweet, the name on the profile changed from Sophia to Emma, then Leona and then to Gigi. The account's handle changed, too, from Surfermom77 to LovelyGigi33. Whoever's behind the account posted a new profile picture, replacing a stock photo of a woman in business attire with a photo of stilettos.
While Facebook has a policy banning posts that name the alleged whistleblower, Twitter does not. On Monday the account was briefly suspended by Twitter, only to be reinstated hours later. Twitter said the suspension was a mistake. On Saturday, the company had said the account hadn't broken any of its policies.
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