You really need to understand beyond the surface level, but let's start there.

The Surface Level

This is not the post I intended to send out. I wanted to send something more fun today. But here we are, Pismo Beach and all the clams we can eat.

Here are the surface details, but then I'll tell you the real reason I'm leaving, which is so much worse than the rest of this.

If you're not already aware, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Threads, Instagram, and WhatsApp, decided to embrace bigotry as a policy. This is after they already announced that they will end fact-checking. Meta has always been terrible about moderation of hate speech, but their policies had been written against it. This week they've officially explicitly allowed exceptions for hate speech against queer and trans community. These guidelines are publicly available to view on their site. Users of Meta's platforms are now explicitly allowed to use slurs against us, call us mentally ill, and even to make genocidal comments about eradicating us. Other marginalized communities are also shown to be targeted. Internal documents revealed by the Intercept show more full depth of the breadth of these policy changes: https://www.wired.com/story/meta-ditches-fact-checkers-in-favor-of-x-style-community-notes/ (paywall).

This sucks. But honestly, while this is all breathtaking, and it's certainly enough to warrant leaving the platform, it's not the primary reason that I am leaving.

The Real Reason I'm Leaving

Were you aware that Facebook communications like posts or messages have been used in court to convict people from conservative states for seeking an abortion? Do you know how this is possible? It's because Meta readily cooperates with investigations into such matters and hands over the chat logs. They will hand your communications over in a heartbeat.

This is terrifying enough.

As you likely are aware, I'm trans. I know a lot of queer and trans people. Our communities are under increasing threat from the upcoming administration in the US. If you're not fully aware, make sure you're subscribed to my newsletter and you'll get updates about what's happening.

This means that any communications that I have on a Meta platform could easily be used as material evidence to prosecute me for breaking upcoming laws and executive actions. Anything from accessing medical care, anti-trans "cross-dressing" laws, bathroom laws, to laws claiming we are committing fraud by using a driver's license with our gender… used to arrest trans people. In Florida they've begun forcibly medically and socially detransitioning trans inmates and a federal court affirmed the prison's right to do so. So, arrest, take away our life-saving medicine, shave our hair, take our underwear from us, and repeat. This gets us out of public life, into prison, and likely a large portion of us dead entirely. We fully expect these laws to be expanded as much as they can possibly manage, because that's their publicly stated game plan.

This is genocide.

And all Meta has to do to be complicit is to hand over chat logs and post data. Which I have no doubt they will do.

Some of you may already be aware that Meta hired Dustin Carmack as Director of Public Policy. Among other things, Carmack has been instrumental in crafting Project 2025's strategy for the US Intelligence Community, how to centralize and capitalize on it under an authoritarian Trump regime. There is much to dissect about his work, none of it good, but most succinctly I could note that his work includes a Mandate for Leadership that includes urging US Intelligence "leadership must address the widely promoted 'woke' culture that has spread throughout the federal government with identity politics and 'social justice' advocacy..." (link to PDF on Project 2025's website: https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_CHAPTER-07.pdf)

As far as I'm concerned, none of this is safe. I've never felt safe sending sensitive details to anyone on their platforms, but there's a difference between vulnerability and targeting. This new regime, by which I mean Congress, the Judicial Branch, and of course the Presidency and Executive Branch, have all repeatedly made it clear that we are not only vulnerable, but eliminating our existence is specifically in their cross-hairs and we are a top priority. Regardless of how ignorant and ridiculous it is to target us, here we are, Pismo Beach, and all the clams we can eat…

If you're still on the fence about all of this, tell me... What should I expect if I stay on a platform that regularly participates in the material oppression of marginalized people, cooperates and collaborates with law enforcement and oppressive regimes (including others I haven't even touched on outside of the US), has explicit policies targeting me and the people I love, people in authority with governmental and strategic ties to the current oppressive regime who are also targeting us explicitly for genocide? What should I expect? What should you expect? What should the people you love expect?

I'm not leaving Meta's platforms because they're hateful (they are), I'm not leaving them because of bigotry (it's rife), I'm not leaving over morality (the company and its leadership are incredibly immoral). These are all great reasons to leave.

But they're not the reasons I already decided to leave.

I'm leaving Meta's platforms because they are an incredibly high safety risk to myself, my family, my friends and chosen family, and to my community. Meta's platforms are already in the process of harm. Meta is already choosing to participate in genocide, and it is only likely to get increasingly worse once the Trump regime takes office.

I'm not leaving because I want to (I do want to), I'm leaving because I have to.

Maybe you should leave, too. And maybe you should let people know what I've said– share this post with them if it makes it easier. If you don't know what to do or where to go next, or how to stay in touch with people after leaving, I'm going to make a follow-up post about safer alternatives to using Meta's platforms, so if you're subscribed to the newsletter, you'll receive that. In the meantime, I suggest letting people know by giving them a heads-up if you're leaving.

Regardless, stay safe and look out for each other.

no ends, only means