Abbie Richards Explained

Abbie Richards
Nationality:American
Page:abbiesr

Abbie Richards (born 1996) is a misinformation educator and environmental activist whose conspiracy theory charts went viral on Twitter in 2020 and 2021. Richards was included on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2023, in the category of Consumer Technology.

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.[3]

Social media career

Environmental activism

Richards is a member of EcoTok, a TikTok collective which focuses on creating environmentalist content.[4] [5] 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. 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." In January 2021, Richards published an op-ed about golf in Euronews Living.[6]

Misinformation education

In 2020, Richards created an inverted pyramid chart assessing conspiracy theories from "Grounded in Reality" to "Detached from Reality", which according to journalist David Farrier "went bonkers on Twitter".[7] [8] [9] In 2021, Richards created an updated version of the chart that went viral.[10] [11] [12]

Richards has created TikToks on and spoken to news outlets about misinformation and conspiracy theories on the app,[13] such as videos promoting QAnon and other antisemitic conspiracy theories,[14] [15] or misleading videos of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[16] [17] [18]

TikTok research

Richards has conducted research on TikTok and its algorithm.[19] One of her reports describes pervasive white supremacist content on the app.[20] [21]

Personal life

, Richards resides in Boston.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Martinelli. Michelle. 2020-08-03. Meet TikTok's viral environmentalist 'anti-golf girl' who argues against golf courses. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200805025405/https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/08/golf-abbie-richards-tiktok-viral-video-environmentalism . 2020-08-05 . 2021-01-16. USA Today. en-US.
  2. Web site: Schroeder. Audra. 2020-06-04. Meet the woman who is trying to cancel golf on TikTok. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200605052430/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/abbie-richards-tiktok-cancel-golf/ . 2020-06-05 . 2021-01-16. The Daily Dot. en-US.
  3. Web site: About . 2023-05-01 . Abbie Richards . en.
  4. Web site: Our Team . 2023-05-01 . EcoTok . en.
  5. Web site: Abbie Richards . 2023-05-01 . Forbes . en.
  6. Web site: Richards. Abbie. 9 January 2021. Golf is a giant board game damaging the planet: Time for it to go. 25 January 2021. Euronews Living. Euronews. en.
  7. Web site: Farrier. David. I talk to the creator of the Conspiracy Chart. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201101151431/https://www.webworm.co/p/i-talk-to-the-creator-of-the-conspiracy . 2020-11-01 . 2021-01-16. Webworm.
  8. Web site: Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210118062644/https://www.brut.media/us/news/why-do-people-believe-in-conspiracy-theories--87b68740-7552-4e65-8609-456ec3793985 . 2021-01-18 . 2021-01-16. Brut. en.
  9. Web site: Myrman. Dan. 6 January 2021. Abbie Richards & The Inverted Conspiracy Pyramid. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122180609/https://podcasts.nu/avsnitt/the-scimandan-podcast/7-abbie-richards-the-inverted-conspiracy-pyramid-j6mLoYzwfQ . 2021-01-22 . 2021-01-16. Podcasts.nu. sv.
  10. Web site: Larson . Shannon . 2021-11-29 . This chart on conspiracy theories has gone viral. A local disinformation researcher breaks down what to know . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211129151427/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/11/29/metro/this-chart-conspiracy-theories-has-gone-viral-freebritney-qanon-local-disinformation-researcher-breaks-down-what-know/ . 2021-11-29 . 2021-12-16 . . en-US.
  11. Web site: Conspiracy theories are everywhere and people don't understand how harmful they are. . Twitter.com. 3 February 2022.
  12. Web site: Tauber . Rebecca . 2022-02-09 . Abbie Richards fights TikTok disinformation with a cup of tea, a conspiracy chart and a punchline . 2023-05-01 . GBH . en.
  13. News: Raphael . Rina . 2022-06-29 . TikTok Is Flooded With Health Myths. These Creators Are Pushing Back. . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-05-01 . 0362-4331.
  14. Web site: Unpaid Fact-Checkers Are Getting Burnout From Debunking So Many Nazis on TikTok . 2023-05-01 . www.vice.com . 21 September 2021 . en.
  15. News: Wong . Jessica . 3 November 2022 . Antisemitic conspiracies are rampant online. Students, experts share how to combat them . CBC . 1 May 2023.
  16. Web site: Richards . Abbie . TikTok is facilitating the spread of misinformation surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine . 2023-05-01 . Media Matters for America . 25 February 2022 . en.
  17. News: 28 February 2022 . TikTok sees a surge of misleading videos that claim to show the invasion of Ukraine . NPR . 1 May 2023.
  18. Web site: Tenbarge . Kat . Collins . Ben . 25 February 2022 . Video games and fake livestreams: War in Ukraine sparks new wave of misinformation . 2023-05-01 . NBC News . en.
  19. News: 14 October 2022 . How TikTok swept the internet . The Washington Post .
  20. Web site: Richards . Abbie . Examining White Supremacist and Militant Accelerationism Trends on TikTok . 2023-05-01 . GNET . 18 July 2022 . en-GB.
  21. Web site: Press-Reynolds . Kieran . TikTok could serve as an 'amplifier of hateful ideologies,' according to new report analyzing Buffalo shooter's beliefs . 2023-05-01 . Insider . en-US.

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