Mastodawn

𝖗𝖊𝖉𝖈𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖊 Aug 16, 2023

13 barn owls in a trenchcoat

I'd been wondering why I'd heard so little from Naomi Wu lately, and the reason is unhappily worse than Twitter breaking API based post mirroring to Mastodon.

(TL;DR, she's been silenced by the authorities.)

Worth reading in full, as the end includes a brief interview and suggests that her earlier highlighting of the security risks of compromised keyboards to E2E encrypted messaging turned out to be potentially relevant.

https://www.hackingbutlegal.com/naomi-wu-and-the-silence-that-speaks-volumes/

Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes

When China's prodigious tech influencer, Naomi Wu, found herself silenced, it wasn't just the machinery of a surveillance state at play. Instead, it was a confluence of state repression and the sometimes capricious attention of a Western audience that, as she asserts, often views Chinese activists more as ideological tokens

Hacking, but Legal

Erosdiscordia Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Damn. This was a fantastic article.

It really tied together all the different aspects of this shitshow:

The Western media and tech world not speaking out and questioning influences the Chinese state government has on it --

The misogyny faced by female hackers --

The tokenization of Chinese activists and creatives, who are loved when they make cool things and ignored when they disappear --

The painful ways the cybersecurity world can do harm to people, as well as protect them --

I hope Wu is hanging in there mentally. I'm reminded of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, the author of my favourite LGBTQ+ series Mo Dao Zu Shi, and how she's gone silent the past few years. Nobody knows if she was jailed, or what. Meanwhile people buy and love her books.

The whole thing is horrifying.

13 barn owls in a trenchcoat Aug 16, 2023

Wu has had particularly short shrift from the mainstream tech press, to the point where there are specific publications I'm not prepared to write for as a result of their treatment of her (Vice, The Verge, not in a hurry to consider Make despite the thorough apology, either).

She got so little credit for her work (even shit like that critical softkeyboard issue that many were in a great hurry to dismiss despite it being a very blatant practical real-world risk)

And more broadly, bot for Wu and for so many other people in so many other places:

Gods, I just wish people got to live their lives.

Erosdiscordia Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear What blows my mind is how much all these governments -- including Western ones -- would benefit from just backing off and letting the talented people in their country shine.

They want control more than they want success, and it'll be the doom of most of the current world powers.

13 barn owls in a trenchcoat Aug 16, 2023

People who - for whatever reason - can't or won't conform to social norms are almost universally regarded as a risk by structural power.

The main differences between governments is exactly where those lines of conformity lie.

I mean, it's a fair risk assessment in some senses, because power fundamentally exists because enough people are prepared to go along with it.

I guess it ties into the question of whether a refusal to conform is contagious ("rapid onset gender dysphoria" panic anyone?), which is also why youth movements and alternative cultures are infiltrated, co-opted, discredited or destroyed as a matter of priority in almost all societies.

Governments worry that it's revolutionary-adjacent. (See the governments of France and the UK absolutely freaking out about the influence of TikTok on the yoof.)

LisPi Aug 17, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear @erosdiscordia #France is also well on the road to #authoritarianism, as is the UK, with their lack of a (real) #RightToSilence.

It makes early leniency towards Putin from Macron especially suspicious. Particularly when he's now taking laws about protest and "inciting unrest" directly from Russia's own books.

Ben Curthoys Aug 16, 2023

@erosdiscordia @HauntedOwlbear This: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/16/book-review-seeing-like-a-state/ examines and explains exactly and in detail how and why they want control more than success.

Ina Aug 16, 2023

I haven't heard of many LGBTQ+ Chinese authors, aside from that series you mentioned, is there anything else of hers you'd recommend?

Activist Aug 17, 2023

@erosdiscordia @HauntedOwlbear Thanks for the summary. Ironically I’m blocked from the article because it’s sadly locked in #Cloudflare’s walled garden.

Jaime Herazo Aug 17, 2023

@aktivismoEstasMiaLuo @erosdiscordia @HauntedOwlbear

Here's a mirror: https://archive.is/a6tR8

Activist Aug 17, 2023

@jherazob @HauntedOwlbear @erosdiscordia archive·is is also cloudflare-jailed.

Jaime Herazo Aug 17, 2023

@aktivismoEstasMiaLuo @HauntedOwlbear @erosdiscordia

Does archive.org work? https://web.archive.org/web/20230817135635/https://www.hackingbutlegal.com/p/naomi-wu-and-the-silence-that-speaks-volumes

EXCLUSIVE: Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes

When China's prodigious tech influencer, Naomi Wu, found herself silenced, it wasn't just the machinery of a surveillance state at play. Instead, it was...

Hacking, but Legal

Activist Aug 18, 2023

@jherazob @erosdiscordia @HauntedOwlbear yes. There’s a popup, but it works.

@HauntedOwlbear that's fucked.

Interesting how she basically got 'forgotten' by the media sites that used to push her a bit. I don't think it's a big, calculated thing, but it's a telling result...

13 barn owls in a trenchcoat Aug 16, 2023

@DarkestKale She's not "media-friendly". It's been a huge issue throughout her career.

I was just saying in another thread that I've refused to write for outlets that support the very unapologetic person who got her her first strike from the authorities (Sarah Jeong, btw).

But there's been a lot of very basic stuff like failure to credit her work (the suddenly very relevant risk from softkeyboards that she was one of the few people to yell about comes to mind), or dismiss her due to her appearance or attitude.

Honestly, her treatment, along with that of a couple of other specific people, is one of the things that really soured me to tech journalism when I was doing a lot of it.

Eve (?), she/her (?), secret spooky romulan (?)Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Ah fuck

Bill, organizer of stuff Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Yeah - I was always amazed by how she managed to work within the limitations of her country's oppressive cultural/legal constraints. She really came across as someone who deeply cared about her culture and homeland and was willing to put up with and work around a LOT to make a difference for people who couldn't be as vocal.

Laux Myth (aka Martin)Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear
Great read. I can only hope the best for Naomi Wu. In reading. I do recall one ass seeing a photo of her soldering a board commenting that few women knew how to solder. She shot back he had never seen a Chinese factory.

Andrew Crawford Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear I have had some really ugly reactions to her appearance from people by sharing her technical work. People can be so disappointing.

Andrew Crawford Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear It looks like PasteBin took down her FAQ as "potentially harmful" but, it appears one can still support Naomi Wu/RealSexyCyborg financially on Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/naomiwu

Buy t-shirts:

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/naomi-wu-s-shenzhen-store

Tip on Thingiverse:

https://www.thingiverse.com/sexycyborg/designs

Her Mastodon account was just a repeater for Twitter/X posts, which they broke awhile back with the API lockdown.

Buy Naomi "SexyCyborg" Wu a Coffee. ko-fi.com/naomiwu

Become a supporter of Naomi "SexyCyborg" Wu today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.

Ko-fi

Avi Rappoport (avirr)Aug 16, 2023

@evermore @HauntedOwlbear Thanks for letting us know how to support her.

Elana Aug 16, 2023

@evermore @HauntedOwlbear are these confirmed to be legitimate? She has long complained about the difficulties with receiving international payments in her position, and has been kicked off of multiple patronage platforms for spurious reasons.

She has a storefront for her merchandise that I know is legitimate because she has linked to it directly: https://cybernightmarket.com

(Her Twitter post to verify that this is legit: https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1642556595732385793 )

The Cyber Night-Market

The Cyber Night-Market

The Cyber Night-Market

Andrew Crawford Aug 17, 2023

@elana @HauntedOwlbear Good looking out.

The teepublic and Thingiverse links were in her FAQ before it was taken down:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230529090821/https://pastebin.com/V3474kYs

The ko-fi link is one she has shared several places, including:

https://x.com/realsexycyborg/status/1242973268467945477?s=12

SexyCyborg FAQ - Pastebin.com

Pastebin.com is the number one paste tool since 2002. Pastebin is a website where you can store text online for a set period of time.

Pastebin

Elana Aug 17, 2023

@evermore awesome, thanks ☺️ really appreciate being connected to more ways to support her! Cheers! 😊

Jaime Herazo Aug 17, 2023

@evermore @HauntedOwlbear

Here's the latest archived copy before it went down: https://web.archive.org/web/20230529090821/https://pastebin.com/V3474kYs

SexyCyborg FAQ - Pastebin.com

Pastebin.com is the number one paste tool since 2002. Pastebin is a website where you can store text online for a set period of time.

Pastebin

Gorgeous na Shock!Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear I always thought her existence meant Chinese censorship wasn't in the same realm as e.g. North Korea, or at least was exaggerated.

I stand corrected.

I am now a US State dept stan.

GuySoft Aug 16, 2023

Oh, that's so sad and bad. As an admiring fan, I wish I could so something, we spoke about Raspberry Pis at the time that the was a storm about it. And I her opinions really matter.

@[email protected]Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Also makes it very very important for @signalapp to be clear about the risks that she's highlighted numerous times.

Miles Aug 16, 2023

@pettter @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp Signal has been pretty consistent in their position on this: it's not their problem.

To be fair, it's really an Android OS issue. Even so, people who are vulnerable to this issue are unlikely to understand how IMEs work and the risk of using one. A warning from Signal when an IME is in use could go a long way. I find their silence on this issue worrying. There's only this one support article, AFAICT.

https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360055276112-Incognito-Keyboard

Incognito Keyboard

Signal uses the existing keyboard or Input Method Editor (IME) on your device. On some Android devices, you can turn on Incognito Keyboard to enable an optional keyboard privacy flag that is provid...

Yrjänä Rankka 🌻Aug 17, 2023

@cmiles74 @pettter @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp Risking stating the obvious here: Turning Signal into a full-on vuln scanner would definitely not be within their scope. If your OS - or any components handling I/O to-from the app - you use, it’s game over. Users should be made aware of the importance of general hygiene that messaging apps do not replace.

@[email protected]Aug 17, 2023

@ghard There are grades between "full-on vuln scanner" and "completely agnostic" especially while being heavily marketed towards dissidents. @cmiles74 @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp

Yrjänä Rankka 🌻Aug 17, 2023

@pettter @cmiles74 @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp Indeed, but I’m afraid this becomes a slippery slope. Next thing you know you’re checking for any ”accessibility” components, or screen capture packages that have access to the framebuffer. Now what would you as a dev manager rather allocate limited developer resources for?

@[email protected]Aug 17, 2023

@ghard "Stories" and cryptocurrency wallets, apparently. @cmiles74 @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp

Yrjänä Rankka 🌻Aug 17, 2023

@pettter @cmiles74 @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp "Stories" and cryptocurrency wallets, apparently” <- shots fired 😀 and I agree!

Yrjänä Rankka 🌻Aug 17, 2023

@pettter @cmiles74 @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp Maybe Signal could be more proactive with communicating the risks to their users - even adding some warnings in the onboarding process in locales with agencies that are likely to exercise privacy-intrusive practices. That would be pretty much the whole world though

clacke: exhausted pixie dream boy 🇸🇪🇭🇰💙💛Aug 17, 2023

@ghard @pettter @signalapp @cmiles74 @HauntedOwlbear She makes a good point that according to her 90% of people in China use the vulnerable input method.

Even without any scanning that seems significant enough to warrant at least making the minimal effort of mentioning it during registration.

Miles Aug 17, 2023

@clacke @pettter @ghard @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp Definitely! The lack of knowledge around what an IME is and how it works is a big part of the problem. People who are concerned about their privacy can get most of the way there with pointers to more information from a source they trust. In this case, Signal has a real advantage.

Miles Aug 17, 2023

@ghard @pettter @HauntedOwlbear @signalapp Agreed, Signal doesn't want to be responsible for auditing all software on the phone.

The keyboard is a pretty big piece of the messaging puzzle, they do have some information on their website as well as the beginnings of a feature. Expanding the "App Security" section of the "Privacy" settings to include disabling IMEs or linking to a page with more detail (perhaps a link to a privacy respecting IME) might be a reasonable second step.

Artax Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear It's such a shame. She's brilliant and funny and so much more.

Mauro 🇵🇸Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear This is so disheartening, I really liked her content and moreso learning about her view of the Chinese life from her POV. What a shame this isn't being covered more

Jan Wildeboer 😷

@HauntedOwlbear @teal she’s been silenced by the authorities AND has been under fire, deplatformed, called names since many years by the mostly male community that decided to relentlessly attack, shame and belittle her. But those that did that to her will never even apologise. Hello, Linus from Linus Tech Tips! Hello Make journalists and editors! I remember what you did!

Romain Alberich Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Thanks for the share, this sums it up. I hope she will prevail in one way or another. Deplatforming Wu is a really stupid move, she did so much to show the world the diversity of China. But I guess it doesn't go well with the "One China" national story.

BoozeFoodTravel Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Damn, I hadn't heard. Disappointing as she's been interesting to follow. Just hope they stay safe.

Winchell Chung ⚛🚀Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear

I was afraid something like this was going to happen to her.

Crew Member Six Aug 20, 2023

@nyrath @HauntedOwlbear

Same, I remember reading on dead bird some years ago her account of getting "vanned" by the authorities. Her courage and openness persisted, trying to find a balance point.

Magitism Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Wu’s a real one. She’s been the most constantly pleasant to interact with and frankly brilliant member of the several circles we run in together and I am terrified for her. Every interaction I’ve had with her has been enlightening.

nick Aug 16, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear

Obviously Naomi's personal circumstances are much more of an issue here and I hope she and Kaidi are okay and we'll one day see her back in full flight.

And yes, a hearty Fuck You to all the western media outlets who decided to do it their way despite the consequences.

But also Shenzhen has lost a great ambassador ...
like a lot of westerners I'd only ever known the name from shipping labels and imagined nothing but a vast array of warehouses, but Naomi showed off a human and exciting city full of innovation and excitement (and cute dogs).

James Corey Aug 17, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Website was briefly unavailable but loading again, redirects to https://hackingbutlegal.substack.com/p/naomi-wu-and-the-silence-that-speaks-volumes which seems to match the original content.

EXCLUSIVE: Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes

When China's prodigious tech influencer, Naomi Wu, found herself silenced, it wasn't just the machinery of a surveillance state at play. Instead, it was...

Hacking, but Legal

Alon Aug 17, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear I guess years of mocking international human rights advocates who speak out about the Uighur concentration camps with "well actually China's real inequality issues are just North vs. South or urban vs. rural Han" lines, and of repeating Global Times propaganda about how first-world democracies are unsafe and China isn't and therefore she's not emigrating, didn't give her as much of an in with the CCP as she'd hoped.

Oh well.

Anne O'neam Aug 17, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Naomi Wu is an awesome person and one of the few reasons to stay on Twitter. It's a tragedy that she isn't allowed to post anymore, and I just hope her girlfriend and herself can stay safe!

₵ⱧⱤł₴ ⱤØ₥₱ NZ6F 🇺🇦💪🏻🇬🇱❤️Aug 17, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Wow. I’d wondered what happened to her.

Antonio Patriarca Aug 17, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear That's a very sad news.

titaniumbiscuit Aug 17, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear Twitter is so weird. When I click on her profile (not logged in) her latest post is from June. But it does not seem to be the actual latest post, which would be the one from July 8th https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1677480809450835969, referenced and linked to in the article in which she says that she got her wings clipped...

Naomi Wu 机械妖姬 (@RealSexyCyborg) on X

Ok for those of you that haven't figured it out I got my wings clipped and they weren't gentle about it- so there's not going to be much posting on social media anymore and only on very specific subjects. I can leave but Kaidi can't so we're just going to follow the new rules and…

X (formerly Twitter)

JW prince of CPH Aug 17, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear This breaks my heart & pisses me off 😢 🤬 I had, in fact, been wondering how she was doing since I left XTPFNAT, and if I had missed something on her other channels... it comes as zero surprise that she chooses Kaidi over everything else but that also makes this a case of "nice girlfriend you got there, be a shame if something happened to her" by the state...

Aaron 🍞🏳️‍🌈

@HauntedOwlbear I saw when this happened, but couldn't do anything about it. It's really sad and I do hope the best for her. All I can do here is boost this signal to try to get more attention

sharpstick Aug 20, 2023

@HauntedOwlbear This makes me profoundly sad and angry. Before I left YouTube Naomi was one of my favorite people and one of the reason it took me so long to leave the platform. We all need people like her in the world, in our lives.