Dear Twitter:

Over the past few years, we’ve become very close. We know it’s been weird. But, hey, it’s worked out pretty well for the both of us. The masses have flooded in just for the opportunity to observe our battles unfold.

In the beginning, there was revolution, and it spread across the world. Your role was invaluable. You unified the people by giving them control. Under the most oppressive regimes, you were there—and we love you for it. Still do.

But those voices are now being threatened. Whether it is to be regarded as “official” or not (we do not feel that way about ourselves), the media has often portrayed us as the largest voice of the Anonymous collective. We both know this is bullshit. Nothing is anonymous in the real world. Anonymous is an idea, and once we had it, all we could do was act. We’ve worked hard to exhibit this idea as often as possible, and it hasn’t been easy. With great power comes… you know.

But let’s talk specifics. It’s time to parley. We have no official channel and this is the only way we know how to communicate. Hear us.

So, the story goes…

In March 2013, one of the many contributors to this account launched an Indiegogo campaign. His idea was to raise funds to create a website that would support citizen journalism, activists, and every man, woman, and child currently suffering under the boot of an oppressive regime. It wasn’t a terrible thought. We all wanted to expand our voice, to be louder, to instill the virtue of dissent in those whose spirit had been broken.

In the spirit of Mohamed Bouazizi, the man who launched a thousand protests with his final agonizing breath, we stepped forward to raise awareness of the many injustices in this world.

Unbeknownst to our collective, the contributor who launched this fundraiser had become a fraud. A basic criminal. Upon receiving the sum of those contributions, he mishandled them in the most egregious way. Of the $54,000 he raised, some $35,000 went missing that we know of. There’s no way for us to know where it went, or what he ultimately decided to do with it. He has refused to cooperate and tell us the truth. We feel he should be held accountable for his actions or tossed aside—hell, if we had our way, he’d be fed to the dogs.

We’re disgusted by this person. He’s a thief. He’s lower than the lowest and quite possibly on his way to the 9th ring of hell, where mutineers, backstabbers, the Judases and Ptolemys of our world reside. He spat in the face of a every person who has died over these last four years fighting against the dictatorial regimes we’ve opposed, and the people we’ve supported who’ve inhaled pepperspray in defense of our right to speak freely.

We are aware that this person of which we speak, @JackalAnon, has petitioned you for permission to assume custody of this account.

In November 2013, he forfeited the account to a group of activists uninvolved in his treachery. He did this to lessen the blow he knew was coming because of his crime. Now that we have expelled him entirely, he is seeking exclusive control.

This person stole from your community. Not ours. Not Anonymous. But from Twitter. We are not prone to begging, you know that. It’s not our style. But we are asking you, in the most serious way, to not fulfill this request. No one that has abused your service, and misled thousands of your users, for their own personal profit, should be allowed retain control of this account.

We would rather see it burnt to the ground.

There is a phone number currently attached to @YourAnonNews and we urge you to contact us. Or, email us: yanharhar@riseup.net.

Do not turn this account over to someone that has used it to steal your users’ money. We fought very hard to remove him. Do not permit this abuse of your service to be repeated.