This came out of a discussion elsewhere on Lemmy about how famous people like Stephen King are already leaving Twitter. I think it would be cool if we could collectively come up with an email that people can send to those two organizations to do a bit of activism.
For those unaware, SAG is the Screen Actor’s Guild and the WGA is the Writer’s Guild of America. Together, they make up a vast proportion of famous people in the U.S. today. Now that Trump and Elon are working together, I think getting them all to accept the sunk cost and abandon Twitter as union solidarity could work.
SAG’s email is [email protected] and their president is Fran Drescher.
WGA has two contact points that can be used for emailing.
WGA West wants you to use this form on their website: https://secure.wga.org/the-guild/about-us/contact-us/contact?Email=cfreedman
(This should go to their political director, Corri Freedman).
WGA East has a direct email for their Head of Organizing, Justin Molito: [email protected] and it probably wouldn’t hurt to also email their Director of Communications and Policy, Jason Gordon: [email protected]
The WGA’s president is Meredith Stiehm.
I want to suggest that we do not use this as an opportunity to evangelize for Mastodon even though we obviously would prefer for them to all go to Mastodon. First of all, I think many of the older union members would find Mastodon’s learning curve to be a burden. Secondly, it’s much easier to get someone to do one thing you want them to do (give up Twitter) than it is to get them to do two things you want them to do (give up Twitter and switch specifically to Mastodon).
I think this should be platform-neutral. Maybe suggest Mastodon along with other Twitter alternatives, but in my mind, the goal here is to get people off of what is now effectively an arm of a fascist government.
I would love to hear the community’s thoughts.
This is happening anyways. Bluesky currently gets like 1 million new users (sign ups) each day. That’s massive. I doubt they need additional advertising at this point. I mean it’s a valid point, you can send them a mail anyways. But they probably already got the news.
The idea is to get them to do it en masse as a union thing rather than trickling out.
Fair enough. I don’t see the point, though. Why does it matter how they do it? I mean the main point is they do it. And judging by the current growth of Bluesky and shift away from Twitter, I’d say it’s going to be done by the end of the year anyways. It’s already happening en masse.
But that’s just my opinion. At the same time I think it always helps to point out issues and deficits. Oftentimes it just needs enough people to complain, to get something on the agenda…
Maybe ask some generative AI like ChatGPT or Claude to draft a mail and then discuss it here?
Because a united act of solidarity will, I think, be a much better way to convince non-famous users to leave than a slow trickle here and there.
I also think many of them will not be convinced to leave without something like this. If you’re not familiar with the sunk cost fallacy, look it up. There is a lot of sunk cost involved here. And a lot of ego too. So you need to find a way to herd the famous cats and appealing to them as union members is a way to do that.
That’s what ChatGPT came up with:
Subject: Supporting Ethical Media Platforms: A Call for Union Solidarity
Dear [Recipient Name or Title],
I hope this message finds you well. As a member of the creative community and a strong supporter of SAG-AFTRA/WGA, I deeply appreciate the work your union does to champion the rights and voices of artists, writers, and performers.
I am writing to encourage SAG-AFTRA/WGA to consider taking an official stance on the use of Twitter by its members in light of its current trajectory. With the platform now under leadership that has shown an alarming tolerance for disinformation, hate speech, and collaboration with figures promoting authoritarian agendas, it raises important questions about whether it aligns with the values and goals of your union.
Given the reach and influence of your membership, the union has a unique opportunity to lead by example. Encouraging members to reconsider their use of Twitter—not as an edict, but as a suggestion of solidarity—would send a powerful message about prioritizing ethical engagement and protecting the voices of those most vulnerable to harm on such platforms.
To be clear, this is not a call to evangelize any particular alternative, as each member should decide which platforms best serve their needs. However, the union’s voice can help empower members to explore other communication avenues and reduce their dependency on platforms that contradict our shared values.
I believe such a move would resonate deeply with the public and your membership, reinforcing the union’s commitment to fostering a safer and more inclusive creative industry.
Thank you for considering this proposal. I’d be glad to discuss further if it would be helpful.
In solidarity,
[Your Name]
[Optional: Your Title/Profession, e.g., Screenwriter, Performer, etc.]
