Thread by @BuzzFeedNews

Right now, there are huge anti-government protests in Sudan. And private Facebook groups that women initially started to talk about their crushes have been turned into powerful tools to expose abusive security officers.
buzzfeednews.com/article/tamerr…

These groups began as closed social circles where women spilled tea on their love interests. But as the protests started sweeping the country, these women started doxing the state security officers and police brutalizing demonstrators.
buzzfeednews.com/article/tamerr…

As the security agents and police who are abusing their power have had their identities exposed, they have been hounded by people in their own neighborhoods, beaten up, and sometimes even chased out of town.
buzzfeednews.com/article/tamerr…

A word about these protests: They are the largest ever against the regime of President Omar al-Bashir, who took office in 1989. At least 57 people have been killed, and countless others have been shot at, tear gassed, had their hair cut off by officers, and tortured.

Sudan’s government has blocked social media. So these Facebook groups are only accessible via VPN. Still, since December, they have been outing members of Sudan’s National Intelligence Security Service, police, and plainclothes officers who have been abusing protesters.

Bashir has said protesters cannot change the government with Facebook or WhatsApp. But the women behind the doxing campaigns may yet prove him wrong.
buzzfeednews.com/article/tamerr…