Overview

The Ana Mardoll Lockheed Martin Controversy refers to events on Twitter in late July and early August 2022 in which prominent young adult (YA) author and social justice poster Ana Mardoll was revealed as working for defense contractor Lockheed Martin, sparking controversy online. Many accused Mardoll, who was notorious for posting critically about others online, of hypocrisy. Others defended Mardoll against a doxxing attack that accompanied the revelation or defended Lockheed Martin. The discourse was emblematic for many of the condition of Twitter in 2022.

Background

Ana Mardoll has self-published books and posted online for many years, including at the controversial feminist blog Shakesville.^[1] Mardoll, a disability and trans rights activist, maintained a Twitter account with 50,000 followers from November 2011 until August 2022 when it was deactivated during the Lockheed Martin discourse.^[2]

On April 19th, 2022, Mardoll’s since-deleted tweets (one of which is seen below) calling reading "ableist" and accusing those who expect authors to read books by others "ableist" went viral. Mardoll’s reasoning revolved around several points, including that some people can't read for pleasure and reading books, in general, can be a little "elitist."^[3]

On the lolcow forum Kiwi Farms, posters maintained a thread making fun of Mardoll and doxxing him. The information shared on Kiwi Farms came to Mardoll’s attention, leading him to attempt to preempt revelations of his employment at Lockheed Martin in a since-deleted July 31st, 2022, Twitter thread (seen below). Mardoll revealed that he got the position through nepotism and his family’s employment at the defense contractor. He attempted to explain the situation while refusing to name the company he worked for.^[4]

Others shared publicly that the company in question was Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin manufactures planes, drones and other equipment for the United States military and other armed forces around the world. The company has been accused of complicity in several war crimes, including selling weapons to the Israeli military knowing they would be used against civilian targets in densely populated areas.^[5]

Online Reactions

Many on Twitter, which often delights in hypocrisy, used the revelation about Mardoll’s professional life to shun, cancel and shame him in late July 2022. For example, Twitter user @punished_cait described Mardoll's job as a "nepotism gig at the war crimes factory" in a July 31st tweet that received almost 20,000 likes over the course of two days.^[6]

Some also took the chance to accuse Mardoll of posing as "purer" than he actually is and of participating in and even coordinating the online harassment or cyberbullying of others. Another July 31st tweet, this one by @parabasis (seen below), received over 20,000 likes in two days and is typical of this line of argument.^[7]

Isabel Fall, who wrote a short story based on the I Sexually Identify As An Attack Helicopter meme was roped into the controversy, with some falsely claiming that Mardoll had coordinated attacks and criticism of Fall.

On the other side, defenders of Mardoll sometimes found themselves also defending Lockheed Martin. This tweet by @Bacchuslaureat from July 31st, 2022, received almost 300 likes and made an example of that argument.^[8]

Defenders of Mardoll also attacked Kiwi Farms, which has been blamed for several deaths due to online harassment over the years.

Much commentary turned back on itself as Twitter debated and discussed the nature of Twitter debate and discussion. An August 1st tweet by Twitter user @HannahLNYC notably compared types of Twitter discourse to the levels given to routes at ski resorts, identifying the Mardoll controversy as a "double black diamond" due to the intricacy and insularity of the discourse.^[9]

Ana Mardoll deactivated his account following the backlash, posting an apology thread (seen below) on August 2nd, 2022.^[2]

Search Interest

External References