To learn more about Braindead Bird App, Bored Panda reached out to the page’s creator on Twitter, and he was kind enough to have a chat with us. We wanted to know what inspired the account in the first place, and apparently, it has humble beginnings. “Pretty much, I was just really bored on a family holiday and was scrolling through Twitter,” he told Bored Panda. “Thought it would be funny to just compile the worst of the app into one place.”
And he’s been quite successful at that ever since, as the page was launched in July 2021 and has amassed over 560k followers since then. The page has tweeted over 3,400 times and has been beautifully chronicling the worst corners of Twitter for over a year and a half now.
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We also wanted to know what the creator of Braindead Bird App actually thinks of Twitter. “I used to hate it with a passion, but I’d be a hypocrite saying that now because I’m on it so much,” he admitted with a laugh. “It can definitely have some nice moments, but the fact that anyone can use it means there are always going to be some nutcases.”
When it comes to the "nutcases" he features on his page, however, I was curious if many of them are joking when they tweet, or if they really believe what they’re saying. “Most of the tweets are people being serious, but I like to post satire I find funny sometimes,” the creator told Bored Panda. “Just as a more light-hearted thing for people to laugh at, rather than the usual doom and gloom.”
Finally, we asked the account’s creator what he thinks Twitter should be used for. “Twitter should be used to open people’s minds, rather than shut down people's beliefs,” he shared. “At least my posts give a reason to debate in the replies, so people are learning more about their own beliefs and others.”
If you haven’t already, be sure to give Braindead Bird App a follow on Twitter right here!
If you’re not super familiar with Twitter, let me inform you that the website is famous for chaos. Donald Trump used to use his account to attack “haters”, until he was eventually banned, and there’s a long list of people who have been de-platformed for spreading misinformation, inciting violence and committing other offenses the site. In recent months, however, the bird site has been even more controversial than usual, as it has recently been acquired by Elon Musk, who aims to implement many changes. For example, previously, having a blue “verified” check on your Twitter account meant that you were a celebrity or public figure who had been vetted by the service to prove you weren’t an imposter. The significance of a blue check has recently gone flying out the window, though, as users can now purchase a verified badge for $7.99 a month.
Many celebrities have also decided to jump ship and delete their Twitter accounts, bidding adieu to their followers due to recent developments on the platform. Indy100 reported that Stephen Fry, Whoopi Goldberg, Gigi Hadid, Jameela Jamil, Toni Braxton, Shonda Rhimes, Sara Bareilles, Tea Leoni, Brian Koppelman, Erk Larsen, Mick Foley and Alex Winter have already announced their departures from the site, but the list is expected to grow in the coming months. Elon Musk also quickly lost control of his platform after initially tweeting that “comedy is now legal”, and soon following that up by introducing new rules about parody accounts, when he realized that he was being impersonated ruthlessly.
Many also wonder if Twitter will become even more unhinged, and perhaps even dangerous, as Elon Musk has threatened to restore accounts from users who had previously been banned. “New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, not freedom of reach,” Musk said in a tweet in November 2022. “Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter.” While that might sound all well and good in theory, the power to ban accounts exists for a reason. The last thing we need is a platform where people can freely spew racist, homophobic, sexist, xenophobic, or transphobic rhetoric.
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