How To Stay Anonymous
A brief history of anons, a tribute to the top modern anons, and why anon culture fosters free speech, creativity, and trust
Comrades: Anons have always shaped and subverted the discourse.
Benjamin Franklin was the OG Anon. We all know him as a Renaissance Man Founding Father. He signed the Constitution, served as the first postmaster general, founded the University of Pennsylvania, invented bifocals, and adorns the $100 bill.
Few know that Franklin became wealthy from publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under a pseudonym called "Richard Saunders”. He posted many articles under anon names like Silence Dogood, Martha Careful, and Busy Body. Other Enlightenment leaders also used pseudonyms, most notably Evelyn Beatrice Hall as S.G. Tallentyre. She wrote the immortal free speech principle attributed to Voltaire:
Modern anons are continuing this proud tradition. Franklin swapped genders for some of his pseudonyms. As “Yuri Bezmenov”, I am trans-racial, trans-national, trans-generational, and trans-living. The real Yuri is the perfect pseudonym because he is a legend who warned us about everything I cover.
Writing as an anon unleashes creativity by suppressing the ego and insecurities that accompany a real name. Before picking up the pen as Yuri, I never wrote anything publicly under my name and it will stay that way. I don’t do it for fame or glory, I do it for the dialogue and the friends you make along the way. Some of my favorite writers of the pre-social media internet were anons like The Leveraged Sellout. They wrangled the wild west with no Substack, Twitter, Instagram, dashboards, e-mails, or income - just randos with websites who became legendary through word of mouth.
Substack is loaded with fantastic anons like
, , , , , , , , , and (who I interviewed for his 2023 Banger of the Year Award) . They are far superior to any MSM propagandists on the vital topics of our day: geopolitics, health, energy, etc. Anons also dominate Twitter. A shitpoaster named Cat Turd has over 2 million followers, while is closing in on 3 million. Disclose.TV, Wall Street Silver, End Wokeness, and Unusual Whales have eclipsed 1 million each. Litquidity has almost a million followers on Instagram.This humble anon is grateful for all your support:
Which anons are your favorite? Sound off in the comments!
Doxxing is the occupational hazard of anons. As anons grow, they attract the attention of the censorious hall monitors. Even when one gets exposed, the Streisand Effect elevates them to new heights while dozens more pop up. The more anons are out there, the harder it is to take us all down.
aka Ricky Vaughn has been sentenced to 7 months in prison for making memes about Hillary Clinton. Taylor Lorenz stalked Libs of TikTok and her family. Beff Jezos was smeared by the EA MSM for being too e/acc. I have made my peace with getting doxxed and hope it will happen when this samizdat is large enough to support my family.
I remain in awe that 11,000+ people read How To Subvert Subversion. <0.4% of you know who I am IRL. Most of you are anons as well. Odds are that we will never meet, yet we share a bond and an understanding that is greater than many of the people we spend time with. I appreciate that you trust me to illuminate our world. In return, I pledge to protect your privacy and tell the truth. No fabrication or exaggeration, no attacks on private citizens but public figures are fair game. The pen is mightier than the sword. I am for debate and against physical violence, for free speech and against censorship, for principles with individualism and against tautologies with collectivism.
Thank you for inviting me into your inboxes and your lives. Let us continue to shatter the narrative in support of the dissidents who use their real names and build anew. Onwards!
How To Become a Class Traitor - The Subversive Seven
Shakespeare, Orwell, and Nas said it best:
Great post. Next time somebody asks why I write as an anon, I will direct them to this post!
Every person in the US needs to watch the G Edward Griffin-Yuri Bezmenov interviews. Assuming they are still available. Like prophecy from Scripture, everything they discussed 40 years ago is coming to fruition. Most of it we’ve already lived through.