Tamara De Anda

The first time it happened, it was disturbing but now I feel bulletproof

Tamara De Anda Prieto (born August 6, 1983, in Mexico City), also known as Tamara De Anda and by her pen name Plaqueta, is a Mexican blogger and journalist. She received international attention after an incident of harassment involving a taxi driver, and was subsequently the target of online harassment and trolls. She previously blogged for El Universal, and published the 2018 book #Amigadatecuenta, along with fellow activist Andrea Arsuaga. In 2017 she was named among BBC's 100 Women.

Quotes

• I received an email for a casting call from Aeromexico specifying that they don't want anyone dark-skinned. Tsss.
  • Via Twitter, quoted in Rodriguez, Cindy R. (August 18, 2013). "Aeromexico: Sorry for casting call telling dark-skinned people to not apply". CNN. Retrieved on 8 November 2018. 
• Trolls did what they do. All kinds of harassment: death threats, rape threats, everything.
  But after terrorist attacks from then on, they would post my picture. Whenever anything happens in Europe, they do it.
  The first time it happened, it was disturbing but now I feel bulletproof. It was something new, something I didn’t know they did. Luckily nobody who knows me thought it was real.
  • On the subject of online harassment, quoted in Cresci, Elena (May 26, 2017). "The story behind the fake Manchester attack victims". The Guardian. Retrieved on 8 November 2018. 
• I broke Mexican internet.
  • On being the target of online trolls after reporting a taxi driver for harassment, quoted in Saul, Heather (March 22, 2017). "Tamara de Anda: trolls target Mexican journalist in Westminster attack hoax". iNews. Retrieved on 8 November 2018. 
• Every time there is an attack I am sure there will be a few pictures of me around. The last time it happened I knew that a picture was being shared before I knew about the attack. I think there's a few people controlling a lot of accounts. Their attacks are coordinated and sometimes they make sense and you might get a feeling about how they're connected to the political situation in Mexico. Sometimes it's just hate.
  • On the subject of online trolls claiming repeatedly that she had been a victim of high-profile attacks or tragedies, quoted in Wendling, Mike (June 29, 2017). "Grenfell 'miracle baby': Why people invent fake victims of attacks and disasters". BBC. Retrieved on 8 November 2018. 
• In Mexico, a striking majority of station guardians and policemen are men and they dissuade you from reporting harassment.
  If you go and tell them, many would tell you "think twice, are you sure that was harassment?", "do you really want to spend half a day at a police station to report it?"
  • On the need for more women working in the transportation sector, quoted in Perasso, Valeria (October 16, 2017). "100 Women: Does having a woman behind the wheel stop harassment on public transport?". BBC. Retrieved on 8 November 2018. 

Quotes about Tamara De Anda

• thanks to @plaqueta [De Anda’s Twitter handle] a lot of women are now aware of Article 23 of the Civic Culture Law
  • Mexican politician Cecilia Soto González via Twitter, after De Anda reported a taxi driver for harassment, quoted in "Trolls target journalist over harassment case". Mexico News Daily. March 25, 2017. Retrieved on 8 November 2018.