White male professor accused of trolling Twitter while posing as immigrant woman

A person claiming to be a female scientist and “immigrant woman of color” on Twitter used the social media platform to berate diversity efforts, the Black Lives Matter movement, feminism and trans people.

Now a white male professor at the University of New Hampshire is accused of running the social media account.

“UNH was recently made aware of allegations on social media about a member of its faculty,” university spokeswoman Erika Mantz told McClatchy News in an email. “We are deeply troubled by what we’ve learned so far and immediately launched an investigation.”

The professor, who officials declined to identify, has been placed on leave and is not in the classroom, Mantz said. She declined to comment further to “protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”

The account in question was named “The Science Femme, Woman in STEM” and used the handle @piney_the.

Since it’s inception in January 2019, New Hampshire Public Radio reported the account amassed more than 13,000 followers. It has since been deleted, but an archive of the account was published online.

‘The Science Femme’ account

In her Twitter bio, “The Science Femme” described herself as a scientist and professor. She also tweeted in July about being “an immigrant woman of color who grew up in poverty, sleeping on a dirt floor,” media outlets reported.

The user behind the account compared BLM to terrorism and wrote “an expletive-laden message about a soccer team in Sacramento,” according to New Hampshire Public Radio.

The person also shared explicit photos of former U.S. Congresswoman Katie Hill, the Concord Monitor reported, and screenshots on social media show how the person running the account was able to thwart their academic department’s efforts to release a statement in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

“I was successful in killing my dept’s woke statement on recent social unrest,” the tweet read. “This took several weeks and may have permanently burned some bridges but I think it’s important. It is toxic ideology that cannot be given an inch.”

“The Science Femme” also said feminism was centered on “superiority and retribution, vile stuff.”

“Your hatred of men is reprehensible,” one tweet read.

Unraveling the identity

Accusations about “The Science Femme’s” real identity surfaced when social media users began to draw parallels between the account and the professor’s personal Twitter page.

The two pages had posted identical photos a few minutes apart with similar captions, and they shared similar personal and professional histories, spouses in the same career field and brothers with breweries, Inside Higher Education reported.

The professor’s account has been deleted, and he has not publicly responded to the accusations.

But Glen Miller, the chair of the university’s chemistry department, seemed to acknowledge the professor’s actions in a since-deleted statement on Twitter.

“We wholeheartedly reject any statements or actions which seek to minimize, dismiss, hurt or harm others,” he said, according to Inside Higher Education. “That is not us. That is not what we stand for. That is not who we are. Nor will it ever be.”

New Hampshire Public Radio also obtained an email Miller sent to faculty members.

In it, he reportedly wrote, “everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but when those opinions are dismissive or hurtful or harmful to others, it is not okay with me.”

He also said the professor “is embarrassed and overwhelmed and shell shocked. He fears that this could be the end of his academic career,” according to the NPR station.

This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 1:24 PM with the headline "White male professor accused of trolling Twitter while posing as immigrant woman."