Is AUBG Spotted the Gossip Girl of AUBG?

“Being honest is to take care of the community” - AUBG Spotted

 

AUBG Spotted is an Instagram page established in 2022. The main purpose of the account is to spread anonymously given information from the people in the university.

 

“It started as a way to find your crush or send a little love note, then it moved to be a way for students to express themselves freely with anonymity,” explained the people behind AUBG Spotted.

 

For two years now a lot of names have been mentioned, a lot of feelings have been shared, a lot of gossip has been said and a lot of rumors have been spread. At the same time the popularity of the page has grown, as it’s the information received by it.

 

AUBG Spotted is one of the first things the freshmen get familiar with when they come to the university. Among these students is Lyubomira Staninska, a first-year student at AUBG. “I found out from the group chat that we created in the summer. Someone shared the account [AUBG Spotted] there and I immediately went to look through their posts,” she said.

 

AUBG Spotted is a vital part of life in the university. It sets a different dynamic and it provides the latest news and gossip to the community. Lyubomira shared “I am very interested to see what other people think about certain situations or if there is something written about me.”

 

The opinions about AUBG Spotted are split. Many people would describe it as a gossip page and others would say that it’s a safe space. One student shared “Whether we have an Instagram account or not gossips are everywhere, and everyone is gossiping."

 

AUBG Spotted described themselves as “a free space for gossip, whether it’s about the students, the Students government or the university itself."

 

 

The admin of AUBG Spotted elaborated on how the page may serve the community. “There is little to no space for students who don’t have positions of power in this university or clubs to express their opinions.” They also added that with AUBG Spotted they can criticize the university, its system and its members, as well as express their love or hookup interest.

 

 

Lyubomira stated “Everything has positive and negative sides, but in my opinion, this page has more of a positive effect. That way people have space to share their thoughts without feeling threatened because sometimes people judge your opinion on something and having a place where you can anonymously share it is very freeing.”

She herself has sent an anonymous message to the page that has been posted. “I wanted my message to reach a certain person. I saw that this person follows the page and because I didn’t want to personally say this to the person, I wrote it there with hope that they will take the hint.” “I am the only person that knows what I wrote. I told some people about it, but no one has evidence that it was me. The fact that it’s anonymous gives you the courage to say something you usually wouldn’t say,” she added.

 

Our anonymous source has been mentioned personally in a post of AUBG Spotted. They shared their experience with the words “My friends sent the post to our group chat and I was like damn that’s funny.”

 

With the growing popularity of the Instagram page, the number of people sharing their thoughts is increasing as well. “The account gets around 20 to 40 anonymous messages per day depending on the events on campus,” said the admin of AUBG Spotted.

All of the information received goes through a thoughtful sorting. The admin shared, “Directly harmful and biased hateful messages are never posted.” They also added, “I have received messages from people asking to delete the post about them and I instantly do.”

“There is no way a full name gets posted, a good digital footprint is important,” said AUBG Spotted about the role of censorship. The admins of the page are changing every year. They are chosen via direct messages (DM) and engagement.

The current admin stated, “Since May 2024 (the time when the admins of the page switched) the account has changed from being mainly a gossip page to a way to speak out when there is injustice.” They later added, “It also opens the floor to students to criticize the Student Government, the staff and the faculty. An opportunity that we do not have in the university.”

 

Edited by David Mitov and Eka Iakobadze