Yesarah Santaolalla has gotten tired. In an exercise of transparency and defense of her own values, the political analyst and talk show host RTVE wanted to settle the comparisons that linked her with Vito Quiles’ tacticsmaking it clear that their way of understanding communication and activism does not involve personal harassment or violation of the privacy of others.
Through her official ‘X’ profile, she has listed a series of limits that she claims she would never be willing to cross, regardless of her ideological differences. “I know where Vito Quiles lives and I would never leak it or go to his house. I know the men Vito Quiles hooks up with and I would never harass them“, he stated emphatically, referring to the sensitive information he has about the communicator but which he has decided not to use as a throwing weapon.
This forceful response comes at a time when the debate about the limits of journalism and online activism is on the lips of many. And even more so after Santaolalla’s complaint for going to her workplace and home to pursue her: ““I have Vito’s phone number and I would never leak it.”he continued listing. Although he points out: “No, we are not the same“, trying to completely disassociate himself from the controversial pressure techniques that are often attributed to Quiles’s environment.
Ethical differences in the use of private information
Santaolalla’s declaration of principles seeks to highlight a moral difference between those who debate ideas and those who resort to public exposure of private lives. For the creator, the fact of not sharing methods is what defines her digital identity, distancing herself from any behavior that could be characterized as digital or physical persecution towards those with whom she maintains public disagreements.
Finally, the young woman closed her intervention with a direct criticism of the lack of scruples on the Internet, stating categorically: ““I’m not a shitty person who harasses people he doesn’t like.”. With these words, Santaolalla focuses on the individual responsibility of users with great scope, defending that respect for the intimate sphere is an insurmountable barrier, even in the face of the most bitter adversaries.
