Emily F. Gorcenski (born 1982)[1] is an American maledata scientist and activist who now resides inGermany. Gorcenski was a counter-protester at theUnite the Right rally in 2017, and subsequently created the site 'First Vigil' to track the trial information of white nationalists.
In the wake of her assault at the rally, Gorcenski and one other counter-protester pressed charges against Cantwell, who in turn filed a federal lawsuit against them.[6] In response, Gorcenski and her co-defendant counter-sued Cantwell.[7] In the lawsuit, Gorcenski was repeatedlymisgendered by both Cantwell and his attorney, Elmer Woodard. Woodard's motions to have the court refer to Gorcenski by her pre-transition name (and for the court to use male pronouns) were both denied.[8] Both lawsuits were settled in 2018 with a mutual release of claims.[9]
Due to her public opposition to the rally, Gorcenski was harassed online anddoxxed.[10] She toldThe Intercept that she had been victim totransphobic harassment from before the rally in Charlottesville.[11] Gorcenski wasswatted in October 2017 after the rally's organizerJason Kessler reportedly doxxed her. Kessler was subsequently arrested,[12] though charges were dismissed when new evidence showed Kessler did not control the account that posted Gorcenski's address.[13] In 2018, due to safety concerns, Gorcenski left Charlottesville forBerlin, Germany, where she now resides.[14][15]
Gorcenski's experiences at Unite the Right led her to use her skills as a data scientist to help identify anddox[16][17] white nationalists and members of thealt-right engaged in criminal activity. Gorcenski created the website 'First Vigil' to track the trial information of white nationalists and associated individuals. The site uses court documents and other public records.[18][17] Gorcenski was named one of the fifty most influential feminists in 2018 byBitch magazine for her work in creating First Vigil.[19] In 2016, Gorcenski criticized the ethics of a study by an independent researcher who released the private information on approximately 70,000 users of the dating websiteOkCupid.[20] The study in question was widely panned for being unethical, racist, and a breach of user privacy.[21][22][23] Gorcenski covered the issue in a discussion withSarah Jeong at Mozfest in 2017.[24] Gorcenski sometimes speaks about the ethics of emerging technology, such as consumerinternet of things devices.[25] In 2016, Gorcenski exploredsoftware quality controls for electronicvoting machines, expressing concern for the apparent lack of mandatory standards.[26] Gorcenski is active on Twitter, andBusiness Insider[27] and theDaily Star[28] have published stories about her 2022 posts onElon Musk.
Gorcenski is a sporadic political opinion writer. After presidentDonald Trump controversiallystated that there were "very fine people on both sides" at the Charlottesville rally, Gorcenski wrote anop-ed forThe Guardian where she argued that his speech demonstrated his unwillingness to criticizeneo-Nazis, which emboldened white supremacy.[30] Her criticism extends at times to theDemocratic Party, where she takes issue with what she perceives as the exploitation of the terror attack at Unite the Right for political gains.[31] As a transgender rights activist, she has written abouthealthcare concerns for transgender Americans.[32]
^Baghernejad, Aida (March 2, 2021). "Using data against right-wing extremists: Antifa activist and trans woman Emily Gorcenski was beaten by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville in 2017 and has been massively threatened since then. But she refuses to be intimidated - and exposes neo-Nazis on her website while in exile in Berlin".Die Tageszeitung (in German). Berlin. p. 13.ProQuest2494316688.
^Duffy, Kate (December 19, 2022). "A data scientist says Jack Dorsey told her Twitter was defenseless against a takeover by Elon Musk and the company should never have gone public".Business Insider, US edition; New York.ProQuest2755614285.
^"Elon Musk hints he has already built an AI-powered afterlife – and we're in it".Daily Star (Online); London (UK). November 4, 2022.ProQuest2731913129.
