However, that does not excuse this dishonesty. It is bonkers that we have to deal with this level of inaccuracy from "experts."

It is honestly disgraceful that medical experts sign off on this disinformation. I suspect it is just laziness. People are using AI to write articles without actually knowing the facts or checking if the information is correct.

They even claim the @apapsychiatric.bsky.social outlines specific criteria for it in the DSM-5. I checked my dad's copy, and it is not even listed as a diagnosis.

It gets much worse. Sources like Verywell Health spread pure fiction. They claim aphonia is a disorder where you can actually still speak. They also insist it is always neurological or psychological, never physical. None of those claims are true.

Clinically, aphonia means the absence of a voice. Yet, if you look it up, even medical professionals claim it means "loss of voice." That ignores people like me with congenital aphonia. I was born without vocal folds. I did not lose my voice; I simply never had one.

And to organisations like @coe.int, @youthforum.bsky.social, @fra.europa.eu: Please, wake up. Start doing your job properly. The fact that so many people don't even know we have these rights proves that you aren't being loud enough. Be better. Be louder. Fight for us.

If you can't make your spaces safe for us, then maybe you shouldn't be running them at all. It really is that simple.

To the people who own the platforms and websites: You need to realise you have a "duty of care." In places like the UK and Europe, laws like the Online Safety Act and the Digital Services Act essentially say you must look after the children on your sites.

To all adults: It is your job to teach us how to be safe online, not just to lock us out. That goes for parents, schools, and all of you. It is a shared responsibility to show us how to handle the digital world, not hide it from us.

It says we have the right to freedom of expression and to find and share information "through any media of the child's choice." That includes the internet and social media. Banning us actually goes against our rights.