AA Virtual Meetings Implement Security Measures To Keep Out 'Bad Actors'
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Alcohol Anonymous group leaders in Baltimore are taking measures to secure their Zoom meetings from "bad actors" in an effort to continue to help people stay sober amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some "bad actors" bombed these sensitive meetings when groups transitioned from in-person to online meetings.
Since then, they worked with Zoom to better secure and password-protect meetings.
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"There's never a wrong time to seek recovery, but this is a great time to do it," "Jen G.", the Baltimore AA administrator, said.
"Jen G." said she's 25 years sober. She spoke with WJZ anonymously and explained how bad actors, early on, had bombed the AA meetings in Baltimore and elsewhere.
"They weren't just pranks by high schoolers," she said. "They were coordinated attacks by hate groups. It was really horrific. They were really horrendous and traumatizing people."
"In some cases, they were video taping the meetings and putting them up online," she added.
Meetings are now better secured, but it traumatized some members who have relied on the connection to treat their disease.
"This is challenging their sobriety in ways it really hasn't happened before," she said.
Every week, the group has 800 meetings of all sizes. The technology has opened Baltimore's meetings up to people across the world.
"I've been to San Francisco, Cleveland," member "Jim H." told WJZ. "I've been to the U.K. a couple times, too."
While accessibility is up, online meetings are no match for being in a room.
"You could feel the power in the room, and that's one of the things you miss when you're looking at people online," Jim H. said. "Even if I were not to go to a Zoom meeting every day, I have to treat my disease."
To learn more about the Baltimore Intergroup Council of Alcoholics Anonymous, click right here. Its 24-hour hotline is staffed 24 hours a day at (410) 663-1922.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
