Tradition Eleven in public communication
The public level is defined by audience, medium, and identification
A.A. applies public anonymity to press, radio, television, films, and the publicly accessible internet. The practical question is not merely whether a full name appears. It is whether a public communication identifies a recognizable person as an A.A. member.
Recovered alcoholic; A.A. not named
A.A. says a member may publicly disclose identity and speak as a recovered alcoholic when A.A. membership is not revealed. The person is not using A.A. affiliation as the basis of the public appearance.
Individual A.A. member; identity protected
A member may speak publicly as an A.A. member when the full name and recognizable face are not revealed. The person speaks from individual experience and does not represent A.A. as a whole.
A.A. member; recognizable identity public
A full-face image or other easily identifiable picture, combined with public identification as an A.A. member, is treated by A.A. as an anonymity break even when the full name is omitted.
A.A. information without member identity
Groups, districts, intergroups, and public information committees can provide accurate information about A.A. without turning an individual member into the public face of the Fellowship.
Names are only one identifier
In practice, faces, voices, job titles, locations, affiliations, account handles, and contextual details can identify a person. Replacing a last name does not protect anonymity when the person remains easily recognizable.
The member carries responsibility
A.A. appreciates media cooperation, but official A.A. material places responsibility on members to maintain the Tradition. An interviewee or content creator should address anonymity before publication or recording begins.
No individual speaks for A.A.
A.A. members may describe their own experience, but they do not become spokespeople for A.A. as a whole. The Fellowship is made up of autonomous groups, and no interview gives one member authority to define it for everyone.
Public does not mean promotional
A.A. cooperates with responsible media and provides factual information. Tradition Eleven asks A.A. to rely on attraction rather than sensational claims, endorsements, or personality-centered publicity.
Internet posts can travel
A public post may be copied, searched, shared, archived, or separated from its original audience. A.A. guidance therefore asks members to assume that posting and texting occur at the public level.
Private conversation remains different
Telling a family member, friend, doctor, or trusted person about one’s own A.A. membership is not the public-media situation addressed by Tradition Eleven.