They fear that a more hands-off approach to policing on the platform will encourage purveyors of hate speech, intimidation and disinformation to ratchet their bad behavior-a possibility that Musk has done nothing to eliminate. .
However, even those who have experienced intense harassment on Twitter say they are unlikely to leave the platform. Despite the negative psychological toll, they value Twitter as a diverse forum to express their views and interact with others.
That would help explain why Musk shows little concern for under unrestricted free speech, although advertisers – who account for about 90% of Twitter’s revenue – may not be the same. feeling.
Renee Bracey Sherman, a biracial abortion rights advocate, endures a steady flow of predictable criticism on Twitter and, occasionally, a burst of evil tweets: messages calling for her death, photos of those aborted that fetus and, recently, his resemblance was photo-shopped as a Nazi.
“It’s a montage of hate and gore and violence,” Bracey Sherman said.
But while some celebrities are threatening to quit Twitter because of Musk, more common users like Bracey Sherman say it’s not that simple. They can’t leave Twitter and expect their followers to join them.
To reduce hatred, Bracey Sherman blocks thousands of people and uses filters to hide the strongest message. He also reports the most horrific messages on Twitter, though he said the platform rarely acts.
Twitter did not immediately respond to the comment. The company says on its site that it does not allow targeted harassment or intimidation that could scare people into speaking out. And it says it does not tolerate violent threats.
Musk called himself a “free-speech absolutist.” In tweets to his 85 million followers since Twitter accepted his $ 44 billion offer on Monday, Musk clarified that he intends to regulate content with a lighter touch, and he’s not too concerned about the progress of criticism likely. to fuel harmful content.
“The intense antibody reaction from those afraid of free speech says it all,” Musk tweeted Tuesday.
Playful, aggressive and often young, Musk’s tweets show how he used social media to create his public image as a humble billionaire who isn’t afraid to get hurt. They may also reveal clues on how Musk will manage the platform he hopes to own.
On Tuesday, Musk aimed to criticize one of Twitter’s top lawyers involved in content moderation decisions. That led some of his followers to direct racist and misogynistic comments at the lawyer, Vijaya Gadde, who was born in India and immigrated to the US as a child.
The turmoil surrounding Twitter echoes what other social media companies have experienced in the past. When Facebook was slow to act to remove former President Donald Trump from the podium for his role in the Jan. 6 uprising at the Capitol, users called for a boycott, but no widespread exodus.
Even when fed up users leave a social media platform, there is usually a stream of new users coming in behind them. Not the most angry users are leaving, experts say, but people who are useless for the platform.
Although polls show that all types of people are susceptible to online harassment, extensive research has shown that women and people of color are more likely to be targeted, something Twitter itself recognizes . That targeting is also true for people with disabilities, people belonging to religious minorities and members of the LGBTQ community.
Michael Kleinman, who studied online harassment for Amnesty International, said that if Twitter allowed more hateful and abusive speech, they were less likely to express themselves as much to the marginalized people being attacked.
“No one feels safe in a public square where as soon as you speak, an evil mob shouting obscenities comes down on you. That is no longer a public square. That’s an arena, ”Kleinman said.
Brianna Wu understands that arena as well as anyone.
She has received sexual-assault and death threats on Twitter since 2014, when she made a video game, Revolution 60, that featured women as protagonists. The harassment was part of a larger online campaign targeting female game developers that became known as GamerGate.
Wu will soon work with Twitter’s trust and safety team to improve the platform. He said it was “scary” to hear Musk talk about returning – if not completely eliminating – these efforts.
“We fought hard, very hard to improve the platform for women, for LGBTQ and people of color,” said Wu, who is white and recognized as bisexual.
But Wu has no plans to leave Twitter, which he – a former candidate for Congress in Massachusetts – relies on in personal and professional relationships. “I have made lifelong friends on Twitter. I think it’s really sad that in order to get the human connection I have to face again the harassment that is detrimental and deadly to your humanity. ”
Not everyone is dead in survival. Comics writer Kelly Sue DeConnick, who faces harassment as an advocate for gender equality in the entertainment industry, said she will wait to see what changes Musk will make before deciding.
“If it’s going to be a place where people are shouting at each other and calling each other names and wanting to get sick of each other, I’m gone,” DeConnick said.
Bridget Todd, a spokeswoman for UltraViolet, an organization that advocates against discrimination in all forms, said that although Twitter has managed to reduce harassment on its platform in recent years, she no longer uses it as much as before.
Todd said he was extremely concerned about Musk guiding the company to remove the protections it had – which he considered inadequate. But he has no intention of leaving the platform.
“Our voices are very strong on platforms like Twitter,” he said. “I don’t necessarily think that this signals the end of that, because I know our voices can really endure.”
Evan Feeney, campaign director for Color of Change, an online racial justice organization working to improve the lives of Blacks in the United States, called Musk’s push to be “a disturbing development” relax Twitter content standards. He predicted more coherent attacks on Black men, particularly on Black women.
“It’s never good when a billionaire who deliberately combines freedom to harm freedom of speech controls one of the (largest) social media platforms in the world,” Feeney said. “We’ve spent many years pushing Twitter to implement policies that we think have improved the platform. It’s alarming that with a flip of a switch they can be restored. ”
Twitter harassment is also coming to the real world, and it features how many victims are sometimes forced to endure.
Bracey Sherman said people put stickers of racist symbols, including swastikas and monkeys, on her potted plants and on the front door of her home. That’s why he bristles at people who praise unlimited freedom of speech, and suggests that he should just adopt and ignore it.
“What should I touch?” he asked. “The fact that you sent me pictures of the Nazis and told me I should be raped over and over again?”