{"id":1240072,"date":"2022-10-31T21:57:56","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T21:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/31\/elon-musks-twitter-already-looks-grim-for-the-lgbtq-community\/"},"modified":"2022-10-31T21:57:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T21:57:56","slug":"elon-musks-twitter-already-looks-grim-for-the-lgbtq-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/31\/elon-musks-twitter-already-looks-grim-for-the-lgbtq-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk’s Twitter already looks grim for the LGBTQ community \u2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

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He\u2019s only owned Twitter for a couple of days, but Elon Musk has already undermined his credibility on some of social media\u2019s most vexing problems, all while displaying a disturbing inclination toward anti-LGBTQ views.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s most credulous billionaire couldn\u2019t help but respond to a tweet<\/a> over the weekend from Hillary Clinton denouncing Republican support for extremist conspiracies that inspire real-world violence. \u201cThe Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories,\u201d Clinton wrote. \u201cIt is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, a man broke into the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband with a hammer. The assailant, 42-year-old David DePape, shared anti-semitic conspiracy theories, election denialism, screeds against transgender people and violent threats to journalists in the months leading up to the break in.<\/p>\n

Musk, who now owns the platform, quickly waded in with a conspiracy of his own, pointing Clinton to a website with a track record of publishing outlandish and easily-debunked misinformation. The story Musk shared was headlined\u00a0\u201cThe Awful Truth: Paul Pelosi Was Drunk Again, And In a Dispute With a Male Prostitute Early Friday Morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story\u2019s supporting evidence is that DePape has connections to the nudist community and \u201cCastro Nudists are a group of really radical gay male prostitutes that parade around naked with c\u2013k rings.\u201d The conspiracy hinges on a since-corrected early KTVU report that the DePape was in his underwear when arrested.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,\u201d Musk tweeted alongside the link to the Santa Monica Observer, which once claimed Hillary Clinton had died and been replaced by a body double. By Monday, Musk had deleted the tweet and the Santa Monica Observer topped its story with an update noting police reports that Pelosi did not know DePape.<\/p>\n

Musk\u2019s ongoing embrace of far right conspiracies is alarming considering that he now owns the company. Just last week, he sought to reassure advertisers that his version of Twitter wouldn\u2019t become a \u201cfree-for-all hellscape,\u201d a promise that quickly rang untrue given Musk\u2019s bizarre impulse to share obvious political misinformation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just his interest in homophobic conspiracies about Paul Pelosi\u2019s fictional gay lover. Last week, Musk took time out of his day to reply to the daughter of academic and self help author Jordan Peterson, who was suspended from the platform for deadnaming trans actor Elliott Page and calling Page\u2019s surgeon a \u201ccriminal physician\u201d over the summer.<\/p>\n

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Anyone suspended for minor & dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail<\/p>\n

\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

In the reply to Peterson\u2019s daughter, Musk said that \u201canyone suspended for minor & dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail,\u201d dismissing the seriousness of Peterson\u2019s inexplicable attacks on Page and inviting more transphobia on the platform in the process. Twitter\u2019s current rules on hateful conduct prohibit \u201ctargeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals,\u201d a policy that was added in 2018 to protect trans people from harassment. It\u2019s hard to imagine that policy sticking around for long under Musk.<\/p>\n

Peterson\u2019s Twitter account was frozen until he deletes the offending tweet, but that\u2019s not likely to happen \u2014 Peterson dramatically said he would \u201crather die\u201d than take it down. YouTube demonetized some of Peterson\u2019s videos back in August for deadnaming Page and declaring that gender-affirming medical care for trans people is \u201cAuschwitz and Gulag-level wrong,\u201d likening the often life-saving interventions to a \u201cNazi medical experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to acquiring Twitter, Musk also made it clear that his Twitter would be a safe home for anti-semitism. After Instagram restricted Kanye West\u2019s account for invoking anti-semitic tropes and accusing Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs of being controlled by \u201cthe Jewish people,\u201d Musk warmly welcomed West back to Twitter. West hopped over to the platform, promising a fresh anti-semitic rant that would go \u201cdeath [sic] con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,\u201d a tweet that violated Twitter\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

In the twelve hours after Elon Musk closed the deal, instances of anti-Black racial slurs on the platform also shot up by 500 percent, according to an organization that studies social media activity. The flood of racism was notable enough that Twitter\u2019s Head of Safety and Integrity weighed in, though Musk\u2019s recent behavior undermined his hopeful message that the team would continue working \u201cto make Twitter safe and welcoming for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Over the last 48 hours, we\u2019ve seen a small number of accounts post a ton of Tweets that include slurs and other derogatory terms. To give you a sense of scale: More than 50,000 Tweets repeatedly using a particular slur came from just 300 accounts.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) October 30, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Musk\u2019s superficial grasp of content moderation\u2019s complexities and his apparent eagerness to enable homophobia, transphobia and anti-semitism on Twitter do not bode well for a platform that\u2019s long been a nexus of harassment for many of its users. Potential cuts to Twitter\u2019s workforce, including its trust and safety teams, could set back recent product and policy changes designed to make Twitter a safer place.<\/p>\n

Based on the tone he\u2019s setting, it looks unlikely that Musk\u2019s Twitter will be very interested in protecting the communities that bear the brunt of targeted abuse on the platform. Musk\u2019s own history of amplifying misinformation and even directing his own harassment campaign at a now-former Twitter policy executive speak volumes about what\u2019s in store.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very concerned about Elon Musk\u2019s acquisition of Twitter,\u201d the Human Rights Campaign wrote in a statement Friday. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about censorship or discrimination of ideas \u2013 it is about what kind of company they want to be and what kind of world they want to shape.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n