The takeover of one of the world’s biggest social network sites – Twitter – by Elon Musk has triggered fears about the return of hate campaigns with impunity. There are also misgivings about reinstatement of former US President Donald Trump’s account after the account of Kanye West aka Ye was activated again, just a day after Musk took over. It may be noted that West’s account had been blocked after his anti-Semitic rants on the platform. Shockwaves were sent through the company after Musk laid off scores of employees on his very first day, including top executives Parag Agrawal and Vijaya Gadde, giving rise to fears of more drastic layoffs in the company employing over 7,000 people.
The message that Musk sought to convey after taking charge as owner October 28 does not appear to be reassuring to votaries of democracy, though he insisted he would not allow the social network platform to be used as a “free-for-all” and pledged that the app would remain “warm and welcoming to all.” However, after Musk’s takeover, trolls were emboldened and spewed racist slurs and Nazi memes onto Twitter, fuelling fears of a new wave of online hate.
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Within hours of the takeover the network’s Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and head of Legal Policy, Trust, and Safety Vijaya Gadde, were reportedly shunted out along with the company’s general counsel Sean Edgett. The top executives were hastily escorted out of the company’s San Francisco headquarters. This seemed to have encouraged a wide range of anonymous Twitter accounts to act as if it was a signal that old rules against bigotry no longer applied. One account, created this month, included a Nazi swastika as its profile picture and retweeted quotes from Musk alongside anti-Semitic memes. Another tweet, showing a video montage glorifying Nazi Germany with the comment, “I hear that there have been some changes around here,” was liked more than 400 times.
The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a group that analyses hundreds of millions of messages across social media, said use of the word Nazi on the app has increased nearly 500 per cent over the 12 hours after Musk’s deal was finalised. By October 28 afternoon misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ messages had become increasingly prominent, including from accounts calling for the harassment and misnaming of transgender people or the use of terms, like “groomer” to insinuate that they sexually recruit children.
At the moment, it appears Donald Trump’s Twitter account may not be immediately restored. Trump hailed the takeover and said it is now “in sane hands”. Musk himself tweeted that he would make “no major content decisions or account reinstatements” until a new moderation council is formed. He promised that the council would have widely diverse viewpoints but did not elaborate on crucial details.
It is sad that the changeover takes place at a time when a hate campaigner brutally attacked Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after sneaking into their residence. A check on his social network activities by investigators has revealed his racist inclination and hatred for the House Speaker. He is believed to be a blind follower of the ideology propagated by Donald Trump.
The attack could be a coincidence, but the climate of hatred created by Trump and his posturing is such that Twitter’s ownership by Musk may pose a big threat to liberal ideals the world over. The remarks made by Musk after taking charge that the bird is freed, referring to Twitter’s logo, may turn out to be a mockery of free thinking.
