Elon Musk – Use Of The ‘N-Word’ On Twitter Reporedtly Jumps By Almost 500% After Business Mogul Buys App, Lebron James Urges Musk To Take The Matter ‘Very Seriously’
Elon Musk – Use Of The ‘N-Word’ On Twitter Reporedtly Jumps By Almost 500% After Business Mogul Buys App, Lebron James Urges Musk To Take The Matter ‘Very Seriously’
Has tech giant Elon Musk created a safe space for hate speech? According to reports and celebrities like NBA star Lebron James, it most certainly has.
According to the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a research group that analyzes social media content to predict emerging threats, the N-word on Twitter increased by nearly 500% in the 12 hours immediately after Musk’s deal was finalized. News of the staggering data raised concerns about the future of the platform.
In a recent tweet, the Los Angeles Lakers star stated in essence how Twitter has become the wild-wild west when it comes to racist rhetoric.
“I don’t’ know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech.”
The spike in hate speech appears to have been sparked by Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter. When the deal was finalized, the billionaire promised to make the platform “more open to a wider range of speech”. Despite not knowing what exactly the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had in mind, hate groups took the opportunity to weaponize the N-word.
There was one account that said,
“Elon now controls twitter. Unleash the racial slurs. K—S AND N—–S.”
And another,
“I can freely express how much I hate n—–s … now, thank you elon,” another said, The Post reported.
Elon Musk hasn’t directly commented on the surge of hate speech, but he retweeted Twitter’s Head of Site Integrity Yoel Roth’s response to King James.
“Nearly all of these accounts are inauthentic. We’ve taken action to ban the users involved in this trolling campaign — and are going to continue working to address this in the days to come to make Twitter safe and welcoming for everyone.”
Musk also previously tweeted that,
“To be perfectly clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies.”
Musk purchased Twitter for a reported $44 billion. After assuming ownership, he did make changes to the leadership. He fired Twitter’s top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, General Counsel Sean Edgett, and the company’s top lawyer Vijaya Gadde.
What do you think about the rise in hate speech on Twitter? Do you feel safe? Will you stay on the platform? Tell us in the comment section below.