Is Hate Speech On Twitter Worse Under Elon Musk's Rule? New Report Suggests It's On the Rise
Twitter has seen a dramatic rise in use of hate speech since Elon Musk assumed control of the social media platform, according to a new report.
The 51-year-old billionaire completed his buyout of Twitter in late October and promptly started making dramatic changes behind the scenes.
Some of those changes have been evident to users. For example, Elon brought back previously suspended accounts for the likes of Donald Trump.
In the aftermath of some of his changes, experts are noting that hate speech appears to be on the rise, despite conflicting information from Elon.
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According to reporting by The New York Times, slurs against the Black community more than doubled from 1,282 daily instances to 3,876 after Elon took over. There were also noticeable increases in hate speech directed at gay men and the Jewish faith.
Antisemitism in specific was noted to increase by roughly 61%.
The data for the report came from Center for Countering Digital Hate, the Anti-Defamation League and similar groups.
“Elon Musk sent up the Bat Signal to every kind of racist, misogynist and homophobe that Twitter was open for business,” Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said. “They have reacted accordingly.”
Elon did not return a request for comment from the publication.
He suspended controversial rapper Kanye West on Friday (December 2).
A prominent athlete previously spoke out amid reports that the use of the N-word soared on the app following the buyout.