Toni Dimaano Tech 10.30.2022 21:Oct PM EDT

Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Sparks Organized Trolling

Following Elon Musk's acquisition of the company, Twitter gets targeted by online trolls in a coordinated trolling campaign to test its content guidelines.

More than 50,000 tweets from about 300 accounts bombard the platform with hateful content to make users think that Twitter has weakened its safety policies, The Guardian writes.

A Surge Of Racially Derogatory Tweets On Twitter Increases

According to Twitter's head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth, the site had been subject to an organized effort the company has changed its rules on hate speech.

With this unexpected hike in the number of offensive posts that feature racial slurs and hateful speech toward LGBTQIA+ folks, Roth assures the public that Twitter's policies have not changed.

In a tweet, Roth claims that Twitter welcomes no hateful conduct and that the company is already taking actions to ban these inauthentic account users, Engadget reports.

Additionally, he says that the company is continuously working to address this problem to make Twitter a safe space for everyone.

Twitter's transition to the hands of Elon Musk did not have it easy, as a 500% increase in hateful posts flooded the platform only 12 hours since he took over.

The Network Contagion Research Institute says that the platform has specifically seen a surge in the usage of the n-slur, linked to nonprofit sites like 4chan that encourage hateful content.

This exponential rise in racial slurs on Twitter alarmed users like NBA star LeBron James, who expressed his concern and hoped for the company to take the issue seriously, according to Deadline.

Yahoo News says that the anonymous trolling accounts also flooded Twitter with sexist and transphobic posts that deadname trans folks, according to trans activist Erin Reed.

With this, users across the platform continue to express concern that Twitter will change its content policies and reinstate banned accounts in the future.

Right-Wing Conservatives Celebrate Twitter's New Ownership

Conservative figures have immediately celebrated Musk's takeover of the social media site, as they hope that the new ownership loosens up its rules to strengthen free speech.

United States politicians like Texas Senator Ted Cruz even claim that the recent purchase of Twitter is the most important development in speech freedom in decades.

Far-right conservatives like Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and Arizona Rep Kari Lake also saw a surge in followers in the last 24 hours leading to the finalization of the deal, Yahoo News writes.

With accounts that spread disinformation, harassment, and hate getting traction on the social network, Musk announced the formation of a content moderation council.

According to The Guardian, he suggests that this new moderation body will bring diverse viewpoints to the company.

The CEO even said that he wanted to take away permanent bans on accounts that have been removed from the platform to let the speech exist, Engadget writes.

Aside from these changes, the Tesla boss also hinted at plans to split Twitter into different sections where ratings can be given to content as part of emerging interactions for users.