March 7, 2023
Twitter insiders claim that the company is no longer able to protect users from trolling and other forms of abuse as a result of layoffs and changes under owner Elon Musk.
Exclusive academic data and testimony from Twitter users back up their claims, implying that under Musk’s leadership, hate flourishes, with trolls emboldened, harassment intensifying, and an increase in accounts following misogynistic and abusive profiles.
Everyone on her team, which developed safety features such as nudge buttons, has been fired, according to the former head of content design. She finally resigned. Internal Twitter research found that these safety measures reduced trolling by 60%. According to a Twitter engineer, “nobody’s taking care” of this type of work anymore, comparing the platform to a building that appears fine from the outside but is “on fire” on the inside.
Child sexual exploitation, targeted harassment campaigns, misogynistic online hate, and rape survivors are all examples of targeted abuse. Data also indicates that trolls are now more confident in harassing people, and there has been an increase in accounts following misogynistic and abusive profiles.
According to BBC Panorama, the features designed to keep trolls in check while also preventing harassment and hate speech are becoming difficult to manage. The company’s working environment is also becoming chaotic. Musk is said to walk around the company with bodyguards, making the employees uneasy.
The sources for this piece include an article in BBC.
