Some things happen that make you go, “whoa!” And as shocking as those things may be, they also don’t come as a genuine surprise. Specific actions from certain people are just expected.
With the news swirling with damaging language from some influential people, the world is now faced with the ever-tumultuous leadership of Elon Musk as the head of Twitter.
With the world’s richest man now at the head of the social media company, the use of the N-word has also taken a top seat along with him.
The Deal Is Done
According to CNN, Musk finally completed the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Although the transaction went through various periods of uncertainty, the sale was confirmed on Friday in a securities filing, making him the owner of one of the most influential social platforms to exist.
With Musk’s takeover now in place, this meant the exit of several of Twitter’s top executives, namely Parag Agrawal, the former CEO, and Ned Segal, former CFO.
The Change Of The Guards
Thursday concluded 5 years @twitter. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such an incredible group of people building the world’s town square for all of our stakeholders. The work isn’t complete, but we made meaningful progress.
— Ned Segal (@nedsegal) October 28, 2022
A New Space
The big exits were the primary indicator that things were shaking up at the social media company and not in the best way.
Self-Proclaimed as a “free speech abolitionist,” Musk is bringing his perspective to all Twitter users. Allowing people to speak as candidly as they please also means the increase of hate speech that finds itself roaming free across the platform.
An Influx Of N-Word Users
According to Business Insider, the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a research group that analyzes social media content to predict emerging threats, said that the use of the N-word on Twitter skyrocketed by an estimated 500 percent almost immediately after Musk’s acquisition became final.
Since then, vile and derogatory tweets came from individuals who seemed to have patiently waited to use their prejudiced-filled Twitter to spew hate.
“Elon now controls twitter. Unleash the racial slurs. K—S AND N—–S,” said one Twitter account, using slurs for Jewish and Black people, according to NCRI research.
Who Knows What's Next
With such rhetoric exploding across the platform, it has opened the door for many, namely Black Twitter, to have a keen awareness and arm themselves with a posture of defense and prepared action for what’s next.
While the future is unknown for the “free speech” space that Musk is curating, he is adamant about his position. Musk has noted that Twitter will create a content moderation council, apparently made up of widely diverse viewpoints.
