Ever since Elon Musk acquired Twitter and rebranded it to “X,” the platform has been inundated racists that who openly express their bigoted and hateful viewpoints, previously banned accounts making unwanted returns and unwanted software updates that bring unnecessary changes to the platform. As Musk took over the popular social media platform, the previously instated guidelines that upheld the safety of Twitter/X were eradicated, which led to a variety of public safety issues on the network.
Go under any interracial couple’s post and see how much their comments are flooded with others calling them “race-mixers” or how a white person “betrayed their race” simply by having the audacity to fall in love with someone of a different race. For instance, when Tineke Younger, who competed on the television series “Next Level Chef,” posted two pictures of her alongside her black partner on a boat on X, she was met with racist backlash that criticized her relationship. Something as simple as a photo caused that much controversy that she ended up limiting her comment section.
As a matter of fact, researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that the amount of tweets that contained several different racial slurs soared after Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022. Before Musk bought the platform, users would get rightfully reported for their bigotry and have their accounts taken down. However, with the platform’s new regulations, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) investigated that over 1,100 previously banned X accounts that seemed to violate the platform’s guidelines were unsuspended under Musk’s rule. For example, the infamous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who had spent years saying that the 2012 shooting of Sandy Hook Elementary school was a hoax, was brought back to X after Musk overtook the platform.
Recently, Jones had shared on X the widely debunked theory that the government could “control” the weather and purposely sent hurricane Milton and Helen to Republican states to disrupt political campaigns. Posts similar to Jones’ are rampant on X, and with how misinformation online spreads easily and rapidly, the platform poses risks to the public.
The reason that Jones and many others were originally barred from posting on Twitter has been completely disregarded when they were unbanned. Musk is big on freedom of speech, but what about the consequences that come after it? In an interview with a student who wished to remain anonymous, they weighed their opinion on the subject of freedom of speech and how it has to do with Twitter/X, expressing “Anyone can see how childish Elon is when it comes to X. I despise the whole ‘free speech’ movement he hides behind. Yes, you do have free speech, but not freedom from the consequences. If you say something wild, you will receive hate one way or the other.”
Before, when someone posted something problematic, they rightfully had their accounts taken down. However, after Musk took over the platform, users now can do whatever they want. A former Twitter/X user explained the problems that arise from this change, “I feel like it [Twitter/X] is more prone to dangers now than before because preventive measures are barely being taken against the accounts that need it.”
An NBC News review found out that approximately 150 verified accounts posted Nazi content after Musk took over Twitter. The amount of accounts featuring problematic posts got so bad that advertisers like IBM and Hyundai had to pull their ads from the app with concerns that it would be right next to Hitler sympathizing and antisemitism.
These verified accounts pay $8 a month for a blue checkmark that promotes their posts, which was an update Musk made when he acquired Twitter. Before, verification check marks were given exclusively and were used to show an account’s authenticity or status. Anyone can attain the verification mark now, however. A person could now buy a blue check mark and post under the impression of others that they are reliable and highly regarded. Of course, it is on users to fact check posts that they see online, but Musk just made it easier for lies to spread on X.
Worse updates include the removal of seeing a user’s likes. Before Musk’s overtaking, everyone’s likes were public and could be used to see if someone was engaging with something inappropriate. Now, however, a user’s likes aren’t public and if a person were to like multiple tweets involving the sexual exploitation of children or the approval of Adolf Hitler, no one is going to know.
It has been reported that in the future, X is going to implement a new change to the block function by allowing people to see posts by people who have blocked them and report abuse. This defeats the purpose of having a block button to begin with, where someone might have blocked another person for their own safety and now it will not even matter.
The point of blocking on social media is that no one has access to that very account anymore. People have always just made another account to continue what they were doing; however, this new update will only make it easier for people to continue their online stalking and be able to report abuse. This goes against Apple and Google’s guidelines of requiring social media apps to have a block feature. Even though it is technically there, but it is going to be pretty much useless.
Elon Musk has changed Twitter, no one can deny that— but how much of it has been for the better? From what has been seen over the past two years, X is a major downgrade from Twitter because of Musk and his actions.
