A sense of unease is percolating in some pockets of Twitter over concerns that Elon Musk's pending takeover could amplify toxic elements on the platform and drown out marginalized voices.
Musk's US$44-billion bid to buy Twitter has spurred speculation that the tech mogul's promises to foster “free speech” on the social network could translate into a hands-off approach to harassment.
“After being abused online, people will cease posting themselves, because they don't want to invite that kind of abuse,” said Hodson, an associate professor at Royal Roads University. “That's actually the opposite of what Musk wants, which is for people to freely speak their minds.” Her Twitter feed was flooded with racist, misogynistic and ableist slurs. A trauma survivor, Talusan said the psychological toll was so immense that she couldn't and was afraid to leave the house.
“I feel like people are going to be more hesitant to stay on Twitter,” she said. “Having those perspectives suppressed in this way is definitely going to be problematic.” She sees much of the online fretting about Musk's potential reign as “alarmist” given that the deal is not due to close until later this year, and it remains to be seen whether his grand plans for the social network will come to fruition.
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