Why Elon Musk’s Twitter Grab Is Dangerous For Us Desis

When Elon Musk flirted with the idea about taking over Twitter one of his main talking points is the fact that he wanted to be sure that freedom of speech will not be compromised on the social platform. On paper that sounded logical. However, through his own actions Musk has publicly called out Twitter’s head of legal, Vijaya Gadde via, you guessed it Twitter which made her a target of unrelenting attacks by white nationalists and far right extremists. Is this the new Twitter that we are going to be facing with? I take a deeper look at why we need to pay close attention to Musk’s takeover and why Musk’s Twitter may become a dangerous platform for Desis.  

It was all about Hunter Biden’s laptop. One of the most prominent conspiracy theories that has been part of the American political landscape for the past few years. A right-wing talking point that evidence of inappropriate business practices by the son of the current president of the United States is stored in this laptop which has mysteriously disappeared. Donald Trump wanted to know where it was. His lawyer Rudy Guiliani wanted to know where it was. And so did Elon Musk.

Musk’s target was Twitter. Specifically Vijaya Gadde who is Twitter’s Legal Policy and Trust Lead. Musk shared the popular conservative opinion that they were being censored, and that Twitter in their eyes,  should be a neutral space but instead it actually leans left. So when in 2020, Twitter decided to suspend The New York Post about their story on Hunter Biden’s laptop, all eyes were on Gadde as she has the final say when it comes to content moderation and what is and is not in violation of Twitter user’s code of conduct.

So when “Breaking Point” a popular conservative podcast co-hosted by Saagar Enjeti tweeted about reports that Gadde allegedly choked up in tears when she shared the news of Musk’s takeover with the caption “Vijaya Gadde, the top censorship advocate at Twitter who famously gaslit the world on Joe Rogan’s podcast and censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, is very upset about the @elonmusk takeover.” Conservatives took note. And so did Musk.

Vijaya Gadde, the top censorship advocate at Twitter who famously gaslit the world on Joe Rogan’s podcast and censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, is very upset about the @elonmusk takeover pic.twitter.com/WCYmzNEMNt

— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) April 26, 2022

Musk then retweeted the post to his 80+ million followers. And what came next?

A barrage of racists messages were hurled at Gadde, so much so that it prompted various Twitter executives  to publicly stand by her. Plenty of the racists comments which was focused on her birth country (India), curry (?), while some also tagged CEO Parag Agrawal during their tirade were removed by Twitter as part of their content regulations, which she oversees.

Who is Vijaya Gadde?

While Enjeti (and Musk) sees Gadde as the “top censorship advocate”, The Times Of India calls her “the most important powerful media executive you’ve ever heard of”. Why? Because of her role in ensuring that tweets are within the company’s user guidelines when it comes to safe practices. And due to the nature of her positon she has approved the removal of certain tweets and accounts which have been in violation of that company’s policy. Reasons for removal are usually because they deemed to insinuate or instigate violence, while others have been seen as racist and abusive.

Gadde and her team would monitor and take down any accounts or tweets which fall under those categories. And it just so happens when it comes to the context of politics, most of those violations are done by Conservative politicians and activists. And that included then President Donald Trump. Yes, Gadde took him down as well.

It is important to note that according to Twitter’s own research “that rightwing partisan news sources have received a greater boost from Twitter’s algorithm than moderate or left-leaning news sources in the past”, as per TIME.

“The account of @realDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended from Twitter due to the risk of further violence,” she tweeted on January 9, 2021.

So it comes as no surprise that such actions are seen as heavy censorship especially when you happen to be from the community who seems to get cancelled the most.

Free Speech or Free White Speech?

When Musk was flirting with the idea of buying out Twitter one of his reasons was that he wanted the platform to stay neutral. Amplify both left and right-wing voices but most important be a bastion of free speech.

“By ‘free speech,’ I simply mean that which matches the law,” Musk tweeted. “I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.”

But what does that mean exactly? One of the biggest concern that has media pundits up in arms is that the idea that Twitter will be once again the wild west under Musk, allowing space for white ideologies to flourish. America’s constitutional right to free speech often includes contradictory notions which can easily fall down the rabbit hole of racism. As long as laws aren’t broken, then white nationalists can easily use this platform to amplify their beliefs as much as those who are more inclusive in thought.

“If you look at hate speech, disinformation, conspiracy theories—they’re not crimes in and of themselves. If you take Musk at his word, all of that will be allowed.” noted Kristen Doerer, managing editor of Right Wing Watch, which tracks the spread of far-right and white nationalist activism and online disinformation.

The idea of reinstating suspended accounts that are held by white nationalists has been on Elon Musk’s to-do list. According to Jezebel.com, “Musk associate told Charles Johnson — a white nationalist activist and influencer banned from Twitter in 2015 for threatening to “take out” Black Lives Matter protesters — that his account would be reinstated “hopefully soon.”

Another white nationalist, Nick Fuentes who accordingly to Jezebel is  “an unabashed white supremacist activist and commentator who’s denied the Holocaust and opposes women’s voting rights, responded to Musk’s purchase of Twitter by posting “LETS F-CKING GOOO. We’re back” on Telegram.

With their free (hate) speech protected by the US Constitution, it’s no wonder that concerns of Twitter turning into a white nationalist’s platform are being voiced.

Tesla’s Racism Lawsuits

If you want to take a look at how racism is handled at another Elon Musk company look no further than Tesla.

In February of this year, Tesla has garnered the spotlight due to the California civil rights agency launching a lawsuit against Tesla for their racist practices which they claim is widely known by Tesla management.

“[We] found evidence that Tesla’s Fremont factory is a racially segregated workplace where Black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline, pay, and promotion creating a hostile work environment,” as publicly stated by Kevin Kish, director of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

“One Black worker observed ‘hang N[ ]’ penned next to a drawing of a noose in the breakroom restroom. This worker also saw ‘all monkeys work outside,'” as per the lawsuit with claimants being in the “hundreds”.

With claims that terms like ‘plantation”, and “slave ship”were used to welcome Black employees has hounded Tesla with additional lawsuits claiming an hostile and racist workplace.

With Musk as the head, it begs the question how this practice has run rampant. Or if the perpertrators felt a sense of entitlement and protection, knowing that Musk will not come down on them. For the record, Tesla has called these lawsuits “misguided”.

And these aren’t the only lawsuits. CNN Business noted, “Owen Diaz, a former Tesla worker, was awarded $136.9 million last year after a jury concluded he was subject to a racially hostile workplace. Kaylen Barker, a Black woman who worked at a Tesla plant in Lathrop, California, filed a lawsuit last week claiming Tesla tolerates “rampant acts of racism.”

Other charges include Black workers being taunted with slurs which “led to verbal and physical confrontations”. Some resigned during such investigations as they felt their voices weren’t being heard and had little faith that Tesla Human Resources would back them up. Tesla’s 2020 diversity, equity and inclusion reports stated that Black workers were more “likely to be denied promotions, the lawsuit alleges. Black people make up 10% of Tesla’s US workforce, but only 4% of its US workforce leadership”.

One thing is clear that Elon Musk definitely has his quirks. Whether his attacks on Gadde were justified or not, the fact that white nationalists have embraced Musk’s derision of the Twitter’s legal chief is a red flag.

Not to mention his obvious embrace (and nuanced support) of white nationalists’ messaging (under the guise of free speech), racism seems to flourish in his California factories specifically, it seems that the toxic platform may be a complete nightmare.

For Musk who is a self-admitted free speech “purist” if the platform will be handled as how Musk has handled his own actions and that of his factories, we all are in trouble. With Musk’s $44 billion dollar takeover to be finalized in December of this year, lets see what 2023 has in store for Twitter and for us.

Main Image Photo Credit: www.yahoo.com