Racist!
In an article oozing with impotent butt-hurt,
The Washington Post is trying to make hay out of this.
It characterizes Musk's statement in that tweet as being a "personal attack" that was "targeted" at Gadde, resulting in "racist" harassment of her. (As proof of this, they cite a single unidentified Twitter user who said Gadde would “go down in history as an appalling person". That's it. That's the sum total of the evidence they could muster to support their claim of "racist" harassment.)
Elon Musk boosts criticism of Twitter executives, prompting online attacks
The targeting of employees by Musk’s massive Twitter megaphone is a major concern for workers
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/27/musk-twitter-attacks/
Elizabeth Dworkin (27 April 2022)
Elon Musk on Tuesday used his powerful Twitter account to bolster right-wing users who sharply criticized two company executives, exposing them to the online masses who joined in the attacks.
It started with a tweet from political podcast host Saagar Enjeti, who was responding to a
report by Politico that Twitter’s legal, policy and trust leader broke down in tears at a meeting with her staff this week.
“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,” Enjeti tweeted.
Tesla CEO Musk,who acquired Twitter for $44 billion this week,
replied, criticizing Gadde’s past actions. “Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate,” he wrote.
During the 2020 presidential election, Twitter
temporarily blocked a New York Post story on Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s son Hunter that it said violated a policy against posting hacked materials. The company did not suspend the entire news organization but did prevent it from tweeting for a period of time.
Musk’s response Tuesday was the first time he targeted specific Twitter executives by using his nearly singular ability to call attention to topics that interest him. Supporters of Musk, a prolific and freewheeling tweeter with 86 million followers, tend to pile on with his viewpoints.
He has used the platform to criticize Twitter’s decisions in the past, particularly on topics related to free speech and the banning of accounts from individuals who violate Twitter rules. Gadde is the most senior executive responsible for those decisions.
He also used his megaphone to take a swipe at Twitter’s popularity, pointing out that
Donald Trump’s Truth Social was “beating Twitter & TikTok" among Apple Store downloads early Wednesday.
But until now, Musk’s criticisms do not appear to have been personal or targeted at individual Twitter employees. His responses to the tweets from Enjeti and online
influencer Mike Cernovich also reveal the chaos — and potential harm — that can ensue when the incoming owner of a company amplifies criticism of workers there.
Twitter, Musk, Enjeti and the two targeted Twitter executives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
[See below for Enjeti's remarks regarding the Post's request for comment. - OB]
Personal attacks from Musk are a nightmare scenario for Twitter employees, who in recent weeks have repeatedly expressed concerns in interviews and at a companywide town hall that they could be targeted by the world’s richest man.
Twitter users quickly piled onto the criticism of Gadde, including calling on Musk to fire her and using racist language to describe her. Gadde was born in India and immigrated to the United States as a child. One user said she would “go down in history as an appalling person.”
Cernovich also tweeted about Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker, drawing a response from Musk.
[See below for the Cernovich tweet and Musk's response to it, as the Post could not be bothered to provide it or include a link to it. - OB]
Cernovich told The Washington Post that he was “surprised by the reaction to my tweet, which was a discussion of a news report.”
In internal messages and at a company town hall Monday, Twitter employees asked executives for assurance that they would be able to safely do their jobs if Musk targeted them.
Musk launched a hostile takeover bid for Twitter two weeks ago, citing a desire to restore “free speech” to the platform. Over the weekend, he engaged in closed-door negotiations with the board. On Monday, the two parties announced they’d reached an agreement for an acquisition that is expected to close in three to six months, according to executives.
Employees who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution have said that they are concerned Musk may undo some of the steps they’ve taken to better moderate hate speech and disinformation.
Here is the Cernovich tweet and Musk's response to it, as the
Post could not be bothered to provide it or include a link to it:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519151823831060481
Here is Enjeti's remarks regarding the
Post's request for comment:
https://twitter.com/esaagar/status/1519327827707023360
