Can Black Twitter survive Elon Musk?
A surge in anti-Semitic and racist tweets, an incoherent rollout of a paid verification service, and thousands of layoffs. Then a scramble to rehire some employees. This is only a couple of weeks into Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter.
It’s impossible to deny that Musk is a highly successful businessman who made some high-visibility missteps on the way to Tesla and SpaceX. But unlike those two companies, Twitter is not about goods and services. For millions of users, it’s about community. And many feel that Musk will end up destroying these virtual communities.
Disgruntled Twitter users have sparked a mini-movement with the hashtag #TwitterMigration, leaving the platform for the social network Mastodon over concerns about increasing hate speech and misinformation.
But others are defiantly staying put - ready to fight back to sustain the influential communities that have made the platform their home.
Host Michel Martin speaks with Meredith Clark, Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication studies at Northeastern University, and the author of a forthcoming book on Black Twitter.
It’s impossible to deny that Musk is a highly successful businessman who made some high-visibility missteps on the way to Tesla and SpaceX. But unlike those two companies, Twitter is not about goods and services. For millions of users, it’s about community. And many feel that Musk will end up destroying these virtual communities.
Disgruntled Twitter users have sparked a mini-movement with the hashtag #TwitterMigration, leaving the platform for the social network Mastodon over concerns about increasing hate speech and misinformation.
But others are defiantly staying put - ready to fight back to sustain the influential communities that have made the platform their home.
Host Michel Martin speaks with Meredith Clark, Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication studies at Northeastern University, and the author of a forthcoming book on Black Twitter.
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Can Black Twitter survive Elon Musk?
A surge in anti-Semitic and racist tweets, an incoherent rollout of a paid verification service, and thousands of layoffs. Then a scramble to rehire some employees. This is only a couple of weeks into Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter.
It’s impossible to deny that Musk is a highly successful businessman who made some high-visibility missteps on the way to Tesla and SpaceX. But unlike those two companies, Twitter is not about goods and services. For millions of users, it’s about community. And many feel that Musk will end up destroying these virtual communities.
Disgruntled Twitter users have sparked a mini-movement with the hashtag #TwitterMigration, leaving the platform for the social network Mastodon over concerns about increasing hate speech and misinformation.
But others are defiantly staying put - ready to fight back to sustain the influential communities that have made the platform their home.
Host Michel Martin speaks with Meredith Clark, Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication studies at Northeastern University, and the author of a forthcoming book on Black Twitter.
It’s impossible to deny that Musk is a highly successful businessman who made some high-visibility missteps on the way to Tesla and SpaceX. But unlike those two companies, Twitter is not about goods and services. For millions of users, it’s about community. And many feel that Musk will end up destroying these virtual communities.
Disgruntled Twitter users have sparked a mini-movement with the hashtag #TwitterMigration, leaving the platform for the social network Mastodon over concerns about increasing hate speech and misinformation.
But others are defiantly staying put - ready to fight back to sustain the influential communities that have made the platform their home.
Host Michel Martin speaks with Meredith Clark, Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication studies at Northeastern University, and the author of a forthcoming book on Black Twitter.