Help COC fight back.

John,

By now, you may have heard that Elon Musk owns Twitter. He’s already fired Twitter’s entire senior staff, including key content moderation decision-makers, and is quickly concentrating power.1 It’s no surprise that, after Musk’s Twitter takeover was finalized, hate speech on the platform skyrocketed, including a 500% spike in the use of the n-word.2 

Over the weekend, Musk spread vile falsehoods about the vicious attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband — tweeting a baseless conspiracy theory rooted in anti-LGBTQ hate.3 He’s also asked his team to review a section of Twitter’s hateful conduct policy that specifically protects the platform’s transgender users.4 To top it all off, we already know that Musk has publicly supported restoring the account of former President Donald Trump, among others; Musk could bring back people who have been banned from Twitter for spreading hate, inciting violence, and pushing misinformation.5 

At a time when the internet is increasingly being weaponized to attack Black people and destroy our social and political rights, Musk’s takeover of Twitter threatens our safety in both the virtual and physical worlds. That’s why Color Of Change is calling on our members to help us fight back against the unaccountable tech billionaires who refuse to prioritize our safety. 

We’re a week away from one of the most consequential midterm elections in recent memory. No one knows what decisions Musk and his lackeys will make that could unleash mis- and disinformation, handing political power to dangerous, far-right demagogues.

You can show solidarity with Black people online by rushing a one-time emergency donation that sustains our work ahead. Your contribution can help create a virtual world that’s safe for everyone. Join us now.

Rush your donation today!

Musk’s ownership of Twitter will not only affect Black creators; it will incentivize unscrupulous users and far-right hate-mongers to spew dangerous falsehoods and outright lies. If a political figure refuses to pay Musk to keep their verified status, that politician is at risk of having their identity co-opted and used to spread false information, hastening a crisis of democracy. This is a distinct possibility, now that Musk has fired several members of the policy team and plans to hand all major content decisions to a small, hand-picked “moderation council,” whose membership he refuses to reveal.6

Color Of Change has fought these big companies before. Members like you supported our campaign to get then-President Trump permanently kicked off Twitter, and we won. When Facebook refused to make public the findings of their Racial Equity Audit in response to our Stop Hate for Profit campaign, we pushed them to release the findings and establish a new internal civil rights department. We’ve changed things at big tech companies, and we won’t stop now.

A man like Musk – who routinely spreads dangerous misinformation, engages in union-busting activities, and runs companies that are constantly sued for racist and misogynistic practices – is almost certain to undo all the work we’ve done to make Twitter safer and more inclusive for its Black users (and honestly, what is Twitter without Black Twitter?).7,8,9 Musk’s actions in the past week have shown he’s willing to remove key guardrails, and it will only get worse. 

But we’re still fighting, John. We’re going up against one of the wealthiest people in the world, and we need your help to win. Can you pitch in a few dollars to help fight Musk’s Twitter takeover?

 

Until justice is real,

– Color of Change's Tech Accountability Team

 References

  1. Ryan Hogg, “ Elon Musk fired Twitter execs including CEO Parag Agrawal 'for cause' in a bid to avoid paying out tens of millions in severance, report says,” Business Insider, October 30, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371611?t=6&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ
  2. Shaun Harper, “Hate Speech Rises On Twitter After Elon Musk Takes Over, Researchers Find,” Forbes, October 31, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371612?t=8&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ
  3. Elizabeth Dwoskin and Faiz Siddiqui, “Elon Musk deleted a tweet about Paul Pelosi. Here’s why that matters,” Washington Post, October 30, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371614?t=10&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ
  4. Kurt Wagner, Edward Ludlow, Jackie Davalos, and Davey Alba, “Twitter Limits Content-Enforcement Work as US Election Looms,” Bloomberg, October 31, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371613?t=12&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ
  5. Kari Paul and Alex Hern, “Twitter braces for Donald Trump’s return as Elon Musk takes over platform,” The Guardian, October 28, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371615?t=14&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ
  6. Guardian staff, “Elon Musk declares Twitter ‘moderation council’ – as some push the platform’s limits,” The Guardian, October 28, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371616?t=16&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ
  7. Elizabeth Dwoskin and Faiz Siddiqui, “Elon Musk deleted a tweet about Paul Pelosi. Here’s why that matters,” Washington Post, October 30, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371614?t=18&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ
  8. Lora Kolodny, “Tesla ordered to have Elon Musk delete anti-union tweet.” NBC News, March 25, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371617?t=20&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ
  9. Hyunjoo Jin, “Tesla hit by new lawsuit alleging racial abuse against Black workers,” Reuters, July 1, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/371618?t=22&akid=54024%2E4731121%2EjSdsHZ