Twitter trolls bombard platform with slurs to test 'free speech' post Elon Musk's takeover

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who self-identifies as a free-speech absolutist, acquired Twitter for $44 billion on October 27. However, what followed the acquisition was a wave of trolls, who flooded the microblogging platform with racial slurs in the name of freedom of speech. 

Musk, who preaches free speech on the platform, opened floodgates for trolls who have now tweeted tens of thousands of slurs and derogatory words after a long period of being unable to do so due to Twitter’s community guidelines. Following this, Twitter’s chief of safety and integrity Yoel Roth uploaded lengthy threads on Sunday to state that the rules "haven't changed” after Musk’s arrival in the company as the CEO. 

"Twitter's policies haven't changed. Hateful conduct has no place here. And we're taking steps to put a stop to an organized effort to make people think we have," Roth wrote, adding that over the last two days, Twitter executives have “ seen a small number of accounts post a ton of Tweets that include slurs and other derogatory terms".

"To give you a sense of scale: More than 50,000 Tweets repeatedly using a particular slur came from just 300 accounts," he revealed. According to Roth, "nearly all" of the accounts are inauthentic, and Twitter has “taken action to ban the users involved in this trolling campaign - and are going to continue working to address this in the days to come to make Twitter safe and welcoming for everyone."

Moderation or free speech- Where is Musk's Twitter headed?

The safety and integrity chief also retweet a post by Musk, who said that "we have not yet made any changes to Twitter's content moderation policies." “Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” the Tesla chief had written on Twitter on October 28.

Musk’s statement reveals that Twitter is still sitting on the fence about where it is headed after the acquisition. It has also stirred concern and apprehensions among people, who fear that the lack of content moderation on the platform could turn it into a "digital town square" that reeks of hatred, misinformation, and inevitable chaos.