People have long used the 'n-word' as a reference to a particular word that is extremely taboo to be both spoken and written in the society.
On Twitter where people can speak about almost anything, the platform founded by Jack Dorsey has been using filters to curb racisms and hate speech.
But after Elon Musk finalized his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, after making a grand entrance to the company's main office, Twitter trolls grinned.
They know that Musk is promoting free speech, and has planned to reinstate Kanye West, who made anti-Semitic comments, and also Donald Trump.
Due to the controversies around the toxicity of the platform, a bunch of Twitter users try to test whether Musk is staying true to his words.
And among the ways, is by flouting the social network’s policies that ban hate speech.
Evidence suggests that bad actors are trying to test the limits on @Twitter. Several posts on 4chan encourage users to amplify derogatory slurs.
For example, over the last 12 hours, the use of the n-word has increased nearly 500% from the previous average. pic.twitter.com/mEqziaWuMF— Network Contagion Research Institute (@ncri_io) October 28, 2022
"Elon now controls Twitter. Unleash the racial slurs. K---S AND N-----S," said one account, using slurs for Jewish and Black people.
"I can freely express how much I hate n-----s … now, thank you Elon," another said.
The finding was initially revealed by the Princeton-based Network Contagion Research Institute, which tracks “cyber-social threats.”
It is said that a number of people have created an "organized" campaign, where they managed to increase uses of the n-word by almost 500% in just 12 hours.
Responding to the increase in n-word occurrences, Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity, posted a thread blaming the hateful conduct on a “trolling campaign.”
According to Roth, Twitter saw “a small number of accounts post a ton of tweets that include slurs and other derogatory terms.”
He went on to explain that some 300 accounts made more than 50,000 tweets to repeatedly used "a particular slur," which is an evident reference to the n-word.
"Nearly all of these accounts are inauthentic," he said.
Twitter was also flooded with sexist and anti-LGBTQ messages, with a number of accounts began trolling by running "tests" on Twitter's moderation policies by calling for the deadnaming of transgender people and the use of offensive terms, like "groomer."
Our Rules prohibit Hateful Conduct. This includes targeting people with dehumanizing content and slurs.
This DOESN’T mean we have a list of words that are always banned. Context matters. For example, our policies are written to protect reclaimed speech. https://t.co/QopEaTwxaX— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) October 30, 2022
Over the last 48 hours, we’ve 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.
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) October 30, 2022
Nearly all of these accounts are inauthentic. We’ve 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. https://t.co/1hUnb1WYPZ
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) October 30, 2022
“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 said.
Earlier, American basketball player, LeBron James, tweeted that he had concerns about the spike in hate speech on Twitter.
As a professional and a successful Black man, James doesn't care who owns Twitter.
He's concerned is the "so many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech."
I dont know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech. https://t.co/Sy0jvXIBnC
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 29, 2022
Replying to James, Musk pointed to Roth’s thread on the subject.
Roth noted that Twitter does not have have “a list of words that are always banned. Context matters. For example, our policies are written to protect reclaimed speech.” Twitter’s rules prohibit “hateful conduct,” which includes “targeting people with dehumanizing content and slurs,” Roth wrote.
Musk tweeted that Twitter is forming a "content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints," adding that he major decisions on moderation won't be made until the council meets.
Nonetheless, conservative figures have celebrated the Musk's acquisition of Twitter, thinking that under his reign, Twitter is loosening up the rules and/or won't be as strict.
It's worth noting though, that Musk, the world’s richest person who claimed to be a "free speech absolutist", is also famous for trolling.
To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies https://t.co/k4guTsXOIu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 29, 2022