Elon Musk is already being sued for alleged racism and harassment on Twitter, even before his bid to buy the company is finalized. The lawsuit is being filed by multiple users who claim to have been subjected to an increase in racial harassment on the social media platform since Musk announced his offer to buy the company for $44 billion in April.
Musk’s bid announcement that came with a promise of “free speech” was celebrated by right-wingers, claimed Right Wing Watch, who track online extremism and disinformation activity. They saw new accounts being setup on Twitter by banned far-right individuals and groups, as well as individuals who previously had accounts only on Parler or Gab. This occurred along with rumors that currently banned Twitter accounts of prominent far-right figures, including former President Trump, could be reinstated by Musk.
Many users claim to have already faced an increase in racial harassment and trolling since April. “The worst people in America are overjoyed that Musk is buying Twitter”, said one user who has filed a lawsuit after being subjected to racial slurs online. This puts more pressure on Musk whose company Tesla is already being sued in California over hundreds of complaints that the carmaker operates "a racially segregated workplace where black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline, pay and promotion".
Elon Musk is now threatening to walk away from the deal claiming that he should not be held responsible for any current and future instances of online harassment as he was unaware that could ever occur in real or online life. Musk tweeted, “I assumed racism ended when apartheid ended in my homeland of South Africa. I cannot move forward as Twitter withheld data of the extent of online harassment activity.”
Don Jr, Ron DeSantis, and Tucker Carlson have celebrated their increase in followers since the announcement. “Bring back my Daddy, President Trump”, tweeted Don Jr.
