Political commentator’s post reignites debate over rules of conduct on the platform
Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter), has suggested removing the slur “groomer” from the platform’s hateful conduct guidelines. The suggestion came after he responded to right-wing political commentator Billboard Chris, who calls himself an opponent of “gender ideology” and complained that one of his posts had been flagged as hate speech.
Chris’s post alleged that a video of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team’s mascot Gritty waving an LGBTQ+ flag was being used to “groom kids.” The post was flagged under the platform’s rules against hateful conduct. Chris questioned how the post could possibly violate those terms, and Musk responded that he was “fixing” the issue.
Slurs and conspiracy theories that falsely equate LGBTQ+ people with pedophilia are often used to attack the community. Musk suggested that the platform may revise its hateful conduct guidelines to remove the slur “groomer.”
Statistics indicate that hate speech has increased significantly on the platform since Musk took ownership. Anti-LGBTQ+ comments have risen to at least 1,458 daily occurrences, reflecting a more hostile environment for the LGBTQ+ community on X.
Source: Maxima
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