Musk Threatens to Sue Researchers who Documented the Rise in Hateful Tweets

Elon Musk has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech since he acquired the platform.

An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”

Musk Threatens to Sue Researchers Who Documented the Rise in Hateful Tweets

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The organization has published several reports criticizing Musk’s leadership. The reports highlight that there is an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X’s attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.

In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers. He also accused CCDH is trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested the organization is getting funds from some of X’s competitors.

Imran Ahmed, the CCDH’s founder and CEO, told the AP that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism.

“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed said. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”

It’s not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter.

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