There was a time when black people boasted about the number of followers they had on Twitter. The first 1,000 was a lot, now you need 10,000, and without 20,000 you’re nothing.
Elon Musk opens the floodgates to racists on Twitter
This opened the door to a phenomenon known as “Black Twitter,” which received media coverage and even a documentary series on Hulu. It is arguable that of all social media platforms, Twitter has become the most powerful medium for communication and news consumption among Black people.
Then along came Elon Musk, and he became a one-man echo chamber for former President Donald Trump’s statements, no matter how ridiculous or racist.
And now, with Mr. Musk uniting with Mr. Trump, their alliance is closer than ever. This begs the question, is it time for Black people to step away from the platform altogether?
Tesla’s billionaire founder reportedly bought a $44 billion stake in October 2022 and is now its largest shareholder. Less than 48 hours after the purchase, use of the N-word on the platform spiked by 500%.
Eventually, as the face of his rebranded “X,” we started hearing things like this from Musk himself:
Finally, Musk reinstated Trump, who took office in 2021, after conducting a poll where people could vote on his return.
This is especially true even though Trump already has a long history of racist tweets and has continued to lie since then.
The blacks were furious. In an op-ed for The New Yorker, Columbia University professor Jelani Cobb flatly stated that “Twitter…is subsidizing billionaires who understand that free speech is synonymous with the right to abuse others.” He stated clearly.
He was neither the first nor the last to make this declaration, but many people took to Meta’s Threads, which is linked to the company’s Facebook and Instagram apps. As The Root noted last year, 30 million people have signed up for Threads since Musk’s acquisition.
In 2023, other companies also migrated to the new Spill app, created by former Twitter employees Alfonzo โFonzโ Terrell and Devaris Brown, which targeted the platform specifically at Black people. The current number of users is approximately 200,000.
Elon Musk joins Trump on stage at Butler rally: I have a request for those watching this.
At the moment, it’s hard to scroll through Twitter without seeing the remains of ridiculous racism, such as Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets. So you have to ask yourself why you keep using Mask, Trump, and X when you have alternatives like Spill, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Discord.
The remaining black people have no shadow. They maintain accounts for a variety of reasons, including work, business, and connecting with friends. Trolls can be blocked and there are community notes that frequently call out the BS. But it’s clear that Musk is a fan of Trump. Therefore, Project 2025 and the desire to militarize the police will easily find a home in X for those who agree with it.
It is unclear whether Black Twitter will survive or whether it will transform into another animal. But in any case, perhaps it’s time for us to evolve in this area. In another year, we might forget about X and move on to something else. If we do so, it would be beneficial to ensure that it is not necessarily a “safe space” but a “smart space” for all of us.
Madison J. Gray is a journalist based in New York. He blogs at www.starkravingmadison.com.