Users are divided on Black Elon Musk’s odds for Twitter’s survival
Black Twitter laments the potential demise of the powerful community they built on the platform more than ten years ago, but users are torn between switching to a different app or sticking put.
“I’m not prepared to go because I believe that to be the case with many things. Black people contribute culture, community, love, as well as a ton of energy, spirit, and soul to every space we occupy, and when we go, someone else reaps the rewards of what we created, according to Eunique Jones Gibson, CEO of the marketing firm Culture Brands and a devoted Twitter user.
Gibson, like many other Black users, has made friends with random individuals and promoted causes like “Black Lives Matter” and “Bring Back Our Girls” on Black Twitter, the section of the social networking site where Black people discuss a variety of topics, including culture, ethnicity, and identity. The future of Black Twitter has generated discussion among academics and Twitter users ever since Elon Musk gained control of the platform in October.
We can all relate to the situation Gibson described: “We built something up and now it belongs to someone who doesn’t share our similar beliefs.
Black users may not abandon the network, at least not right away, according to André Brock, a professor of Black digital studies at Georgia Tech and author of a study on Black Twitter.
Even if the conditions aren’t ideal for us, when have they ever been, we’re going to live there. Brock told MINIECHAT, adding that Black people had relied on the social networking site for more than ten years.
No matter where it resides, Black Twitter’s collective voice, according to Brock, will continue to be “Black as loudly and exuberantly as possible.”
Black Twitter does its own thinking, and Musk won’t alter it, according to Charlton Mcllwain, a professor at New York University and the author of “Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice, from the AfroNet to Black Lives Matter.” Musk, according to McIlwain, may change the platform to make it more difficult for users to discover one another, magnify other users’ tweets, or foster an antagonistic climate.
According to McIllwain, “amplifying the voices of White supremacist users and turning the site into a refuge for anti-Black racism or racism targeting other identities might likewise adversely effect Black Twitter by creating an atmosphere that people just consider too hostile to be worth it.”
Civil rights groups like the NAACP have urged businesses to halt all advertising on the social media site until users decide what to do in the wake of recent changes on Twitter, including the reinstatement of previously banned accounts and the imminent roll out of a new verification system.
The NAACP issued a statement saying that since Elon Musk took control of Twitter, racial insults have increased and conspiracy theories have proliferated.
People tested Musk’s pledge that he would let “free expression” on the site within the first 24 hours of his ownership, according to multiple reports that racist remarks, hate speech, and other undesirable material had surged dramatically on Twitter.
Following Musk’s announcement that former President Donald Trump’s account will be reinstated, Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP, and the heads of a coalition of organizations working to stop hate met with him to discuss their concerns. They also started urging advertisers to stop using Twitter.
Users of color are developing their own applications.
Black users have turned to alternative platforms, including those that are Black-owned, or even created their own due to the changes that Musk has pushed for or enacted in recent weeks.
Since Musk took over Twitter, at least 230,000 more people have downloaded the social networking software Mastodon, according to its developer Eugen Rochko, who spoke to MINIECHAT Business earlier this month.
In order to assist Black users sell their material and expand, Isaac Hayes III built the social network Fanbase, which he has been urging the Black Twitter community to adopt. According to a tweet he sent, Black users shouldn’t feel as if they don’t have somewhere to go if they so want.
The debate and reforms at Twitter, according to digital entrepreneur and Black developer Yonathan Gebreyes, are opening doors for smaller apps.
Gebreyes started a microblogging app called Paper Africa earlier this year because he thinks regional and international media sources don’t provide timely coverage of Africa.
Users are now more receptive to possibilities. People’s rising desire is shown by the expansion and acceptance of Paper Africa, according to Grebeyes, who spoke with MINIECHAT.
Since Musk acquired control of Twitter, Jordana Wright’s social media tool, The Black Twitter App, has witnessed a spike in downloads. According to Wright, her app presently has 15,000 users who have registered.
“Our budget is not the magnitude of Twitter. We don’t have a staff the size of Twitter. Wright told MINIECHAT, “Twitter has roughly 20 years on us, but our day one looks very terrific.
Wright was motivated to build her software despite knowing that no one else could replicate it by her passion for the Black Twitter community. She admitted to MINIECHAT that it was a risk, but she wanted to build something valuable for her neighborhood.
“I am someone who found some of the largest career chances and my closest relationships via Black Twitter. Together with Black Twitter, I have both grieved and rejoiced. It’s my neighborhood,” Wright said.
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