In the past, Twitter has been called the Internet’s town square. And like any community gathering place, the troubled social platform is also provided a home for groups of people who are united by common interest, experience or heritage.
But as the platform continues to reel under Elon Musk’s leadership, many Twitter users from marginalized groups say they’re finding it a less welcoming place and one where community leaders have left in protest of Musk’s policies. Tech expert Omar Gallaga wrote for Level about the implications for one of the platform’s most important communities: Black Twitter.
Highlights from this segment:
– Black Twitter has become a cultural force that exploded during Black Lives Matter protests by amplifying voices and creating community – but many are worried it could be coming to an end amid rising hate speech and the loss of legacy verification.
– Prominent Black Twitter users including Shonda Rhimes, Toni Braxton and Whoopi Goldberg have left the platform. Meanwhile, those on the marketing and influencer side are seeing advertising dollars move to TikTok or Instagram.
– Twitter users with disabilities have been impacted by Musk disbanding the accessibility team and the loss of features like captioning on Twitter Spaces. Some have migrated to Mastodon, which has introduced some of the accessibility features that Twitter has removed.
