Musk and Marianna - how Elon鈥檚 tweets unleashed a wave of hate
According to the University of Sheffield and International Centre for Journalists, abuse directed at Marianna on Twitter spiked to its highest level in the past year.
Abuse on Twitter is never easy for Marianna Spring - it's also nothing new. She's a reporter who shares her coverage of disinformation, conspiracies and hate on social platforms. After billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter at the end of last year she noticed the abuse seemed worse than before - having improved in the months prior. So she wanted to understand why and set out to investigate for 大象传媒 Panorama. Marianna tried repeatedly to get in touch with Elon Musk and Twitter, but they didn鈥檛 respond. Then, just when the investigation aired - to her surprise - the man himself tweeted about it.
鈥淪orry for turning Twitter from nurturing paradise into a place that has鈥� trolls,鈥� he said in one tweet, posting a screengrab of the report. According to Twitter鈥檚 own data, that tweet was seen by more than 30 million profiles.
The 大象传媒 Panorama investigation made clear Twitter was never perfect. But what it did highlight was how hate is thriving under Twitter鈥檚 new owner. And - true to that - those tweets from Musk unleashed a torrent of abuse against Marianna from other users.
For 5 Minutes On, Marianna shares her story and how it impacts her.
Image Credit: 大象传媒
