Elon Musk is alienating some of Twitter's Black influencers
Black users have long been one of Twitter’s most engaged demographics, flocking to the platform to steer online culture and drive real-world social change. But a month after Elon Musk took over, some Black influencers are eyeing the exits just as he races to shore up the company’s business. Several high-profile Black users announced they were leaving Twitter in recent weeks, as researchers tracked an uptick in hate speech, including use of the N-word, after Musk’s high-profile Oct. 27 takeover. The multibillionaire tech executive has tweeted that activity is up and hate speech down on the platform, which he said he hopes to make a destination for more users. At the same time, he posted a video last week showing company T-shirts with the #StayWoke hashtag created by Twitter’s Black employee resource group following the deaths of Black men that catalyzed the Black Lives Matter movement, including the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown. His post contained laughing emojis, and someone c...