When you read the headline, you’d think Twitter is in dire straits, but that’s not true. The NBC News headline teases “chaos” erupting at the social media company because of a free speech incident. The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh has a film that criticizes transgenderism called What Is a Woman. It led to the departures of two top-level staffers because differing opinions are anathema to these soft progressives. Suppose this was a case of rampant sexual harassment and assault, along with a cover-up. In that case, that’s a cause for mayhem and resignations, not a documentary that seeks to ask questions about the current transgender trend by returning the debate toward a more fact and science-based norm (via NBC News):
On Thursday, Twitter was roiled by an organized pressure campaign by conservative pundits seeking to promote a 95-minute anti-transgender video. The incident resulted in two high-level departures within 24 hours. https://t.co/rckQ2QGq1R
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 3, 2023
Alright. Finally watched the whole thing.
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) June 3, 2023
It’s hilarious. It’s thought provoking. It’s gut-wrenching. It’s infuriating. It’s galvanizing.
I only hope that it’s effective.
Just amazing, incredible work. Watch it ASAP if you haven’t. https://t.co/W6ptHv7Fpa
A week ago, Elon Musk’s Twitter seemed to be taking shaky footsteps toward a new phase: Mass layoffs had subsided, Musk had hired a new permanent CEO and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had chosen the site to help launch his Republican presidential bid.
Over the course of a day, though, the turmoil that has marked Musk’s seven-month ownership of the social media platform came roaring back.
On Thursday, Twitter was roiled by an organized pressure campaign by conservative pundits seeking to promote a 95-minute anti-transgender video called “What Is A Woman?” Musk, who has staked out views hostile to transgender advocates, initially responded in ways that seemed to satisfy no one before he eventually relented and agreed to promote the video himself. The incident resulted in two high-level departures within 24 hours.
[…]
The chief of Twitter’s trust and safety division, Ella Irwin, left the company that same day, after a tenure leading its efforts around content moderation. A second executive, A.J. Brown, whose job was to reassure advertisers that Twitter was a safe place for their brands, also decided to quit, The Wall Street Journal reported. A third person, a program manager who worked on brand safety, said on her Twitter profile that she was now “ex-Twitter.”
Twitter yesterday censored "What Is A Woman?" After, Twitter's head of trust and safety resigned. Then, this morning, @elonmusk personally boosted the documentary.
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) June 2, 2023
Musk did the right thing. People should be able to see “What Is a Woman?” even if it upsets advertisers. pic.twitter.com/8fyBiTOHuX
There were still issues, however, especially regarding the video’s reach and users' ability to share the film. Regardless, if the issue here is pronouns, misgendering, and being part of the old regime’s censorship protocols, this isn’t an issue. Walsh can and does rub people the wrong way, but that doesn’t mean he’s spreading views that are harmful.
“Harmful” is just lefty code for speech that must be shut down because it either upsets us or exposes our agenda as insane, but you already know. The cliff notes version is two lefty staffers left, the video was posted, Elon is rich, and Twitter is still running.
What chaos are you talking about, NBC News?