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Black Twitter frets for its future

Black Twitter frets for its future

Black Twitter became a cultural phenomenon as a place to celebrate Blackness. Now that Elon Musk is buying the social media platform, are its days over?

Headlines From The Times · Gustavo Arellano, Denise Guerra, Shannon Lin, Kasia Broussalian, Ashlea Brown, Angel Carreras, David Toledo, Mario Diaz, Kinsee Morlan, Jazmín Aguilera, Shani O. Hilton, Madalyn Amato, Carlos De Loera

April 27, 202215m 51s

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Show Notes

For more than a decade, #BlackTwitter — a community of millions that has harnessed the power of the social media platform to create real-world change — has been a cultural phenomenon. But with Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, many Black activists fret for the future of the space they created and say they might not stick around to see what changes the platform’s new owner will make.

Today, how Twitter’s influential Black community is reacting to the controversial new leader — and where Black online social activism might thrive next. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times columnist Erika D. Smith

More reading:

Column: With Elon Musk in charge, it’s the beginning of the end for #BlackTwitter

Elon Musk reaches $44-billion deal to buy Twitter

Black Tesla employees describe a culture of racism: ‘I was at my breaking point’

Topics

activismblack lives mattervirtual spacestwitterelon musksocial media#blacktwitteronline communityinternetvirtual cultureteslacommunityblack culture