UK disorder: the final straw in our tolerance of social media?
BBC journalist Zoe Kleinman considers whether Elon Musk’s ‘civil war’ comments and higher levels of hate speech online could see users turning their back on the modern day digital town squares
I live and work in the UK. I am of course upset and alarmed by the wave of riots taking place in towns and cities across the country. It’s scary, frankly.
Professionally though, this is not really my beat - or at least, it wasn’t until Elon Musk waded in and declared that we are on the verge of civil war.
Whether you agree with him or not, that’s a powerful statement from the world’s richest man, and someone with enormous influence.
He posted it on his own platform X, where I have observed a melting pot of anger over the last few days.
Anecdotally I’ve seen significantly higher levels of both hate speech and vigilante activity than I usually do. It’s polarised aggression between those furious about immigration and others hunting down the individuals sharing these views or captured on camera where riots are taking place, sparking a race to “name and shame”; to identify them, their families, their employers.
I’ve also seen a number of high profile account holders writing that they are leaving the platform as a result of all the toxicity.
Is this the digital town square Musk dreamed of? If this is “free speech absolutism” do we want it?
Perhaps it will become the first big test of the new Online Safety Act because even I have seen some awful content being shared - both graphic violence and threats - and I am just one person who is not activating any algorithms by seeking this material out.
Or will we find, as we have in the past, that the social networks, those who moderate them, and even the regulators themselves, are overwhelmed by the toxic torrent unleashed in real time, and are unable to respond at the speed and scale urgently required? And if that is the case - might this be the final straw for both the public and the lawmakers’ tolerance for social media?
Zoe Kleinman is technology editor at BBC News. She has almost 20 years’ experience in breaking tech news, writing original features, and providing in-depth analysis of big stories across BBC TV, radio, and digital outlets. This post was originally published on Zoe’s LinkedIn and has been republished with her permission.