Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s top lawyer, faced abusive comments on the platform after prospective owner Elon Musk responded to a right-wing activist about a “censorship” issue.
“Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate,” Musk told YouTuber Saagar Enjeti on April 27. He was responding to Enjeti’s post about a Politico story in which Twitter’s “top censorship advocate” Gadde allegedly cried during a meeting to discuss Musk’s acquisition; she was responsible for censoring a New York Post story on the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, the veracity of which was later verified.
After Musk’s remark, other Twitter users started trolling the Indian-born policy chief. They flooded her mentions with sexist and racist vitriol. CEO Parag Agrawal, himself of Indian origin, was also enveloped in some of the attacks.
Twitter employees are in Musk’s crosshairs
Musk not only slighted Gadde, but also accused company lawyer Jim Baker of facilitating fraud, again in response to an alt-right activist.
Although Musk’s own politics are not clearly labeled as left or right-wing, and are sometimes inconsistent, some of his recent interactions on Twitter—which he wants to turn into a platform with greater “free speech,” as he sees it—have seen him engage with conspiracy theorists, and the promotion of misogynistic humor.