Twitter’s enforcement of a hate speech policy is being called into question after trans actor Elliot Page’s deadname trended on the platform last week.
The controversy arose thanks to transphobic comments made by right-wing clinical psychologist and YouTube personality Jordan Peterson referring to Page by his discarded legal name. “Remember when pride was a sin?” Peterson tweeted about the Umbrella Academy star on June 22. The tweet continued, using Page’s deadname, a description of top surgery and the term “criminal physician.”
The tweet was subsequently flagged as hateful conduct after he violated Twitter’s terms of service, which bans harassment on the basis of gender identity. In a message, the social media platform reportedly informed Peterson that his account would be restored after a 12-hour ban if he deleted the post.
Public figures like gay conservative commentator Dave Rubin and Daily Wire editor Ben Shapiro quickly professed their support for Peterson and claimed that Twitter was censoring right-wing speech. “The insanity continues on Twitter,” Rubin wrote on June 29, before repeating Page’s deadname. The pundit went on to say that Peterson personally informed him that he would “never” remove the offending post.
Rubin was suspended shortly after for also violating the website’s terms of service in misgendering Page.
The series of events caused an uproar amongst “free speech” conservatives, even though the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit private entities like Twitter from restricting speech that does not align with their values.
Despite outrage from the right-wing public figures, the question remains why Page’s deadname trended on Tuesday afternoon during the height of the controversy, especially if the website is supposedly strict when it comes to regulating hate speech. The answer is likely because companies like Twitter have long struggled to curtail harassment and abuse directed at LGBTQ2S+ users, which remains rampant across virtually all social media sites.
According to GLAAD’s inaugural Social Media Safety Index in 2021, hate speech moderation from brands like Twitter, Facebook and TikTok has been extremely ineffective at preventing anti-LGBTQ2S+ hate on their platforms. In a 50-page report, GLAAD noted that every single social media platform would have received a failing grade regarding the safety of queer and trans users, so it chose not to grade them.
A 2021 report from the Anti-Defamation League advocacy group found that 64 percent of queer and trans people experience high rates of harassment online, compared to 41 percent of the general public.
Conservatives are calling on Tesla CEO Elon Musk to address the issue and restore what they believe is the right of conservatives to express their views on LGBTQ2S+ identities. Musk, who reportedly plans to acquire Twitter in a deal worth $57 billion CAD, tweeted earlier this week that he believes the site is “going way too far in squashing dissenting opinions.”
But the question remains not whether right-wing trolls have a platform to express their harmful, regressive views but if companies like Twitter are able to meaningfully handle the repercussions.
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