UNITED STATES NEWS

Los Angeles district attorney’s office quits Twitter due to barrage of ‘vicious’ homophobic attacks

Jun 8, 2023, 1:55 PM

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office said Thursday it has left Twitter due to barrage of “vicious” homophobic attacks that were not removed by the social media platform even after they were reported.

The account, which went by the handle @LADAOffice, no longer exists on Twitter.

“Our decision to archive our Twitter account was not an easy one,” the office said in a statement. “It came after a series of distressing comments over time, culminating in a shocking response to photographs we posted celebrating LADA’s first known entry into a Pride parade.”

It said its Pride parade post was met with “a barrage of vicious and offensive comments that left us deeply troubled.”

The comments ranged from “homophobic and transphobic slurs to sexually explicit and graphic images,” the office said, adding that they remained visible in replies to the account more than 24 hours after they were reported to Twitter.

Twitter, Elon Musk took over the company last fall, according to multiple advocacy groups.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate, for instance, recently identified 1.7 million tweets and retweets since the start of 2022 that mention the LGBTQ+ community via a keyword such as “LGBT,” “gay,” “homosexual” or “trans” alongside slurs including “groomer,” “predator” and “pedophile.” In 2022, in the months before Musk took over, there were an average of 3,011 such tweets per day. That jumped 119% to 6,596 in the four months after his takeover last October.

A big part of the reason is the drastic staffing cuts Musk has enacted since his takeover — there are simply not enough content moderators to handle the flood of problematic tweets that range from hate speech to graphic material and harassment. Musk has also described himself as a “free-speech absolutist” who believes Twitter’s previous policies were too restricting.

In April, for instance, Twitter quietly removed a policy against the “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals,” raising concerns that the platform is becoming less safe for marginalized groups. Musk has also repeatedly engaged with far-right figures and pushed misinformation to his 143 million followers.

Last week, Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, resigned after Musk criticized Twitter’s handling of tweets about a conservative media company’s documentary that questions medical treatment for transgender children and teens. Musk tweeted the video, which has been criticized as transphobic, to his followers with the message, “Every parent should watch this.”

Every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, has opposed bans on gender-affirming care and supported the medical care for youth when administered appropriately. Lawsuits have been filed in several states where bans have been enacted this year.

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office said Thursday it will remain active on other mainstream social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok but said, referring to Twitter, that it “will not be complicit and utilize a platform that promotes such hateful rhetoric.”

United States News

FILE - Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks to Texas state tr...

Associated Press

Appeals court upholds gag order on Trump in Washington case but narrows restrictions on his speech

A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday largely upheld a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election interference case but narrowed the restrictions on his speech.

1 hour ago

FILE - Migrant families wade through shallow waters toward Roma, Texas, March 24, 2021. A federal j...

Associated Press

Federal judge prohibits separating migrant families at US border for 8 years

A federal judge on Friday prohibited the separation of families at the border for purposes of deterring immigration for eight years.

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Indiana secretary of state appeals ruling for US Senate candidate seeking GOP nod

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana secretary of state is appealing a ruling that a law stipulating voting requirements for a candidate’s party affiliation is unconstitutional in a decision that lifted the hopes of a U.S. Senate hopeful who wants to run as a Republican. The Indiana attorney general’s office filed the notice of appeal Friday […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Nashville Police investigation into leak of Covenant School shooter’s writings is inconclusive

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville Police have “exhausted all available investigative avenues” in the hunt for the person who leaked pages from a school shooter’s journals to a conservative commentator, the department announced in an email sent to media late on Friday. The writings are part of an ongoing legal battle over whether they should […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Arkansas man sentenced to 5 1/2 years for firebombing police cars during 2020 protests

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The ringleader of a group who admitted to firebombing several police cars in Arkansas during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd has been sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison, while three of his co-defendants were sentenced to 18 months each. A federal judge […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Secretary of State Antony Blinken; former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn. ___ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget; Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and James […]

4 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

Dierdre Woodruff

Interest rates may have peaked. Should you buy a CD, high-yield savings account, or a fixed annuity?

Interest rates are the highest they’ve been in decades, and it looks like the Fed has paused hikes. This may be the best time to lock in rates for long-term, low-risk financial products like fixed annuities.

Follow @KTAR923...

West Hunsaker at Morris Hall supports Make-A-Wish Foundation in Arizona

KTAR's Community Spotlight this month focuses on Morris Hall and its commitment to supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Arizona.

Los Angeles district attorney’s office quits Twitter due to barrage of ‘vicious’ homophobic attacks