Twitter Plunges on Annual Scoring of LGBTQ Safety on Social Media

Justin Hendrix is Editor and CEO of Tech Policy Press. Shutterstock For the third year, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD has released a Social Media Safety Index (SMSI) that finds that major tech platforms are failing to keep LGBTQ+ users safe. The report was released at a time when the broader social and political context continues to grow more dangerous- in the US, more than 75 anti-LGBTQ bills were signed into law in state legislatures this year, and attacks both on- and offline are on the rise. Based on twelve indicators and a methodology designed in partnership with the nonprofit group Ranking Digital Rights and Goodwin Simon Strategic Research Group, the SMSI assigns social media companies a score based on its performance against the indicators. While none of the platforms achieve a passing score, Twitter is worst in class, with its score plunging 12 points compared to the prior year, to 33%. The company’s owner, Elon Musk, has used the platform to promote “bigoted and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric,” according to the watchdog group Media Matters for America, and the GLAAD report chronicles changes to Twitter’s policies under Musk that further endanger LGBTQ safety. ● Instagram: 63% (+15 points from 2022)● Facebook: 61% (+15 points from 2022)● TikTok: 57% (+14 points from 2022)● YouTube: 54% (+9 points from 2022)● Twitter: 33% (-12 points from 2022) GLAAD SMSI 2023 The SMSI report draws a connection between online hate and harassment and real world harms, including violence. GLAAD says the platforms profit from…Twitter Plunges on Annual Scoring of LGBTQ Safety on Social Media