Trans activists are accusing Elon Musk of shielding a Nazi cartoonist on X while permitting widespread transphobia on the platform.
After some liberals reportedly doxxed Hans Kristian Graebener – believed to be the face behind an anonymous right-wing cartoonist using the name Stonetoss, who shares racist, antisemitic, and anti-LGBTQ+ content – Musk responded to calls to censor accounts that mentioned Graebener.
Trans activists called out Musk for allowing ongoing abuse directed at them while protecting Graebener, who contributes to that abuse.
Activist and journalist Erin Reed commented, “It's quite shocking how Nazis can reveal the previous name and personal information of trans individuals on this platform, but if you share the name of a Nazi cartoonist, you'll get banned. This platform is biased.”
Ari Drennen, LGBTQ program director for Media Matters, expressed sorrow that “individuals keep getting suspended for sharing the name of a Nazi cartoonist, while my birth name is constantly published by people attempting to shame me. It truly makes you consider who the rules protect and who they do not.
Trans activist and Harvard CyberLaw Clinic instructor Alejandra Caraballo's account is still locked as of March 18th because she refuses to stop mentioning Graebener. Searching for her on X shows that she changed her name to “Stonetoss is Hans Kristian Graebner,” so even when the account is censored, people can still see it.
Screenshots of Caraballo’s posts on Boing Boing reveal her discussing how she “just got locked out but won my appeal by saying I was targeted by antifa for mass reporting for my right wing beliefs.
“The Twitter moderation system is so broken,” she added.
Comedy news duo The Serfs also criticized Musk for “banning anyone who publishes publicly available information on Stonetoss…while approving the far right's deadnaming or doxxing of LGBTQ+ accounts.
Elon Musk is banning anyone who publishes the publicly available information on Stonetoss (Know Your Meme and Daily Kos) while liking the far right deadnaming or doxxing LGBTQ+ accounts.
Deadname and attack trans people? "Wow"
Tweet about a neo nazi cartoonist? Account suspended pic.twitter.com/iHhhlyAcAD— The Serfs (@theserfstv) March 15, 2024
In the past, Musk has claimed to be a “free speech absolutist,” which has led to hate speech essentially going unchecked on X. Since Musk’s takeover, studies have found have shown that anti-LGBTQ+ hate on the site has reached unprecedented levels. Musk himself has made it clear he’s a extreme transphobe as well. Last year, he made it known that he sees the terms “cis” and “cisgender” as slurs.
Among many other anti-trans comments, Musk has written stated that “Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult” should be imprisoned, further perpetuating false narratives about gender-affirming care for youth, which does not cause sterility and is reversible.
