Partner of late gay journalist urges Elon Musk not to ‘purge’ inactive Twitter accounts: ‘Horrible’
Twitter has claimed that hate speech is 30 per cent lower since Elon Musk took over the platform. (Getty/ Twitter/ PinkNews)
Twitter owner Elon Musk has said the platform will purge accounts that have been inactive for several years, in a move deemed horrible by one user.
On Monday (8 May), Musk warned Twitter users that they could see a drop in followers due his planned purge of inactive accounts, which he said is needed “to free up abandoned handles”.
He wrote: “We’re purging accounts that have had no activity at all for several years, so you will probably see follower count drop.”
But for users such as Adam Packer, who lost his boyfriend, journalist Dean Eastmond, to a rare cancer in 2017, deleting accounts deemed inactive like Dean’s would be “very upsetting”.
The 28-year-old told PinkNews: “The word purged is such a horrible word to use to describe inactive accounts.”
Adam, who checks Dean’s feed on most days, continued: “‘Inactive’ could be the person responsible for the account, but it doesn’t mean that account is inactive in other kinds of ways.”
After being diagnosed in 2016, Dean wrote candidly about his cancer treatment and LGBTQ+ discrimination within healthcare in his magazine Hiskind – a culture magazine he founded to benefit the queer community.
Despite understanding pragmatically why Musk would want to free up user names, Adam said “introducing policy that will damage his user base is not the best way to go about it”.
Many other Twitter users have also responded to Elon Musk’s tweet, which has so far accrued more than 54 million views, raising varied concerns about the move, with one strongly urging the billionaire to reconsider.
In response to tweets warning against deleting “documented history”, Musk said “the accounts will be archived”.
One user suggested Musk create a system for legacy accounts, which could feature different coloured badges.
Even misogynist influencer Andrew Tate had a say about the purge, tweeting: “Very good idea. But my father died and I still read his account daily. Please keep him active.”
Adam shared his shock at Tate’s interaction, telling PinkNews: “It’s deeply surprising to see someone like Andrew Tate, who has such a harsh perspective on many things, can still recognise the emotional value that accounts from people who have passed away have.”
He said if Dean’s account is deleted, it would be really upsetting. “It’s not just about what he tweeted himself, it’s the interaction he had with others. I would consider deleting my personal account.”
Musk, who has already come under scrutiny this year for rolling back protections for trans users in Twitter’s hateful-content policy, initially announced his plans to “purge” the site of all accounts that have been inactive for more than a year in November – just a month after buying the platform for about $44 billion (approximately £35 billion).
At the time, Adam told PinkNews that the rule would see him lose Dean’s digital legacy, adding that Dean’s “journalism and activism would be forgotten” if his account were removed, highlighting how important it was to preserve those tweets.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief’s announcement comes as part of the platform’s attempt to attract more content creators.
But the move is one of many Musk has introduced to Twitter which has been condemned by users of the platform, including ditching the previously honorific free blue-tick marks.
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