The shocking rise in hate speech on Twitter, especially in recent months, troubles all of us at United Way of South Central Michigan.
No social media platform is immune to willful disinformation and hateful posts. Yet Twitter seems markedly prone to it. A recent Tufts University analysis noted a major increase in toxic tweets — posts with keywords tied to racist, anti-LGBTQ+ and antisemitic language — since October 2022.
We find this trend wholly unacceptable. It clashes with UWSCMI’s values. It flies in the face of our commitment to equity, compassion, empathy and respect for one another — especially for marginalized and underrepresented people.
So, in keeping with our values, we’re pausing our activities on this platform.
For now we aren’t fully leaving Twitter because we hope its leaders may yet take meaningful steps to stop hate speech and disinformation. If that happens — when Twitter shows it can be a place for robust and respectful dialogue — we will rejoin the conversation.
Meanwhile, visit our website to learn other ways to engage with us: unitedforscmi.org.