When the Twitter account Libs of TikTok reported threats, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the probable future owner of the social media site, brought more attention to the issue.
Libs of TikTok is an account that reposts short videos from left-wing social media users. Musk tagged Twitter in his response to the account's Twitter thread, where its creator reported several instances of threatening behavior online.
"Why?" Musk asked.
Screenshots of the threats privately messaged to the account were posted online. The account creator shared the photos while tagging Twitter and even the FBI in her posts beginning on Sunday. It wasn't until Tuesday, after Musk's tweet, that she began receiving updates from Twitter, notifying her that the involved accounts were subsequently banned.
The account creator announced early Tuesday that she has moved to a safe location "until things calm down." Some threats warned of sending her "pipe bombs." This creator's address was briefly published by the Washington Post in a link featured in an article exposing the woman behind the account. It has since been removed from the piece.
Taylor Lorenz, the reporter behind the article, responded to these latest threats seemingly unsympathetically. Lorenz recently gave an emotional interview about the harassment she receives online.
"Of course," Lorenz captioned a screenshot of Musk's response to Libs of TikTok's tweet.
Libs of TikTok has since returned to posting its usual content. It was a trending topic on Twitter, with over 23,000 tweets, for a moment after Musk's response.
