Last week, Twitter quietly removed its longstanding policy to protect transgender people from targeted misgendering and deadnaming. In response to this decision, and following the lead of other LGBTQ+ organizations, the Atlanta Pride Committee has decided to deactivate our Twitter account immediately.
The Atlanta Pride Committee is committed to standing with the Transgender community. The allowance of targeted misgendering and deadnaming is nothing short of hate speech. We must all commit to fostering safe environments for LGBTQ+ people - and that must extend to our online communities. Social media companies should be leading the fight for equality, not removing policies that protect marginalized people.
In recent months, Twitter has become an unsafe platform for LGBTQ and BIPOC people, allowing hate speech to run unchecked. Users have watched as anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Black and antisemitic tweets have flourished under the veil of "free speech." Twitter owner Elon Musk has himself promoted and posted transphobic tweets.
Online platforms must be safe spaces for ALL users. By rolling back LGBTQ safety measures, Twitter has placed itself out of alignment with TikTok, Pinterest, and Meta (Facebook/Instagram), all of which maintain policies to protect users when anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is at an all-time high.
Nationally, we have seen over 430 pieces of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ adults and youth this year alone. This is in addition to the battles we are facing locally with anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender legislation. Now is a time to stand with - and for - our community's most vulnerable and most marginalized citizens. We must speak against those who would harm our community.
Twitter's direction does not align with the mission or values of the Atlanta Pride Committee. Effective immediately, we have left the Twitter platform. You can still find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and we look forward to connecting with you on those platforms.