Replying to tweets from right-wing users, Elon Musk boosts criticism of Vijaya Gadde and another Twitter executive, prompting attacks from other users

The targeting of employees by Musk's massive Twitter megaphone is a major concern for workers — Elon Musk on Tuesday used … Source: @elonmusk and @elonmusk .

Washington Post 2022-04-27 Elizabeth Dwoskin

Context & Ripple Effects

The employee targeting described here became an early marker of a wider management pattern at Twitter: later coverage reported firings of engineers who publicly criticized Musk and staff accounts of leaders pressing for access that employees resisted. The immediate concern is not only criticism of Vijaya Gadde and Jim Baker, but how Musk's replies direct attention from a large audience toward individual employees.

The pattern also extended beyond employees. Subsequent coverage reported suspensions of antifascist organizers and journalists after right-wing appeals to Musk, connecting influential-user pressure to platform enforcement decisions.

First-order effects

Vijaya Gadde and Jim Baker become focal points for attacks from users whose criticism Musk amplified, raising the direct personal and workplace burden on the named executives.
Twitter employees receive a visible signal that public disagreement with Musk can draw both his attention and audience hostility.

Second-order effects

Twitter's leaders and staff face greater pressure to manage sensitive policy and access decisions privately, as public disputes can rapidly become employee-targeting campaigns.
Right-wing operatives gain evidence that appeals to Musk can influence attention and, later, are associated with account-enforcement outcomes, encouraging more direct lobbying of the owner.

Third-order effects

If this pattern persists, Twitter's governance shifts away from institutionally mediated policy toward owner-centered escalation, where employee safety and enforcement legitimacy are tied to Musk's public interventions.
The later combination of staff discipline and politically contested suspensions points to a platform structure in which internal dissent and external political pressure can become mutually reinforcing.

The trend: Twitter is becoming a more owner-centered platform, with Musk's public engagement functioning as both a signal to employees and a channel for politically organized user pressure.

Discussion

@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@esaagar Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@Cernovich Sounds pretty bad ...
@daveleeft Dave Lee on x
Moments after @elonmusk publicly criticised the work of Twitter policy exec @vijaya, her mentions are full of hateful tweets. Is this how he plans to run the company?
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Elon Musk has now publicly agreed with and amplified criticisms from the right of two individual Twitter employees today— one accusing its top policy exec of “censorship” and the other accusing a company lawyer of facilitating fraud. https://twitter.com/...
@ev @ev on x
Just to say, there are many defensible _nuanced_ perspectives on content moderation and, also, @vijaya is one of the most thoughtful, principled people I know.
@esaagar @esaagar on x
Vijaya Gadde, the top censorship advocate at Twitter who famously gaslit the world on Joe Rogan's podcast and censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, is very upset about the @elonmusk takeover https://twitter.com/...
@silvermanjacob Jacob Silverman on x
What's to stop Musk from tasking an engineer on day 1 with searching through the Twitter DMs (which aren't encrypted or ephemeral) of politicians, journalists, and critics?
@micsolana Mike Solana on x
the new york post was suspended from twitter for publishing a true story about the family of our sitting president just weeks before a major national election. the story was censored. this happened. you will not erase this from history. https://twitter.com/...
@parismarx Paris Marx on x
If you had any doubt Musk's view of what's wrong with Twitter comes entirely from prominent figures on the right... https://twitter.com/...
@atrupar Aaron Rupar on x
The incoming owner of Twitter is responding to Pizzagate conspiracy theorists, in case you're wondering where this platform is headed https://twitter.com/...
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
Elon Musk promising to do something in a legally binding way... and then ignoring it? I'm shocked. Shocked! Ok... Not that shocked. https://twitter.com/...
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
Appalling as @vijaya has tackled a thankless task for @jack for a long time now and he should publicly support her and push back on this kind of toxicity. We saw your high-fives for Elon, Jack, and cool beans, but perhaps show a little respect and loyalty to her. https://twitter.…
@boo @boo on x
I agree completely and un reservedly - I've got nothing but complete respect for @vijaya and her entire team. https://twitter.com/...
@ktopenn Katie Penn on x
It's always been about the people. Leaders like @vijaya are unsung heros. Stand up for your people. https://twitter.com/...
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
Beyond the obvious insanity of the hate brigade, people have no idea how wrong Musk is about this. I know of few people on this planet more supportive of ACTUAL free speech than @vijaya. She has done more to protect free speech than he ever has. https://twitter.com/...
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Imagine getting up and going to work in the morning for a company whose new owner is systematically attacking your colleagues for his 84 million followers, in public, on the site you work for—and knowing you might be next. This is the worst-case scenario Twitter employees feared.
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
If you're amplifying cernovich you have no business owning any company with a material role in the public interest. https://twitter.com/...
@andygrewal Andy Grewal on x
The NYPost suspension was inexplicable at the time and will ultimately cost twitter execs their control over the company. https://twitter.com/...
@peterjukes Peter Jukes on x
Worrying signs that that the new owner of Twitter is easy prey to Russian disinformation ops (Hunter Biden/Alfa Bank stories) https://twitter.com/...
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
Yet again we have a male journalist who looks at a powerful, accomplished, rich professional woman who has ascended to great career heights — Twitter's top lawyer — and sees a fragile, weak china doll too delicate to be criticized. It's 1950s sexism masquerading as chivalry. http…
@cernovich @cernovich on x
Twitter lawyer Jim Baker, when general counsel of the FBI, personally arranged a meeting between the FBI and Michael Sussmann. In this meeting, Sussmann presented fabricated evidence in the Alfa bank matter. @elonmusk, this is who is inside Twitter. He facilitated fraud. https://…
@daveleeft Dave Lee on x
@elonmusk @vijaya I'd imagine every Twitter employee is looking at this and thinking what if they're next. Just a sample: https://twitter.com/...
@jbarro Josh Barro on x
You're not allowed to complain about the (extremely public) decisions made by senior executives at public companies. That might lead to someone being nasty on the internet! https://twitter.com/...
@katies Katie Jacobs Stanton on x
💯 @vijaya might be the most high integrity, hard working and brilliant person I have ever worked with in my career. https://twitter.com/...
@ngrossman81 Nicholas Grossman on x
The Hunter Biden story wasn't “truthful.” A small percentage of the emails have been verified, most couldn't be. And the main suspicion was that it included hacked material, not that it was all false. I think Twitter overstepped with the URL ban, but the veracity remains unknown.…
@lizzadwoskin Elizabeth Dwoskin on x
NEW: Two days into Musk buying Twitter, he's using his megaphone to help target Twitter employees, prompting a barrage of attacks (including racist ones) from his fans. Twitter workers have repeatedly asked management for protection from this scenario. https://www.washingtonpost.…
@_karenhao Karen Hao on x
Vijaya is the exec that oversees efforts to eradicate abusive content and behavior, including state-backed disinformation. https://twitter.com/...
@richardhanania Richard Hanania on x
“His responses to the tweets from Enjeti and online influencer Mike Cernovich also reveal the chaos — and potential harm — that can ensue when the incoming owner of a company amplifies criticism of workers there.” Scary times. Stay safe out there. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ …
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Truth Social is currently beating Twitter & TikTok on the Apple Store https://twitter.com/...
@kairyssdal Kai Ryssdal on x
Pretty sure this puts Musk in breach of the agreement h/t @RMFifthCircuit https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
There's an argument to be made that Musk already violated this part of the agreement, by his tweet today about @vijaya and the NY Post story. https://twitter.com/...
@joshua_eaton Joshua Eaton on x
Now that's what I call Free Speech. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@jbarro Josh Barro on x
This part, I would be annoyed about, if I were Musk's long-suffering securities lawyer — though I'd also be pretty used to these things by now. Still, not all criticism constitutes disparagement. https://twitter.com/...
@sivavaid @sivavaid on x
He keeps insulting the company he had promised not to insult. He has the self control of a five-year-old. He's jeopardizing the deal and he doesn't even care. Also, he does not understand how the App Store works. https://twitter.com/...
@stevenmarkryan @stevenmarkryan on x
1/ Twitter lawyer cries, Musk calls out twitter's ABSOLUTELY insane censorship of a truthful story, Musk barred from making “disparaging” comments about Twitter's USELESS board. Bro, Twitter's board is has been self-disparaging from day one. $TWTR $TSLA https://www.bloomberg.com/…
@parismartineau @parismartineau on x
i love that there is a tweet clause in the twitter deal https://twitter.com/...
@kurtwagner8 Kurt Wagner on x
I suppose it couldn't hurt to put this agreement in writing... https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@brentscher Brent Scher on x
Twitter's top lawyer Vijaya Gadde cried during meeting about Musk takeover...... https://www.politico.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@aniceburrito @aniceburrito on x
Reassuring my staff by sobbing https://www.politico.com/...
@jpmaheu JP Maheu on x
Agree! @vijaya has the utmost integrity and has dealt with some of the most complex issues with principles and wisdom. https://twitter.com/...
@anandwrites @anandwrites on x
This is the management style of the world's richest man. Use your personal platform to unleash hatred on soon-to-be employees who think for themselves. Free speech! https://twitter.com/...
@birnbaum_e Emily Birnbaum on x
We just added a quote from Twitter spox Trenton Kennedy: “Gadde became emotional when discussing her team's impact and the pride she feels in them.”
@woodruffbets Betsy Woodruff Swan on x
New: Twitter's top lawyer - a key player in the decision to remove Trump from the platform - reassured staff and cried in a meeting on the Musk takeover w/ @birnbaum_e https://www.politico.com/...
@hawleymo Josh Hawley on x
The Twitter employee crying in this story? The same one who led the charge to censor the Hunter Biden laptop reporting. Says it all https://www.politico.com/...
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
Vijaya Gadde “played a leading role in negotiating the deal between Twitter and Musk,” who wants to fire her. https://t.co/jPNgttw0Iz
@birnbaum_e Emily Birnbaum on x
Gadde played a leading role in negotiating the deal between Twitter and Musk, said one person familiar with the dynamics.
@maxwelltani Max Tani on x
During a virtual meeting yesterday with policy and legal teams, top Twitter lawyer Vijaya Gadde at one point started crying, and expressed concerns about how Elon Musk could change the company. https://www.politico.com/...
@moorehn Heidi N. Moore on x
This is the right reaction. And you really have to feel for the Twitter employees, even at the executive level, who are having their company destroyed by this extremely bad deal https://twitter.com/...
@tszzl @tszzl on x
i mean it's ok as a North Star but thus far everything elon has said publicly abt his free speech approach or proof of personhood has not been novel or interesting

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