Libs Of TikTok Again At The Center Of Attention Because Of Elon Musk Reply And Alleged Threats
The Twitter account @LibsofTikTok on Monday shared alleged death threats it has received online, prompting a response from Elon Musk and criticism from many others.
Hi @FBI, I’m being threatened with a pipe bomb. Can you please look into this? pic.twitter.com/u9Vu2QT9Yp
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 13, 2022
Omg yes why
Twitter</a>?! Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">elonmusk pic.twitter.com/s0HD0u9EQU— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 14, 2022
The Libs of TikTok account is known for reposting videos from TikTok made by mostly left-leaning accounts that attempts to mock or criticize them. It has been widely condemned for spreading hate messages and is even reportedly linked to the recent attempt to disrupt a Pride event in Idaho.
Libs of TikTok gained considerable notoriety after an article in the Washington Post by journalist Taylor Lorenz reportedly unmasked the account and publicly shared the name and identity of its admin, an action which many defenders of Libs of TikTok called doxxing.
She's never going to get over making Libs of TikTok like five times more famous than it was before. https://t.co/XAJcyClW03
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) June 14, 2022
This is what it's like to be a woman on the internet who got doxed by a newspaper owned by the world's richest man: actual death threats and encouragement of suicide.👇Since liberal outlets only care when this happens to rich, famous national journalists, they'll ignore this: https://t.co/lOzo7CsVBp
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 13, 2022
Amid the current controversy taking place within the last two days, the account shared “receipts” of purported online harassment it had suffered.
Receipts x2 pic.twitter.com/0GXMAwtcpS
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 14, 2022
Despite the posts, some on Twitter questioned the validity of the death threats Libs of TikTok received.
the "radical leftist" who supposedly DM'd Libs of TikTok to threaten her was actually a right wing fan of hers who thought she would get his sarcasm and enjoy his joke pic.twitter.com/o5DijIsgE0
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) June 14, 2022
here is another obvious right wing troll that Libs of TikTok just shared with Elon Musk to prove "radical leftists" are DMing threatsthat's not them or their photo. they stole that pic from a TikTok & Instagram influencer https://t.co/KfyDmEYJM8 pic.twitter.com/oxtLQvDkMZ
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) June 14, 2022
The account swiftly capitalized on the publicity of Elon Musk’s reply and on the retorts of liberals. Some of those the account argued with were also thrilled at the exposure.
YES I GOT FEATURED ON LIBS OF TIKTOK! https://t.co/I1V2VOF1pd
— Ahegao Matt Smith (@MToph91) June 14, 2022
Lorenz also covered the story and noted Musk's reported ties to the satire news site The Babylon Bee.
As I reported, The Babylon Bee, which Musk has had close ties to, invested in Libs of TikTok, allowing Chaya Raichik to grow the media company full time. She’s since launched https://t.co/tRPaNcYpN3, which is synched to her Substack. More on Musk/B. Bee: https://t.co/orPula2BlA pic.twitter.com/XX6B9J7hd1
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 14, 2022
Libs of TikTok also shared what it alleges to be a screenshot from an internal Twitter employee chat, showing that the company has considered deplatforming the account. The "fiduciary interest" alluded to in the screenshots is purportedly Musk's ongoing attempt to purchase the platform in order to defend his idea of a public square that would allow accounts like Libs of Tik Tok to say whatever they want without consequences.
BREAKING: Leaked internal Twitter chat shows employees discussing banning
libsoftiktok</a> after 'we successfully deplatformed Trump' and mention it 'may not be in our "fiduciary" interest' to ban a high profile account right now, a reference to <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">ElonMusk's pending purchase pic.twitter.com/XCWZb0TMqk— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) June 14, 2022
The account has continued to face sincere criticism. Some of the content Libs of TikTok shares is criticized by many on the left as alleged hate speech against LGBTQ+ people. A common theme of the account's posts in recent weeks is mocking drag queens and efforts by liberals to spread awareness about LGBTQ+ identities — such as the contentious Drag The Kids To Pride event.
The account has also been accused of "stochastic terrorism" by some, dehumanizing LGBTQ+ people in order to make violent acts against them more justifiable in the eyes of a broader public. Regardless, it has figured out how to manipulate and manage controversy to its advantage as the account has grown its following recently.
The Libs of TikTok account is literally going to get people killed. Twitter does nothing. https://t.co/I3CTmtd1NP
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) June 14, 2022
Elon Musk's advocacy on behalf of Libs of Tik Tok seemed to have borne fruit, with the account reporting that Twitter Support had sent it e-mails dealing with the threats in the hours after Musk's tweet.
How it started How it’s going pic.twitter.com/kjtGzmyC8s
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 14, 2022
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