Elon Musk has been accused of amplifying anti-trans bigotry after he liked a Twitter post from a notorious right wing account that targets members of the transgender community for abuse.
Chaya Raichik, who runs Libs of TikTok, has frequently used her large social media following to harass teachers, doctors and members of the trans community who were later subjected to violence and intimidation, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
On Monday night Ms Raichik implied that transgenderism was “harmful” to children as it was “exposing kids to adult sexual entertainment, giving kids porn in school, and sterilising and mutilating kids”.
Mr Musk, whose teenage transgender daughter Vivian has publicly disowned him, was among the 50,000 Twitter users who “liked” the viral tweet.
Mr Musk faced a backlash on the social media platform.
“Elon Musk liked and amplified a tweet by ‘Libs of TikTok’ - a hate group that is responsible for *bomb threats* against children’s hospitals and pediatricians,” wrote Canadian infectious disease doctor Alastair McAlpine.
“Very grim. Especially considering he has a trans daughter.”
Writer Elad Nehorai tweeted: “So Musk just liked this vile transphobic tweet full of lies by an inciter of pogroms and terror. Yes, he knows exactly what he’s doing and who he supports. Anyone excusing him or still supporting him at this point should be ashamed.”
It’s not the first time Mr Musk has promoted anti-trans rhetoric since he purchased Twitter for $44bn in October.
In December, he mocked the use of pronouns by tweeting that his were “prosecute/Fauci”.
When called out by astronaut Scott Kelly, he replied: “Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracising those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone.”
Mr Musk’s erratic use of Twitter, such as cheering on top Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev, is believed to have caused an exodus of advertisers from Twitter.
Since completing his purchase of Twitter, shares of Mr Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla have plummeted by approximately 50 per cent.
In June, Mr Musk’s daughter revealed in court documents that she was changing her name to Vivian Jenna Wilson and no longer wanted to “be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form”.
In an interview with the Financial Times in October, Mr Musk blamed the rift with his daughter on the “full-on communism” he claimed was being taught in schools and universities.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Ms Raichik’s “Libs of TikTok” account helped to popularise the anti-LGBTQ “groomer” slur.
Security experts have also linked transphobic posts made by far right social media influencers to a wave of threats against children’s hospitals, drag queen story hours, and the Club Q mass shooting in Colorado Springs in November, according to Advocate.
The Independent has attempted to reach Mr Musk for comment.
