Harassment on X Just Got a Lot Worse

CREATOR NEWSLETTER


This week, X confirmed that major changes are coming to the block feature, leading many content creators and large accounts to question their use of the platform. These changes were previously announced by Elon Musk.

Beginning “soon,” blocking someone on X will no longer actually block them from seeing your posts. Blocked users will now be able to read and consume posts from users who have blocked them, though they’re prevented from directly engaging. They can, however, respond to other people’s comments in the replies. Previously, when a user was blocked it prevented them from even seeing tweets from the person who blocked them.

Despite Musk posting that he “will do whatever it takes for X to be the best platform for creators!” this change will harm those with large audiences by endangering their safety, giving them less control over their online experience, and exposing them to more hate and harassment.

Many women online who have dealt with stalking and harassment posted that they planned to set their accounts to private in order to protect themselves, thereby forcibly limiting their reach on the platform.

“It makes me not want to be as active on Twitter. I’ve started posting more on Threads,” Stanzi Potenza, a comedic content creator with over 4 million followers on TikTok, told Passionfruit. “I feel like Twitter has become kind of like an increasingly unsafe platform.”

Qasim Rashid, a lawyer, content creator and podcaster with over 343,000 followers on Twitter said, “As someone who regularly gets death threats on Twitter, and as someone who has had to testify in federal court to help convict someone who threatened to kill me on Twitter… I think this is a dangerous and terrible idea.”

Hassan Khadair, a comedy and commentary YouTuber with nearly 3 million subscribers, said this change could be the thing that finally gets him and other creators to abandon X. Khadair said he was recently involved in a controversy with another big creator, which has resulted in a massive swarm of hate.

“When people are saying things that are just abjectly abhorrent and disgusting and horrible, I want to block them, and I want them to be as far away from me and my community as possible,” he said.

These changes X is making to the block feature will only make it hard for larger creators to engage on the app. “This is going to give [trolls and bad actors] new ways to create posts about you and to create their own avenues to sow discourse and deceit about you,” Khadair said. “I think I will probably deactivate my Twitter account following this.”


TIPS & TRICKS

Four Lessons Creators Can Learn from Professional Wrestling


Outperform The Market

If one of your many revenue streams happens to be retail investing (whattup Wall Street Bets readers), Outprfrm can help you understand how to best invest your money in the public markets. Even if it isn’t a revenue stream now, it could be…if you understand how to outperform the market. Try it now free.


IN THE BIZ


LABOR

YouTuber Marques Brownlee Slams Company For Using His Likeness in AI Advertisement

Marques Brownlee has called out business card company Dot for using his voice without his permission.

By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor

Marques Brownlee looks straight forward and gestures with his hands, with sound waves in the background.

PLATFORMS

preview showing Instagram profile cards

Instagram Launches Profile Cards

Say hello to the business cards of the future.

By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor


JOB BOARD


CREATOR SPOTLIGHT

Content for Creators.

News, tips, and tricks delivered to your inbox twice a week.

Newsletter Signup

Latest Newsletters

  • What’s Missing From All These End-of-Year Trend Reports

    What’s Missing From All These End-of-Year Trend Reports

    CREATOR NEWSLETTER Issue #193 | December 12, 2023 It’s December, so of course, my inbox is flooded with a slew of deeply sanitized and eerily optimistic PR emails from social media companies about “end-of-year” trends and predictions. These lists are usually dry, giving an unsurprising select group of creators a pat on the back, but…

  • Twitch Leaves Behind Creators In South Korea

    Twitch Leaves Behind Creators In South Korea

    CREATOR NEWSLETTER Issue #192 | December 7, 2023 Twitch has a special place in my heart. I’m a big fan of cozy gamers playing anarcho-fantasy farming sims, of politicians playing “Among Us,” of witnessing insane speedruns, and of all the other light-hearted shenanigans on the platform. The Twitch community ranges from supportive to toxic (Twitch…

  • On Eve of SAG’s Big Win, A Final F You to Voice-over Artists

    On Eve of SAG’s Big Win, A Final F You to Voice-over Artists

    CREATOR NEWSLETTER Issue #191 | December 5, 2023 The SAG strike is over, huzzah! And thus concludes our Hot Labor Summer, which lasted unseasonably late into December, probably because of climate change. So we’re wrapping things up here, right? Shut it down, because the new contract passed with a resounding 78%…voted on by a whole…