Bari Did a Bad, Bad Thing
“The consequences of the “Twitter Files” are unfolding, and one of them is that Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, has had to go into hiding ‘just days after Musk falsely implied that Roth,’ a gay Jew, ‘had advocated for the sexualization of children’ (Daily Beast, 12/12/22). Ben Lorber, senior research analyst at Political Research Associates, put it this way:
‘Regardless of his personal biases or intent, Musk’s targeting of Roth channeled antisemitic and homophobic ideology prevalent across today’s conservative movement. Conservatives routinely slander LGBTQ people and liberal elites as ‘groomers’ or otherwise insinuate that they are pedophiles, a false and bigoted assertion which taps longstanding antisemitic tropes accusing Jewish elites of sadistically preying on children for nefarious purposes. These tropes also animate the QAnon conspiracy, and Musk’s use of them highlights his willingness to use right-wing conspiracy theories to shape the narrative and bolster his brand.’”