While there are many people on Twitter spewing racist hatred, Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones was not just a victim of online bullying, she was also hacked. Jones spent yesterday showcasing the racists running amok through her Twitter feed, who spewed a dizzying array of nasty comments directed at the actress. While displaying the tweets at first didn’t do much but inspire more racists, the #LoveForLeslieJ hashtag, which trended appears to have helped turned the tide. And certainly Jones’ celeb status didn’t hurt.
From EURweb.com:
Before signing off from Twitter early Tuesday, after receiving a barrage of racist and hateful tweets, Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones urged the social networking service to do more to eliminate hate speech.
And Twitter has responded.
According to the Associated Press, chief executive Jack Dorsey sent Jones a message asking her to get in touch with him. It was followed Twitter’s release of an official statement denouncing the racist behavior:
“This type of abusive behavior is not permitted on Twitter, and we’ve taken action on many of the accounts reported to us by both Leslie and others,” said a spokesperson for Twitter. “We rely on people to report this type of behavior to us but we are continuing to invest heavily in improving our tools and enforcement systems to prevent this kind of abuse. We realize we still have a lot of work in front of us before Twitter is where it should be on how we handle these issues.”
Ghostbusters which also stars Melissa McCarthy, Kirsten Wiig and Kate McKinnon, has generated an unusual amount of vitriol online, with many anonymous commenters targeting its female stars, reports the AP.
ORIGINAL STORY:
“Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones is calling on Twitter to implement guidelines on hate speech after receiving a torrent of racist comments.
The “Saturday Night Live” cast member says that “it’s not enough” to freeze accounts and that some users should be reported.
Jones issued a series of tweets Monday night in response to racist slurs and images she received. Jones wrote early Tuesday that she was leaving Twitter for the night “with tears and a very sad heart.” The comments sparked a #LoveforLeslie hashtag.
Twitter hasn’t responded to a request for comment.
The all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot opened last weekend. Sony called it the best opening for a live-action comedy in more than a year, but it was a relatively tepid start for a movie with such a hefty price tag.
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(Photo Source: AP)
