Twitter’s former head of trust and security has reportedly been forced out of his home due to rapidly escalating threats from Elon Musk and his supporters.
Yoel Roth, who resigned from Twitter in November, and his family were evacuated from their home this weekend over security concerns linked to the release of the “Twitter Files.”
Roth has faced increasing threats after the release of internal documents from the site, which escalated this week when Musk misrepresented Roth’s academic record in a tweet claiming Roth’s positive view of pedophilia was unfounded.
“Looks like Yoel is arguing in his PhD for children to use adult internet services,” Musk tweeted on Saturday with a screenshot of Roth’s thesis. The Washington Post reported.
Many threats have been sent to people Roth has responded to on Twitter, and the threat has gotten so bad that several of his family and friends have had to delete their Twitter accounts.
Musk’s supporters also focused their online harassment on the professors who reviewed Roth’s 2016 dissertation and his graduate school, the University of Pennsylvania.
Roth, who is gay, suggested in his dissertation that gay dating apps like Grindr adopt security policies to accommodate minors as a form of harm reduction on social media.
Roth’s role as head of trust and safety at Twitter has seen him handle sensitive issues, including the suspension of former President Donald Trump’s account in 2021.
Following the release of the “Twitter Files,” journalist Bari Weiss shared a series of screenshots of internal conversations between Roth and other staffers discussing whether to ban Trump’s account. CNN reported.
In a 2016 thesis, Yoel Roth suggested that gay dating apps like Grindr adopt security policies to accommodate minors.
Joel Roth and his partner Nicolas Madsen.
Musk had previously supported Roth, but changed his tune two weeks after taking over the company.
In October, when Roth was still at Twitter, Musk was asked about his old tweets.
“We’ve all tweeted skeptics, me more than most, but I want to be clear about my support for Yoel. I think he has great integrity and we are all entitled to our political beliefs,” Musk tweeted.
The incident comes as Twitter abruptly disbanded its Trust and Safety Board on Monday night, marking the opening of the social media network in Musk’s hands.
.