Here’s What Happens to Women Journalists Who Criticise Elon Musk

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc.

(Photo: AP) 

If you are a woman, here’s one thing you must know: Tweeting anything against Elon Musk can land you in a pile of online abuse, as journalist Erin Biba found out. In an article for The Daily Beast, Biba wrote about how some Musk followers began sending her vile, derogatory messages after she criticised him on Twitter (screenshot below) and he replied back.

(Photo: Twitter)A screenshot of the conversation that Erin Biba had with Elon Musk on Twitter 

The criticism wasn’t unwarranted. Many from the fraternity had questioned Musk’s way of reacting to media criticism — by suggesting that he will be setting up a media and journalist ranking website, by the name of Pravda.

Erin has alleged in her article that her tweet, and Musk’s subsequent reply, led her to face an onslaught of online abuse. This is just a sample of it.

(Photo Courtesy: Erin Biba/The Daily Beast) A screenshot of the abuse that Erin Biba received on Twitter, that she shared in her article 

(Photo Courtesy: Erin Biba/The Daily Beast) A screenshot of the abuse that Erin Biba received on Twitter, that she shared in her article 

Biba goes on to write in her piece that it is common for female journalists critical of Musk to be attacked by what she calls “Musk Bros”.

Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Beast, Noah Shachtman, pointed out that other women before Biba have encountered similar abuse.

Something that Twitter user Upulie alleged as well.

To be fair to the man, you can’t really control a huge fan following on Twitter. But some rightly pointed out that Musk should have tweeted out his stance against online bullying and harassment.

Which he did, two days after the article was published.