Elon Musk.Photo: PATRICK PLEUL/POOL/AFP/Getty
The former head of Trust and Safety at Twitter has reportedly left his home afterElon Muskcriticized him online.
The report suggests that Roth was one of several Twitter employees involved in discussing the decision to ban former PresidentDonald Trumpfrom the platform following the attack on the U.S Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The alleged threats against Roth have reportedly increased after Musk, 51,apparentlysupportedtweetssuggesting, without merit, that the former Twitter employee was sympathetic toward pedophilia, per CNN’s report.
According toThe Washington Post, Musk’s Twitter activity misrepresented Roth’s academic writing about sexuality and children and preceded threats to people Roth had replied to on Twitter as well as professors who reviewed a dissertation he wrote.
ThePostalso reports that Roth as well as his family were forced from their home in the wake of the online harassment.
A representative for Twitter did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Elon Musk.Theo Wargo/Getty
The Trust and Safety Council — created in 2016 to address harmful content on the platform such as hate speech, child exploitation, self-harm and more — wassuddenly dissolvedMonday nightafter weeks of unraveling, according toThe Washington Postand the Associated Press.
Multiple members of the advisory group told the outlets that they received an email informing them that the council had been dissolved shortly before a scheduled meeting with Twitter representatives.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
“Our work to make Twitter a safe, informative place will be moving faster and more aggressively than ever before and we will continue to welcome your ideas going forward about how to achieve this goal,” the email reportedly said.
Twitter logo.Chesnot/Getty Images
Alex Holmes, a member of the now-disbanded council,shared a similar accountMonday evening on Twitter. He said the handling of the situation and the treatment of council members has been"unfortunate and unacceptable."
However, as the AP noted, the council worked with various organizations — including National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Rati Foundation and YAKIN (Youth Adult Survivors and Kin in Need) — to address the very issue Musk claimed was being ignored.
Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorseyresponded to Muskand informed him that the claim was “false,” though Musk laterpushed back.
Various members of the council, including those who resigned and those who remained, faced increased amounts of harassment in wake of Musk’s comment.
In an email on Monday, some council members said the false accusations coming from Twitter leaders was “endangering current and former Council members.” The council was disbanded a short time after.
One member told thePostthat Musk’s decision to upend the council impacts “years of institutional memory that we on the council have brought” to Twitter. “Getting external experts and advocates looking at your services makes you smarter,” they added.
source: people.com
