Trump supporters have begun personally attacking government officials whose real names were exposed by Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter)


By

Steve Jurvetson

Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), will co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory group in the next Donald Trump administration. DOGE has not yet launched at the time of writing, before the transition of power, but Musk has already used X to target 'wasteful government departments' and their employees, and it has been reported that Musk's followers and Trump supporters have begun to launch personal attacks.

Elon Musk Unleashes X Army on Federal Workers. 'A Tough Way to Find Out She's Losing Her Job.' - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/tech/musk-unleashes-online-army-on-federal-workers-a-tough-way-to-find-out-shes-losing-her-job-f57a2e94



Elon Musk is directing harassment toward individual federal workers - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/22/24303594/elon-musk-harassing-federal-workers-x

A user named “datahazard,” who has about 170,000 followers and is known for his anti-Biden posts, questioned Ashley Thomas, who serves as director of climate diversification at the International Development Finance Corporation, arguing that “it is wrong for American taxpayers to pay for Thomas’ employment.”

Things changed dramatically when Elon Musk reposted the video with the comment, 'So many fake jobs out there.'



While datahazard and Musk have dismissed Thomas and his organization, the International Development Finance Corporation, as irrelevant, The Wall Street Journal explains that the IDF’s climate diversification arm is highly technical and focuses on identifying innovations that serve America’s strategic interests, such as hardening agriculture and infrastructure against extreme weather events.

However, Musk's post was viewed more than 32 million times, and Musk's followers and Trump supporters posted a flood of criticism and mocking memes, eventually leading to Thomas' LinkedIn and Facebook pages being made private.

A representative for the datahazard account told The Wall Street Journal in a direct message that it was legitimate to reveal Thomas' name because his name appears on a list of government officials who are public figures. Taxpayers have a fundamental right to know who is running their government.

Civil rights activist Michael Skolnik criticized Datahazard and Musk, saying, 'You have no idea what you're talking about. You're targeting honest working people to provide for their families in a dangerous way.'



'These actions are intended to instill fear in federal workers,' said Everett Kelly, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).

The Verge, an IT media outlet, said, 'Musk has systematically turned X into a megaphone for his own opinions, wielding it for any cause he finds interesting or useful,' and speculated that cases like this could happen to many public officials even after DOGE's activities begin in earnest.


By Steve Jurvetson

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