Elon Musk demands users stop ‘deadnaming’ Twitter after Stephen King trolls the billionaire

Right-wing billionaire Elon Musk, who spent tens of billions of dollars in 2022 to buy Twitter (now called X), is being ridiculed online for asking people to stop calling the platform by its universally known name. In a contentious exchange on the social media platform on Wednesday, Musk criticized famed author Stephen King for refusing to refer to the platform by its new name.

“According to the New York Times, terrorists may be paying for blue check marks on Twitter (I refuse to call it X),” King wrote.

Musk accused King of “deadnaming” the platform, a term typically used to describe the act of referring to a transgender person by their former name without their consent. Musk attempted to ridicule King, writing, “Stop deadnaming X… Respect our transition,” in response to King’s tweet.

King was referring to a Times article about a report from the Tech Transparency Project, which found that X may be violating U.S. sanctions because the company accepted payments from individuals or organizations that are forbidden from engaging in business with American companies. Those accounts include state-run media organizations and terrorist groups from Russia and Iran. The report found that leaders of Hezbollah and Houthi rebels have bought subscriptions that give users blue verification checkmarks and other perks on the platform.

Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has mocked people who display their pronouns and declared that “cis” and “cisgender” would be considered anti-heterosexual “slurs” on the platform.

Alejandra Caraballo, a transgender attorney and instructor at Harvard Law School, criticized Musk’s stance by bringing his personal life into the conversation. Caraballo responded directly to Musk’s post on X with a poignant comment: “Why? You never respected your daughter’s [transition].”

Caraballo’s post referred to when one of Musk’s children, Vivian Jenna Wilson, filed for a name change to reflect her gender identity and expressed a desire to sever ties with her father. The request highlighted her intention to dissociate from Musk for personal reasons. It marked a pivotal moment in Musk’s public persona, according to the book Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, contributing to his vocal criticism of what he perceives as “woke” culture, a stance that has since influenced his public and business-related decisions.

“If you can deadname your kid, we can deadname your app, Elon,” wrote another user on X. “You aren’t owning anyone here.”

King later followed up his stand against the name by posting the word "Twitter" several times in a message critical of Musk's "need to put your personal brand in everything.”

In its annual Social Media Safety Index, GLAAD called the social media site under Musk “the most dangerous platform for LGBTQ people."