Hillicon Valley — Pelosi attack raises risks of online misogyny

The attack at Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) home that left her husband with serious injuries is amplifying concerns experts raised about the threat of real-world harm from the online abuse women in politics face.  

We’ll also break down the latest on Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, including when to expect deplatformed users to be back on the platform and his response to criticism of plans to charge users for verification.  

This is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Send tips to The Hill’s Rebecca Klar and Ines Kagubare. Someone forward you this newsletter?

Attack highlights hate toward women in politics

Last week’s attack targeting Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at her home is highlighting the real-world risk of violence stemming from the online vitriol targeting women in politics. 

The online abuse of women running for office, especially those of color, is more likely to be gendered, personal and invoke sexual violence than their male peers, research shows.  

Although misogynistic attacks are not new to politics, experts say the rise of social media and its secretive algorithms are increasing the threat level facing women in the public arena, in a way that could dissuade women from running for office.  

“Any political violence is bad. So it’s not as if we should care more about what is targeted to men versus women. But what we should pay attention to is the way that gender is a factor in that targeting,” said Kristina Wilfore, co-founder of the group #ShePersisted, which researches gendered disinformation and online abuse.  

• On Friday, Pelosi’s San Francisco home was allegedly broken into by David DePape, who told police he wanted to break the Speaker’s knee caps and was carrying zip ties, a roll of tape and a hammer, according to the affidavit released by the Department of Justice on Monday.  
  
• The Speaker was away in Washington, D.C., but her husband, Paul Pelosi was at the residence and suffered serious injuries after being struck by a hammer.  
  
• Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of the feminist group UltraViolet, said the attack “wasn’t a random or isolated act of violence” but rather the result of years of right-wing media spreading a narrative “demonizing” the Speaker with “violent and misogynistic rhetoric to galvanize their base.” 

Read more here. 

Deplatformed users must wait a little longer: Musk

Elon Musk on Wednesday said “de-platformed” Twitter users will not return for at least a few weeks. 

Before taking over Twitter on Thursday, Musk had previously vowed to reverse former President Trump’s permanent suspension on the platform, but Musk’s new tweet suggests Trump and others would not return to the platform until after the midterm elections. 

“Twitter will not allow anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on platform until we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks,” Musk wrote in response to a tweet from the company’s safety and integrity head about manipulation surrounding the midterm elections. 

Musk’s update came after he said he met with civil society leaders at the Anti-Defamation League, NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens, Color of Change, Free Press, the Bush Center and the Asian American Foundation to discuss Twitter’s future harassment and election integrity policies. 

Read more here.  

KEEP THE COMPLAINTS COMING

Newly minted Twitter CEO Elon Musk is standing by his plan to have users pay a monthly subscription fee for a verification badge, telling upset users to “keep complaining.” 

“To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8,” Musk tweeted late Tuesday, adding a joke from “Monty Python” in his thread about the recent complaints from users.  

“Totally stole idea of charging for insults & arguments from Monty Python tbh,” he added.  

Musk’s push to raise the price for the platform’s subscription service, Twitter Blue, from $5 to $8 per month and require it for verification has sparked backlash among users, who have criticized the plan after initial reports Musk was considering charging $20 per month. 

Read more here.

BITS & PIECES

An op-ed to chew on: Political violence and the fire that may consume democracy itself 

Notable links from around the web: 

Musk Angers Latino Group by Including Ousted Head at Hate-Speech Meeting (Bloomberg / Emily Birnbaum) 

More than 100 election jurisdictions waiting on federal cyber help, sources say (NBC News / Julia Ainsley and Kevin Collier) 

U.S. exploring whether it has authority to review Musk’s Twitter deal (The Washington Post / Faiz Siddiqui, Jeff Stein and Joseph Menn) 

🎤 Lighter click: Worm Heidi speaks for us all 

One more thing: Conspiracies soar 

False information and conspiracy theories began to circulate online quickly in the days after the break-in and attack on Paul Pelosi at his and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) home in San Francisco on Friday, underscoring the hold such misinformation has on a part of the culture. 

In this case, the conspiracy theories were also spread by some of the most powerful people in the world — Elon Musk and former President Trump.   

Musk, the tech billionaire who had just finalized his purchase of Twitter, tweeted a link to an article focusing on the event from a website known for publishing false information. He later deleted it, but not before it was sent to his millions of followers. 

Trump called it a “sad situation” before suggesting no one had broken into the Speaker’s house — a conclusion in conflict with what the police have said happened. 

Read more here. 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Technology and Cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.