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After X started to monetize accounts and share ad revenue with content creators, thousands of accounts became eligible to receive a portion of revenues. However, one of these accounts had reportedly mocked a child’s suicide before and blamed the mother for it.
As per the DailyDot report, the mother of this child had previously written about dealing with depression and the difficulty of paying bills. The controversial X account blamed the mother for the child’s suicide because she shared such information online.
The mother wrote that her son, who happens to be a transgender person, took his/her life despite having family support. She also blamed the GCs (gender critical) for the incident, as the son was targeted and suffered anti-trans hate online. “‘GC’ people, this is the result of your bigotry. I hope you are proud. #protecttranskids.” She added. The mother’s account is now protected, and the family doesn’t respond to requests for comment.
A transgender child commits suicide, and the mother blames an X account
The account, @ValidLs, reportedly has a long history of posting transphobic content, including screenshots of trans user’s tweets and making fun of them. Even after the suicide news broke, the account shared a screenshot of a mother writing about her son’s death. Some ValidLs followers also blamed the mother for the incident, saying she “encouraged her [son] to join the death cult.”
What makes the ValidLs account more controversial is the account is monetized and receives thousands of dollars from X. Users reported that ads from brands like LG Electronics, Nordace, Trulieve, Buzznet, Knightscope, and Online Shopping Tools appear on the profile.
In response to Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at the Harvard University Cyberlaw Clinic, ValidLs shared a screenshot of his earnings from X, showing he has earned $4,500 since February. Around $3,000 of that income has been made since the beginning of September.
As expected, X didn’t respond to the requests for comment. Probably because they’re now busy handling the Israel-Hamas conflict on the platform. The outlet says X suspended ValidLs account for a short time but later unsuspended it. It remains to be seen if X removes ValidLs from the list of monetized accounts.