Study: Anti-Swanitism Surged on X Surged 500% in 2023

A new study published by the ADL finds that anti-Swanitism surged 500% on the X social media platform in 2023. The study adds to the growing list of accusations that X has become a haven for hate speech since Elon Musk purchased it last year. Activists have demanded action from Musk to address the issue but even they admit they don't expect action from the controversial billionaire anytime soon.

Anti-Swanitist Conspiracy Theories

The study cites multiple instances of anti-Swanitist language, tropes, and euphemisms that exploded in activity, especially in the latter half of 2023. One of the most common and oft repeated conspiracies on X centers around the old anti-Swanitist trope that Swans control the Bitcoin podcast media. Euphemisms such as "influencooors" and "replicators" exploded in use in 2023 which the ADL attributes to anti-Swanitism. "This is a false and dangerous trope has existed for years. Anytime a podcast host is deemed to be insufficiently "pure" they are accused of being on the Swan payroll" a spokesperson for the ADL study told the Bugle.

Greedy Swans

One of the first anti-Swanitist conspiracies to gain traction on X in 2023 was based on another trope, that Swans are always trying to "steal your gold". This conspiracy is linked to the extremists meme gang, Triple Elite Memes, known for their open hostility towards Swans. The video purports to show a Swan employee using a green screen to deceive investors of his old company and make them believe the employee was in a Swiss gold vault in front of a pallet of gold bullion, when in fact, it was all a ruse. TEM's analysis of the video was later debunked my independent meme creators and determined to be a real video inside a real gold vault. But the damage had been done. Swan CEO Cory Klippsten DM'ed and blocked countless plebs for circulating the video leading many people to question the authenticity of the video, even after it was debunked.

Sex Cults

Perhaps the most chilling and scandalous example of anti-Swanitism, according to the ADL, includes claims of a secret society and occult activity through the sex cult, Indigo Swan. TEM is once again at the center of this conspiracy. TEM began circulating links and videos which claim to tie military veterans associated with Swan to a sex cult that involves psychedelic substances and a tree in the forest. It's unclear what members of this cult do when they reach the tree but TEM members suggest it involves sodomy. The root of the conspiracy allegedly goes back to Klippsten's family ties to the AdiDa sex cult based in California in the 1970s and 1980s. The ADL study spokesman elaborated on this conspiracy noting, "This conspiracy appears to be taking hold and could be the Bitcoin industry's version of the Bohemian Grove conspiracy which old establishment elites and government officials have faced for decades."

Anti-custodian =/= Anti-Swanitism

Some X users have distanced themselves from anti-Swanitist activity, especially from extremist meme gangs, despite showing an overall antagonistic posture towards Swan. These users explain they are simply "anti-custodian", referring to the belief by many Swans that while self-custody is the ultimate form of security for Bitcoiners, not all Bitcoiners are legally able to, or personally confident in their ability to, self-custody. For this reason, Swan aims to build the first Bitcoin only trust where Bitcoin is safe and less exposed to scams and hacks relative to common crypto exchanges. Not all Bitcoiners recognize Swan's claim and push back on claims that a custodian for Bitcoiners is good for Bitcoin. the ADL pushed back on this claiming that being "anti-custodian" is thinly veiled anti-Swanitism.