Twitter owner Elon Musk has responded with mockery to a BBC investigation which said the social media platform is struggling to protect users from online abuse and child sexual exploitation, among other things.

In a tweet on Monday, the billionaire apologised ‘for turning Twitter from nurturing paradise into place that has … trolls.’

‘Literally roflmao’ replied Musk to a Twitter user who mockingly said that before his takeover of the platform no one had ever said anything mean to them.

‘It was a beautiful utopia. Now I fear for my life daily,’ tweeted the user.

The BBC Panorama report cited figures from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue think tank which showed that tens of thousands of new accounts have popped up and immediately followed known abusive and misogynistic profiles since Musk took over.

The figures were 69% higher than before he was in charge, suggesting a ‘permissive environment’, the report claimed.

Rape survivors have been targeted by accounts that have become more active since the takeover, with evidence they’ve been reinstated or newly created, said the report.

At least half of Twitter’s 7,500 workforce have been sacked or chosen to leave since Musk bought the platform for $44 billion in October last year.

‘From someone on the inside, it’s like a building where all the pieces are on fire. When you look at it from the outside the façade looks fine, but I can see that nothing is working,’ said one employee.

The employee also believes that Musk doesn’t trust his staff, which he says is indicated by the level of security Musk surrounds himself with. 

‘Wherever he goes in the office, there are at least two bodyguards – very bulky, tall, Hollywood movie-[style] bodyguards. Even when [he goes] to the restroom,’ he said. 

The BBC said that it had attempted to contact Musk via email, tweets and even tried a Twitter ‘poll’, in the hope it might attract Musk’s attention.

More than 40,000 users voted and 89% said Musk should do an interview with BBC Panorama.

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