Who is Katie Notopoulos? Nazi tweet controversy explained as alleged Threads Editor comes under fire

Katie Notopoulos, who claims to be the Editor in Chief for Threads, the new social media platform by Meta to rival Twitter, is facing backlash online after her pro-nazi comment. The controversy started on Thursday, July 6, 2023, when user @riff_n_ryan questioned the app's makers:

"Will you make sure the Nazis are removed from this platform?"

The inquiry stems from the sorry state of Twitter under Elon Musk's leadership with many looking for a better alternative to the micro-blogging app.

In response, Katie @katienotopoulos replied:

"Here at Threads, we expect everyone to be kind and respectful to others. That includes respecting the choice to live a Nazi lifestyle. We welcome everyone"

The question and Katie's controversial response (Image via Twitter/ @dryflovver)

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Katie Notopoulos' account was taken down

Katie Notopoulos is a New York University graduate with a degree in Cinema Studies and a minor in Art history. She was a prominent blogger and has previously worked on E-commerce for Warner Brothers for about five years.

According to her LinkedIn, she joined BuzzFeed in 2012 and works as a reporter covering tech news.

Since Thursday, the tech blogger has been posting updates pretending to be the Editor in Chief of Threads. Here are some of her Twitter posts trolling everyone:

To pull off the act, Katie Notopoulos edited her profile across various platforms, including LinkedIn, to show she no longer worked with BuzzFeed, and even tagged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in her posts. However, no one from Meta or Threads has directly addressed her yet.

Eventually, her account was suspended after it was found to violate the app's Community Guidelines.

Katie's post admitting to trolling (Image via Twitter/ @katienotopoulos)

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"-20 to your social credit score": Internet users critical of Katie Notopoulos's deception

Needless to say, netizens were left appalled at Katie for trolling and sending the wrong message. Here are some comments seen under her Twitter posts:

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @DenifLewesa)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @tiffanycli)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @HawaiiDem)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @Rindie611)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @RMcArthur15)

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Twitter to sue Threads

Threads was made available to users in over 100 countries on Wednesday night. The platform became the Most Rapidly Downloaded App after it was downloaded more than 30 million times in just 16 hours of its launch. Several famous Twitter users like Bill Gates, Shakira, and Oprah Winfrey immediately joined the new app.

Alex Sprio, Elon Musk's personal lawyer, wrote a letter to Meta threatening to sue. It stated:

"Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights, and demands that Meta take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information."

Additionally, the letter claims that Meta hired several former Twitter employees and "deliberately assigned" them to work on Threads.

However, a company spokesperson company refuted their claim.