11 years ago, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted on Muslims and extremists, now his tweet is angering people

Parag Agrawal is the new Twitter CEO. And, soon after taking the baton from Jack, Agrawal is facing some criticism for a tweet that he wrote 11 years ago. The tweet sure is somewhat loaded, particularly when seen in the background of the nasty times of the last few years, but it is also a tweet in which Parag was simply quoting verbatim a line from a TV show.

The tweet in question talks of Muslims, Whites, extremists and racists.

The tweet reads, complete with quotes: "If they are not gonna make a distinction between Muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists."

Parag is a name that has not been as popular as Jack Dorsey or Dick Costolo in chatter or even on Twitter. But that is only because Parag has been a behind-the-scenes person. Otherwise, he is well regarded, like former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says, "Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around."

Who is Parag Agrawal: Here's a profile in 10 points

Now, some people are not happy to see an old tweet from Agrawal that he wrote in 2010. Interestingly, the tweet wasn't something that came from Parag Agrawal and, in fact, was a quote from correspondent Aasif Mandvi from The Daily Show, as pointed out by some users on Twitter.

It is not even clear from the tweet what Parag was implying. Although, the content of the tweet suggests that unlike many who tend to term all Muslims as extremists -- hint, many on the far right in India as well as across the world -- Parag seemingly believes in nuances, and his political beliefs may possibly lean towards liberal side.

But again, this is not exactly clear because Parag was simply quoting a line from a talk show.

But the tweet has led some people to question the "double standards" of the new CEO and whether it was right to make a blanket statement. Some reactions to tweets also question how Twitter will handle censorship, citing the new CEO's comment from over a decade ago.

Jason Miller, the former senior advisor to President Donald J Trump, also questions the new CEO's stance on censorship in a tweet and whether political discrimination is coming to Twitter. People have also started digging more and more from Parag Twitter timeline, with some finding a comment he made in reply to Shreya Ghoshal but missing the fact that she is probably Parag's friend from school days. People have also found a comment on his timeline where Parag is saying that Sachin Tendulkar is not a good T20 captain.

In November 2020, Parag Agrawal, then CTO, told MIT Technology Review that Twitter's role was not bound by the First Amendment and that the platform's role was to serve healthy public conversations. He added that Twitter's moves were reflective of things that the company believed would lead to a healthier conversation. Agrawal was asked about combating misinformation while trying to protect free speech as a core value.

Parag Agrawal, an IIT alumnus from Mumbai, became Twitter CEO after Jack Dorsey resigned on Monday. Soon after taking his new role, Agrawal sent an email to all employees, which you can read here.