Elon Musk said Wednesday that under prior ownership, Twitter “failed trust & safety” of its users and “interfered in elections” in a post on the social media site.
The obvious reality, as long-time users know, is that Twitter has failed in trust & safety for a very long time and has interfered in elections,” Musk tweeted in response to a comment on a Reuters article. “Twitter 2.0 will be far more effective, transparent, and even-handed.”
Yael Roth, who resigned as Twitter head of safety on Nov. 10, said during an interview at a Tuesday Knight Foundation event that the social media site was less safe since Musk took over the site, Reuters reported.
The Tesla CEO, who closed the deal to purchase Twitter for $44 billion in October, did not elaborate on the social media site, but a post on Twitter’s blog claimed that policies had not changed.
Some conservatives believe Twitter’s censorship of an October 2020 New York Post report on a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden tilted the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden.
The site locked the newspaper’s account, and other social media sites suppressed the story.
Republican Attorneys General Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Jeff Landry of Louisiana won a court ruling that forced current and former Biden administration officials to sit for depositions in a lawsuit accusing the social media sites of colluding with the government to silence debate on multiple issues, including COVID-19 and election integrity.
Moms for Liberty, a conservative group supporting parental rights in educational issues, claimed Twitter censored them in July for calling gender dysphoria a “mental disorder.”
Musk called his efforts to restore free speech to Twitter “a battle for the future of civilization” in a Monday post on Twitter.
On November 24, Musk announced Thursday that an “amnesty” for most banned accounts would start the following week, following a poll posted on Twitter.
“The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week,” Musk posted on the social media site Thursday, before adding the Latin phrase “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” which translates to “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” He announced the decision just over two hours after the poll on the amnesty closed.
Over 3.1 million people voted in the poll Musk posted Wednesday, with 72.4% voting in favor of the “general amnesty” for account that had not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam.” The Tesla CEO reinstated former President Donald Trump’s account Saturday, following a similar poll in which 51.8% of users voted for Trump’s reinstatement.
Some suspended accounts that could be reinstated include those of Dr. Robert Malone, who was suspended for supposed misinformation, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
Musk hinted at future plans for Twitter in a response to a Wednesday afternoon tweet by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
In the news: Experts Say Designating The Cartels As Terrorists Could Worsen Illegal Immigration
“Please limit content moderation to illegal content (or, at most, a narrow interpretation of moderation under Section 230) and give users the tools that enable the freedom to choose what content they see,” Fitton tweeted.
“That’s the general idea,” Musk replied.
Musk closed the deal to purchase Twitter on Oct. 27, seeking to restore free speech to the site, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Tesla CEO did indicate there was one type of post whose removal he considered urgent.
“Removing child exploitation is priority #1,” Musk tweeted early Thursday morning. “Please reply in comments if you see anything that Twitter needs to address.”
His takeover prompted multiple advertisers to pause spending, while Democratic senators pushed for a Federal Trade Commission investigation into the social media site.
Visit Tampafp.com for Politics, Sports, and National Headlines.
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook Here Or Twitter Here.