Elon Musk defends uptick in Twitter censorship, calls journo ‘numbskull’ for pointing it out
Elon Musk defends uptick in Twitter censorship, calls journo ‘numbskull’ for pointing it out
Right before Elon Musk took over Twitter, he purveyed himself as the ultimate protector of free speech. The position he took before the acquisition, was that he was a free speech absolutist, and no matter what, Twitter shouldn’t censor free speech, as long as it is within reason. However, since he was forced to acquire the social media platform back in October, for a record sum of $44 billion, Musk’s actions, do not seem to match his words.
Since it was acquired by Musk, Twitter has become increasingly pro-censorship. There has been a significant rise in cases where Twitter either took down or restricted tweets, other content and even users in certain countries.
The curious case of Erdoğan and Türkiye
Countries like Türkiye especially stand out, especially after news broke out earlier this month, about how Twitter helped Erdoğan’s ruling party, by censoring and restricting the reach of several opposition party members, starting just weeks before the election. Political experts covering Türkiye’s elections believe that among the factors leading to Erdoğan’s record-winning streak, Twitter’s censorship of key opposition figures played an important role.
When he was called out for this, Musk and Twitter jumped at the opportunity to claim that Twitter was forced to act the way it did, because they were led to believe that Twitter was the only platform not abiding by a certain verdict by a Turkish court, even showing the documents that the platform was served. Musk asked, “The choice is have Twitter throttled in its entirety or limit access to some tweets. Which one do you want?”
Did your brain fall out of your head, Yglesias? The choice is have Twitter throttled in its entirety or limit access to some tweets. Which one do you want?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2023
Twitter’s censorship in numbers
The concerns raised by critics regarding Twitter’s compliance with autocratic or non-liberal regimes are not exaggerated. The evidence, automatically received by the NGO Reporters Without Borders, speaks for itself. Since Elon Musk assumed control, the company has encountered 971 government requests (compared to only 338 from October 2021 to April 2022), fully complying with 808 of them and partially complying with 154.
Also read: Twitter under fire for censoring LGBTQ terms such as ‘bisexual’ in a recent update
In the year preceding Musk’s takeover, Twitter agreed to 50 per cent of such requests, aligning with the compliance rate disclosed in the company’s last transparency report (none of which have been published since October 2022). According to the analysis conducted by the technology information portal Rest of World, following the change in ownership, this percentage has increased to 83 per cent.
When Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias pointed out the jump in Twitter’s censorship, Musk, understandably, wasn’t happy. In typical Musk fashion, he berated Yglesias, calling him a numbskull.
You’re such a numbskull. Please point out where we had an actual choice and we will reverse it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 28, 2023
Musk even went on to say that Twitter would reverse its censorship decision, if he is shown instances, where he had a choice.
Musk’s evolution as a free-speech absolutist
Even though Musk started out by saying that he is a free speech absolutist, over the years, he has proven to be anything but that.
dis u? pic.twitter.com/Ib1LBmV33v
— Daniel ⚡
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