San Francisco: Owner of social media platform X originally launched as Twitter, Elon Musk, Saturday November 18, 2023 vowed to “protect free speech” even as corporate bigwigs and tech giants paused advertisements on the popular microblogging site.
In a letter titled “Stand with X to protect free speech”, Elon Musk said, “everyone has a choice on X” and “X will protect the public’s right to free expression” come what may.
“As we have seen in some parts of the world, when free expression is taken away, it is very dangerous and hard to get back - that’s why the people who came before us fought so hard to protect”, Musk said in the letter posted on his X timeline.
“Without freedom of speech, we lose the checks and balances critical to a thriving democracy”, he said.
In his letter Musk also said free speech must be protected as we protect our lives.
“We must defend our individual rights as if our lives, and flourishing society, depend on it”, he said.
In a veiled attack on West’s double standard, Musk also pointed out at its selective approach.
“If you are really in on protecting free speech, then we all need to protect it completely”, he wrote.
Elon Musk also said his company will file a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters – a U.S. based lobbyist, for its report that led to the confusion and resulted in the advertisement pause on X.
“The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company”, Musk wrote on X.
Elon Musk announced to sue Media Matters after Disney, Apple, Oracle, Lionsgate, IBM, Warner Bros and other corporate bigwigs paused their online advertisement campaigns on the microblogging platform after the lobby group in a report claimed their ads being displayed next to "content that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party."
The Media Matters' report came amidst the Israeli military offensive in Gaza that has killed closed to 12,000 civilians - a huge majority of them women and children, so far. Social media platform X has emerged as the key source of information about the Gaza war.
Musk rejected Media Matters report and accused the "largest advertisers of oppressing right to free speech".
"Premium+ also has no ads in your timeline. Many of the largest advertisers are the greatest oppressors of your right to free speech."
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