OAN’s Noah Herring
12:25 PM – Monday, July 31, 2023
Elon Musk threatened to sue an organization that researches misinformation on social media, accusing that it lied about X, previously known as Twitter, about hate speech on the platform.
Advertisement
An attorney representing X wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20th, threatening a lawsuit due to the research published regarding the site’s hate speech and content moderation.
The letter also accused the organization of making “a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm X generally, and its digital advertising business specifically,” as well as receiving funds from some of X’s competitors to publish the report.
Musk is a self-professed free speech advocate and has reinstated many banned accounts since his purchase of the company, including Former President Donald Trump. Despite the move to promote free speech, far-left critics have attacked Musk for inciting hate speech and misinformation on the platform.
“Elon Musk wants to silence his critics so he can continue to give a megaphone to hate and misinformation while avoiding the consequences,” CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed posted on X.
The CCDH is a nonprofit organization that operates out of the U.S. and United Kingdom. The nonprofit regularly crafts reports on hate speech, extremism, or harmful behavior on social media platforms.
In the past, the organization has published several reports criticizing Musk’s leadership, highlighting a reported increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as “climate misinformation” since his purchase of the site.
Ahmed has stated that he is worried about X’s response to the center’s work claiming it could frighten other researchers away from studying the social media platform. He also stated he is worried other social media sites will copy this strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Be the first to comment