New Twitter proprietor Elon Musk tweeted an anti-LGBT conspiracy concept Sunday about what occurred the night time US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked, underscoring considerations about the platform’s future after he vowed it could not develop into a “free-for-all hellscape.”
Musk, a self-declared “free speech absolutist,” was responding to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who had tweeted to attract a line between Republicans who promote baseless conspiracy theories and the violent attack on Paul Pelosi in San Francisco.
“There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,” Musk instructed Clinton, attaching a hyperlink to the story, which is now not accessible, by the conservative Santa Monica Observer.
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The weekly outlet has revealed different conspiracy theories prior to now, together with {that a} physique double for Clinton was despatched to a debate with Donald Trump throughout the 2016 election marketing campaign, in line with the Los Angeles Times.
Musk’s tweet swiftly turned a focus for critics who’ve been nervous about the course wherein he intends to take Twitter, the main platform for world discourse and diplomacy.
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Musk, whose outspoken and controversial tweets have courted hassle prior to now, has vowed to dial again content material moderation, relying extra on laptop algorithms than human displays. Conservatives say previous moderation has unfairly focused their views.
In a message meant to reassure jittery Twitter advertisers on his management, Musk stated earlier this week that he realizes Twitter “cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences.”
But detractors warn that with out requirements, the world’s “digital town square” is prone to turning into flooded with misinformation, with presumably perilous penalties for democracy and public well being.
“Clinton: Conspiracy theories are getting people killed and we shouldn’t amplify them. Owner of Twitter: But have you considered this conspiracy theory?” wrote University of Denver political scientist Seth Masket after Musk’s Sunday tweet.
Masket later tweeted a screenshot suggesting he had complained to Twitter about Musk’s tweet, including: “Somehow I doubt much will come of this.”
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Nancy Pelosi, who’s second in line to the US presidency, has stated her household is “heartbroken and traumatized” after the intruder broke into the couple’s San Francisco house early Friday and attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, fracturing his cranium.
The 82-year-old is recovering in hospital.
President Joe Biden has stated it seems the assault was “intended for Nancy,” and referred to as out more and more polarizing political rhetoric.
“The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result,”
Clinton stated in her tweet.
Musk’s response got here simply hours after Twitter stated that the positioning was being focused by a trolling marketing campaign testing its moderation insurance policies underneath the billionaire’s management.
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“Twitter’s policies haven’t changed… And we’re taking steps to put a stop to an organized effort to make people think we have,”
tweeted the platform’s chief of security and integrity, Yoel Roth.
Roth stated {that a} “small number of accounts” had posted “a ton” of hate content material — together with 50 000 tweets utilizing a selected slur made by simply 300 accounts.
“Nearly all” of the accounts are inauthentic, he stated.
Roth additionally retweeted a Musk publish wherein the Tesla chief reiterated that “we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies.”
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© Agence France-Presse
