Elon Musk explains what he means by 'free speech'
What's the story
The word 'free speech' has always been at the center stage of democratic political discourse. However, the centuries old word has acquired popularity like never before after Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. To calm the nerves of those who doubt his intent, the billionaire has now come out with an explanation for what he means by 'free speech.'
Context
Why does this story matter?
After battling Twitter's board of directors for the company and coming out on top, Musk is embattled again. This time, it's against rights organizations and his own employees. The reason for both is the same - free speech. Musk's advocacy of uncurbed freedom of speech has put many people on the edge. It needs to be seen whether his explanation has calmed some nerves.
Explanation
Censorship that goes beyond law is against people's will: Musk
Musk's strong advocacy for free speech on Twitter has invited comments from various sections of the society, including rights organizations, who warned the billionaire of unbridled freedom of speech. The Tesla CEO has responded by saying that 'free speech,' according to him, is "that which matches the law." He also said that he doesn't support "censorship that goes far beyond the law."
Reason
Twitter already has a serious hate speech issue
The question of the hour is: "Why are so many questioning Musk's desire for a Twitter with strong free speech ideals?" The antithesis of free speech is hate speech. Interestingly, the line between the two is almost nonexistent. This is the reason why many are concerned about uncontrolled free speech on Twitter, considering that the platform already has a serious hate speech problem.
Employees v/s Musk
Musk targets Twitter's censorship lawyer
With every passing day, we find more and more evidence of Twitter employees' unhappiness with their new boss. Vijaya Gadde, Twitter's India-born censorship lawyer, reportedly broke down during a meeting with her team. As the news of this came out, Musk targeted her on Twitter for suspending the New York Post for a Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 US presidential election.
Twitter Post
NYP's suspension for publishing truthful story was incredibly inappropriate: Musk
Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022