Elon Musk Denies Substack Links Are Blocked On Twitter, A Claim That’s Very Misleading
ForbesDec 24, 2022
The Facts
According to tech publication Rest of World, Twitter’s self-reported data shows the company has fully complied with over 80% of government requests to censor posts since Elon Musk took over six months ago, a significantly higher rate than the prior leadership's approximate 50%.
The report, citing information from the Harvard-run Lumen database, says Twitter has fully complied with 808 of 971 government and court requests and partially complied with 154 since Musk — who championed his takeover on the goal of promoting free speech — purchased the company.
The Spin
Narrative A
If Elon Musk’s claims of being a free-speech absolutist weren’t obviously phony to the public, they definitely are now. Musk purports to be this vanguard of free and open discussion, buying Twitter for strictly altruistic motives. However, Musk has done the exact opposite by censoring more speech than ever, and he's more than happy to do so at the behest of autocratic governments. Musk doesn’t care about free speech, and he never did.
Narrative B
Of course, Elon Musk is driven by a deep commitment to free speech, but he's not an all-powerful deity that can change laws in countries around the world. Musk has done more than any person in recent memory to advance free speech in the West, but his platform can only operate within the confines of a country’s law. Twitter’s compliance with a country’s request doesn’t signal agreement. In fact, it's the only way to allow any discourse at all.
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