Yahoo Finance Left-wing celebrities shun Twitter after Elon Musk takeover
Left-wing celebrities and activists have expressed their horror over Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, claiming his commitment to free speech will trigger an outpouring of "bigotry and misogyny".
Charities and politicians used Twitter to criticise the Tesla billionaire's $44bn (£35bn) acquisition of the social media network on Tuesday after he said he would support freedom of expression online through the deal.
Mr Musk described free speech as the "bedrock" of democratic society in his statement announcing the deal.
He said: "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated."
But Amnesty International, which campaigns for the release of dissidents jailed for speaking out against human rights abuses, expressed its disapproval of Mr Musk’s takeover in a Tweet on Monday night. It said: "Two words: toxic Twitter."
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, also made pointed remarks in a post on Twitter saying: “Freedom of speech is vital, but free speech does not mean a free pass for hatred.
“Online hate speech fans the flames of prejudice and leads to appalling and tragic real-world violence.
“Social media companies must do more, not less, to protect their communities.”
It came as rival social media networks reported a flurry of new registrations following Mr Musk's announcement.
Mastodon, a platform which positions itself as a rival to Twitter but currently has around 250,000 active users, tweeted that 41,287 users had joined its network after the takeover was confirmed. It was started in 2016 amid a rumoured bid for Twitter from American internet billionaire Marc Benioff.
Mastodon tweeted: "Funnily enough, Mastodon was originally founded when there were talks that another controversial billionaire might buy Twitter, back in 2016.
"We thought this kind of instant global communication was too important to be so vulnerable to the whims of a single corporate entity."
Jamila Jameel, an actress and television presenter, was one of the first media figures to voice her opposition to the deal claiming Mr Musk's commitment to free speech would spark a deluge of "totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny".
Ms Jameel vowed to exit the platform with a Twitter post accompanied by pictures of her holding her dog.
Ah he got twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet. Just really *any* excuse to show pics of Barold. I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fBDOuEYI3e
— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) April 25, 2022
Caroline Orr Bueno, a researcher at the University of Maryland, said she will remain on the platform, but suggested people would want to exit.
She said: "For those who've asked: Yes, I'm staying on Twitter. There are still a lot of good people working at Twitter, and we have no idea what it will look like under Elon Musk's ownership.
"What we *do* know is that if all the decent people leave, it'll get bad here a whole lot faster."
Greg Bensinger, an American journalist who sits on The New York Times' editorial board, said Twitter's employees were "aghast" at the notion of Mr Musk's takeover. He said Twitter would become "much, much worse" under the billionaire's leadership.
Mr Bensinger said: "Loosening content moderation, as Mr Musk appears poised to do, won't make Twitter a better place; that will make it far more toxic.
"Under the notion that more speech is the best antidote to harmful speech, earnest users can probably expect to be shouted down even more frequently by trolls and bots."
Charles Blow, a columnist for The New York Times who is also a political commentator for Left-wing news outlet MSNBC, has not quit Twitter completely but has vowed to use the platform "only for promo".
He told his 643,000 followers that he would only use the website to advertise his columns, books and TV appearances.
So many of us fell for the fallacy that we had to publish thoughts on social media and react to others’ thought there to be “part of the conversation.” It was all a trap, a time sink, an incredible waste. Bye everyone. 3/3
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) April 25, 2022
