Elon Musk's Hypocrisy on Free Speech: The Inside Story Revealed

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The First Encounter with Elon Musk
3. Content Moderation and Non-Negotiables
4. The Surge of Hate Speech on Twitter
5. The Tactic of Working with Advertisers
6. The Use of the N Word on Twitter
7. Yoel Roth and Twitter's Trust and Safety Division
8. Musk's Push for Aggressive Content Moderation
9. The Hypocrisy of Musk's Actions
10. Conclusion

The First Encounter with Elon Musk

The first time that the author met Elon Musk was under unexpected circumstances. The author's boss had just been fired, and the author assumed that they were next. However, a member of Elon's team requested to meet with the author. The initial perspective that somebody on Elon's team had was to turn off all access to content moderation tools. However, the author explained that this wouldn't be a viable approach because there are lots of types of moderation that are simply non-negotiable, such as combating terrorism and protecting children. The author suggested that they not shut down those lines of work, and Elon agreed. This was a surprising turn of events for the author, who had been expecting to be fired and walked out the door immediately. Instead, the author was making a recommendation to Elon Musk about content moderation, and he agreed with the author and understood what they were trying to do.

Content Moderation and Non-Negotiables

The author's encounter with Elon Musk highlights the importance of content moderation and the non-negotiables that come with it. While some may argue that free speech should be absolute, there are certain types of content that simply cannot be allowed on social media platforms. For example, content that promotes terrorism or harms children must be removed immediately. However, there are also gray areas when it comes to content moderation, and it can be difficult to determine what should be allowed and what should not. This is where the expertise of content moderators comes into play.

The Surge of Hate Speech on Twitter

Unfortunately, even with content moderation, hate speech can still surge on social media platforms. This was the case following Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter. Groups that monitor hate speech, like the Anti-Defamation League, spotted a worrying trend. There was a surge of toxic trolling and hate speech that just blew up on the platform days after the company was bought. There was a trolling campaign that was supposedly testing the waters of the new Twitter. The idea was that trolls should come to the platform and post racist content as proof that Elon was now allowing racism in a way that the previous administration didn't. And so there was a surge in racism.

The Tactic of Working with Advertisers

In response to the surge of hate speech on Twitter, a coalition of groups, including the ADL, called on big advertisers to pause spending on Twitter. This growing list of companies pressing pause on their Twitter ads included Audi, GM, and Pfizer. The tactic of working with advertisers and pressuring advertisers is essentially a tactic of hitting them where it hurts. Advertising is their main revenue stream. Businesses invest billions of dollars in their brands and spend countless amounts of money to try to connect with consumers. But all we want to do is make sure they understand that their brands are being flighted up on these sites next to swastikas or white supremacist content or other hateful content. And then, if McDonald's thinks or Coca-Cola thinks that they want their ads up against horrible racist content, they can do that.

The Use of the N Word on Twitter

The day Elon officially took over, the use of the N word on Twitter shot up 500%. This raises the question of whether or not trolls or different people are testing the limits of what is appropriate on Twitter. And it tells You all you need to know about how Musk's messaging and his signaling has been received.

Yoel Roth and Twitter's Trust and Safety Division

As hate speech continued to surge, Musk called in Yoel Roth, who was now leading Twitter's trust and safety division. His directions from Elon directly were to shut it down and get rid of all of it. He actually even wanted them to go further than they had previously and said, "It's not just about targeted hateful conduct, attacks on somebody." He's like, "Just take all of this stuff down. Get rid of the slurs, get rid of all of it." And he pushed them to take a more aggressive position, shutting down free speech. He was doing it out of a recognition that advertisers objected to this content and were judging him and the new Twitter by their ability to effectively moderate it.

Musk's Push for Aggressive Content Moderation

However, as advertisers continued to stay away and revenue plummeted, Musk suddenly changed course and began pushing back. He claimed that Twitter had a massive drop in revenue due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing had changed with content moderation, and they did everything they could to appease the activists. He claimed that they were trying to destroy free speech in America. Inside Twitter, he asked Roth and his team to block posts supporting the advertising pause. This was very hypocritical in the author's view because people were urging boycotts because they thought Twitter was allowing too much hate speech, and Musk decided he wanted to shut down some of these people who were advocating a boycott. This goes against free speech principles and is pure political speech. Yoel Roth and other people there said, "You can't do that."

The Hypocrisy of Musk's Actions

The author's experience with Elon Musk and Twitter highlights the hypocrisy of Musk's actions. On the one HAND, he recognized the importance of content moderation and the non-negotiables that come with it. On the other hand, he pushed for aggressive content moderation and then changed course when advertisers began to stay away. He claimed that activists were trying to destroy free speech in America, but then he himself tried to shut down people who were advocating a boycott. This is a clear example of how people in power can use their influence to manipulate the narrative and push their own agenda.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the author's encounter with Elon Musk and Twitter highlights the importance of content moderation and the non-negotiables that come with it. While free speech is important, there are certain types of content that simply cannot be allowed on social media platforms. However, even with content moderation, hate speech can still surge on social media platforms. The tactic of working with advertisers and pressuring advertisers is a way to hit social media platforms where it hurts. However, it is important to recognize the hypocrisy of those in power and to push back against their attempts to manipulate the narrative and push their own agenda.