Musk posts baseless conspiracy theory about Paul Pelosi attack

globaltimes2022-12-06  148

New Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted an anti-LGBT conspiracy theory on Sunday about what happened the night US House Spea…

New Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted an anti-LGBT conspiracy theory on Sunday about what happened the night US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked, then hours later deleted the post.

The seesaw action by Musk, a self-declared "free speech absolutist," cast new uncertainty on the direction the social media platform will take under his new ownership. It also underscored the huge megaphone Musk now has at his disposal.

Musk on early Sunday ­tweeted a response to Hillary Clinton, who posted a news story about the alleged attacker's links to the far right.

"There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye," Musk told Clinton, attaching a link to the story, which is no longer accessible, by the conservative Santa Monica Observer.

Musk may have had second thoughts about the tweet because around noon a message appeared, "This Tweet was deleted by the Tweet author." By then, Musk's tweet had been liked 110,000 times, the online Semafor news site said.

The tweet was no longer visible Sunday afternoon on Musk's feed.

The weekly outlet cited by Musk in his tweet has published other conspiracy theories in the past, including that a body double for Clinton was sent to a debate with Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Musk's Sunday tweet swiftly became a focal point for critics who have been nervous about the direction in which he intends to take Twitter.

Musk, whose outspoken and controversial tweets have courted trouble in the past, has vowed to dial back content moderation, relying more on computer algorithms than human monitors. Conservatives say past moderation has unfairly targeted their views.

In a message meant to reassure jittery Twitter advertisers on his leadership, Musk said late last week that he realizes Twitter "cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences."

But detractors warn that without standards, the world's "digital town square" is at risk of becoming flooded with misinformation.

"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.

Nancy Pelosi, who is second in line to the US presidency, has said her family is "heartbroken and traumatized" after the intruder broke into the couple's San Francisco home early Friday and attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, fracturing his skull.

The 82-year-old is recovering in hospital. 

US President Joe Biden has said it appears the assault was "intended for Nancy," and called out increasingly polarizing political rhetoric.



Recommended


URL: https://www.seeglobalnews.com/read-377.html

00

Related