Twitter

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Twitter, now known as X or X.com, is an American social media network that was launched under the name of Twitter in 2006 and became one of the largest social networks during the 2010s. In October 2022, American investor and billionaire Elon Musk bought out Twitter for $44 billion and took the then-public company private, claiming that the "preservation of the freedom of speech" was one of his primary motivations.[1][2] Musk renamed the company to X, but widespread usage of the original name continues.

Censorship on Twitter[edit | edit source]

After the Musk takeover, there has been reduced censorship of "controversial" topics on Twitter and accounts that had been previously banned for reasons that Musk considered to be "violations of free speech" were re-instated, including that of the strongly anti-Palestinian Jordan Peterson.[3] At the same time however, accounts that crossed Musk the wrong way could also be wantonly suspended.[4]

During the 2023 War on Gaza[edit | edit source]

During the 2023 Israel War on Gaza, Twitter was one of the few sites where pro-Palestinian posts, original content uploaded from Gaza, and anti-Zionist rhetoric were not subject to widespread censorship and removal. Almost immediately after the events of October 7, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton publicly sent a letter to Elon Musk on Twitter, after not receiving any response in private, warning him that under the European Digital Services Act, Twitter was obligated to respond to what Breton and his team perceived as the "dissemination of illegal content & disinformation":

Thierry Breton Twitter
@ThierryBreton

Following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against 🇮🇱, we have indications of X/Twitter being used to disseminate illegal content & disinformation in the EU.

Urgent letter to @elonmusk on #DSA obligations

⤵️

Oct 10, 2023[5]

In a conversion still viewable on Twitter, Musk pushed back against Breton's tweet later that day, writing on X “Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that that the public can see them.” Breton did not respond with any specific instances, but said that Musk is “well aware of” reports from users and authorities about “fake content and glorification of violence.” Musk, however, later replied to user regarding the matter, saying “I still don’t know what they’re talking about!”[6]

While there were reports that Musk would pull Twitter/X from the EU in response to the EU Commissioner's request for censorship,[7] it was generally considered to be just grand-standing and the threat was not taken seriously. More importantly however, there were not any major signs that X had capitulated to the requests for removing pro-Palestinian/anti-Israeli content, as the ADL went on to complain in early November 2023.[8] (It is important to note that while the ADL's letter used the term "anti-semitic", the organization's stance, especially under the leadership of Jonathan Greenblatt, officially considers anti-Zionist sentiment to "legally" fall under the category of anti-Semitism and hate speech.[9])

Twitter's official stance on pro-Palestinian freedom-of-expression began to change in mid-November, however, after Musk was caught publicly endorsing an (actually) anti-Semitic tweet[10], he saw swift reprisals in the form of major advertisers including Apple, Disney, and IBM pulling out from the X platform altogether[11] and criticism from the White House.[12] In an attempt to control the fallout of the situation, Musk struck a deal with the staunchly Zionist ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, with whom he had been battling for months,[13] to arrange for his "pardon" in exchange for taking a much stronger stance against against pro-Palestinian content and employing heavy censorship against those protesting for the Palestinian cause,[14][15][16] including a complete ban on the use of the phrase "from the river to the sea":

Elon Musk Twitter
@elonmusk

As I said earlier this week, “decolonization”, “from the river to the sea” and similar euphemisms necessarily imply genocide.

Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension.

Nov 17, 2023[17]

It is not clear at this time whether or not anyone has been suspended for using this phrase on Twitter.

  1. ↑ Sato, Mia (April 14, 2022). "Buying Twitter 'is not a way to make money,' says Musk in TED interview". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  2. ↑ Robertson, Adi (April 15, 2022). "What Elon Musk's Twitter 'free speech' promises miss". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  3. ↑ Irina Ivanova (2022-11-21). "These formerly banned Twitter accounts have been reinstated since Elon Musk took over". cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  4. ↑ Josh Taylor (2022-12-17). "Elon Musk reinstates Twitter accounts of suspended journalists". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Thierry Breton [@ThierryBreton] (Oct 10, 2023). "Following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against 🇮🇱, we have indications of X/Twitter being used to disseminate illegal content & disinformation in the EU. Urgent letter to @elonmusk on #DSA obligations ⤵️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ↑ Wes Davis (2023-10-10). "EU asks Elon Musk to prove X isn't breaking Europe's disinformation rules". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  7. ↑ Yuvraj Malik (2023-10-18). "Musk considers removing X platform from Europe over EU law - Insider". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  8. ↑ "Online Antisemitism Increased after Hamas Attack". ADL. 2023-11-09. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  9. ↑ JTA; Ron Kampeas (2023-05-02). "In major speech, ADL chief says anti-Zionism is antisemitism, overlooks far right threat". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Blake Montgomery (2023-11-16). "Elon Musk agrees with tweet accusing Jewish people of 'hatred against whites'". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  11. ↑ Kampeas, Ron (2023-11-17). "IBM pulls its ads from Twitter/X after Elon Musk calls an antisemitic post the 'actual truth' - Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  12. ↑ Breuninger, Kevin; Kolodny, Lora (2023-11-17). "White House blasts Elon Musk for promoting 'Antisemitic and racist hate'". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  13. ↑ Lapin, Andrew (2023-11-20). "Why ADL chief Jonathan Greenblatt is praising Elon Musk as advertisers flee X over antisemitism - Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  14. ↑ Chris Menahan (2023-11-21). "ADL Head Jonathan Greenblatt Says He Made Deal With Elon Musk to Censor 'From The River to The Sea'". InformationLiberation. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  15. ↑ Lapin, Andrew (2023-11-20). "Why ADL chief Jonathan Greenblatt is praising Elon Musk as advertisers flee X over antisemitism - Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  16. ↑ Ariel Zilber (2023-11-21). "ADL chief slammed for 'making deal' with Elon Musk over antisemitism row". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  17. ↑ Elon Musk [@elonmusk] (Nov 17, 2023). "As I said earlier this week, "decolonization", "from the river to the sea" and similar euphemisms necessarily imply genocide. Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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