UltraViolet on Elon Musk’s Announcement That He Would End Donald Trump’s Twitter Ban on Day One
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, May 10, 2022
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com
UltraViolet on Elon Musk’s Announcement That He Would End Donald Trump’s Twitter Ban on Day One
WASHINGTON, DC — According to several reports, Elon Musk says he would reverse Twitter’s ban on Donald Trump. Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion
I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country, and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice,” said Musk speaking virtually at a Financial Times autos conference.
In response, Bridget Todd, communications director at UltraViolet, issued the following statement:
“Elon Musk doesn’t care about free speech – he cares about advancing his extremist political beliefs at all costs – and he doesn’t care about who it will harm.
“Make no mistake: allowing Trump back on Twitter would only be the beginning for Musk. He will open the floodgates of harassment and abuse on Twitter, welcoming back white nationalists and misogynists – and it will be women and people of color who will bear the brunt of this shift.
“It’s good that his intentions are out in the open. Now it is up to Twitter’s advertisers and Musk’s financial backers to decide if this is the vision they want to support.”
Last week, UltraViolet, in conjunction with Media Matters for America and Accountable Tech, organized a letter to advertisers asking them to demand Elon Musk commit to upholding three non negotiable standards of community trust and safety, and to pull their advertising spending from Twitter if he does not.
The three standards the coalition urged advertisers to demand of Twitter are:
Keep accounts, including those of public figures and politicians, that were removed for egregious violations of Twitter rules – such as harassment, violence, and hateful conduct – off the platform and continue to enforce the civic integrity policy along with the hateful conduct policy.
Beyond algorithmic transparency, ensure algorithmic accountability, preserve people’s privacy, and commit to depolarizing the algorithm.
Continue Twitter’s commitment to transparency and researcher access.
READ THE FULL LETTER HERE: https://accountabletech.org/wp-content/uploads/Letter-to-Twitter-Advertisers.pdf
Musk’s announcement today would violate the first standard of community trust and safety.
# # # # #