Elon Musk Stands Firm In Effort to Protect Free Speech on Twitter, Despite Backlash
By Movieguide® Staff
New Twitter owner Elon Musk stood his ground to protect free speech despite recent backlash after he released a list of proposed changes to the social media platform.
Reportedly, Musk plans to fire around 25% of the workforce, official firings have yet to take place. The Tesla CEO also announced a paid subscription for the social network in an effort to mitigate the number of fake accounts and spam on the platform.
“We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is, unfortunately, necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward,” an email to Twitter employees read, according to NBC.
According to recent reports, Twitter employees charged with flagging “misinformation” were locked out of their moderation tools since Musk took over.
Despite this, Musk wrote in a tweet that he has made little change in regards to content moderation on the site.
“Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists,” he wrote. “Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”
Another change that infuriated some users, was the announcement that the blue checkmark, normally reserved for high-profile accounts, would not cost users $8.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Elon Musk, who recently acquired the social media company Twitter, received backlash over his proposal for a subscription plan.
Author Stephen King was among the disgruntled users.
The plan would charge Twitter users who are “verified” $20 a month to keep that status. The verification — a blue checkmark on their account — signifies that the person running the account is who they say they are and not someone posing as a celebrity.
“$20 a month to keep my blue check?” King tweeted “They should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.”
His followers responded by pointing out that he has plenty of money and could afford the fee.
King’s response? “It ain’t the money, it’s the principle of the thing.”
Musk replied to King’s worries, writing, “We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot entirely rely on advertisers. How about $8?”
He also explained that the plan is still in development and nothing has been decided yet.
“I will explain the rationale in longer form before this is implemented,” he tweeted. “It is the only way to defeat bots & trolls.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
