On Friday, musician Elton John announced on Twitter that he was leaving the social media app because “misinformation” was going to “flourish unchecked.”
“All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together,” John tweeted. “Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world. I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.”
Elon Musk got the final word in as John announced his departure.
“I love your music,” Musk replied. “Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?”
I love your music. Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2022
My reaction: “Misinformation is a code word for information the left doesn’t agree with and doesn’t want the world to see.”
Misinformation is a code word for information the left doesn’t agree with and doesn’t want the world to see.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 9, 2022
Follow me on Twitter @CollinRugg!
Musk followed up in another tweet after one user noted that most
“It’s prob another newly minted marxist social media person w/brain damage that posted this, Elton likely has nothing to do w/what’s posted on here,” said Twitter user “Niche Gamer.”
Musk replied: “It’s true that most celebrities don’t write their own posts. More should. Way better to hear directly from them.”
It’s true that most celebrities don’t write their own posts. More should. Way better to hear directly from them.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2022
Check out what the Daily Wire reported:
One area Musk has changed Twitter’s misinformation policy has been related to the discussion of COVID.
According to an update note posted on Twitter’s blog and “transparency report,” as of November 23, the platform is no longer enforcing policies it used to combat “misleading information” during the COVID pandemic. But there was no formal announcement of a policy change; news broke Tuesday when several conservative users posted screenshots of the updated policy. The policy change is the latest move in Elon Musk’s effort to reform Twitter into a “free speech” platform.
“Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy,” the note reads.
Conservatives shared screenshots of the updated policy Tuesday and celebrated the change by posting facts about COVID-19 that were once deemed “misinformation” by Twitter.
According to CNN, between January 2020 and September 2022, the platform suspended more than 11,000 accounts and took down more than 100,000 individual posts for violating the misinformation policy. Notable users suspended included Republican Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, journalist Alex Berenson, mRNA vaccine researcher Dr. Robert Malone, cardiologist Dr. Peter McCollough, and former San Francisco Giants player Aubrey Huff.
Follow me on Twitter @CollinRugg!
