Tuesday, Elon Musk responded to a report by CNN by Brian Fung titled “Brands should force Twitter to uphold content policies under Musk, advocacy groups say.”
Per the CNN report:
Some of the nation’s biggest brands including Coca-Cola (CCEP), Disney (DIS) and Kraft (KHC) are facing calls to boycott Twitter if the company’s soon-to-be owner, billionaire Elon Musk, rolls back content moderation policies limiting hate speech and election misinformation.
In a letter sent to brands Tuesday ahead of the 2022 NewFronts digital advertising conference, more than two dozen civil society groups said marketers should secure commitments from Twitter to retain its most critical policies, including on civic integrity and hateful conduct, and threaten to withdraw funding if Twitter does not comply.
“As top advertisers on Twitter (TWTR), your brand risks association with a platform amplifying hate, extremism, health misinformation, and conspiracy theorists,” the letter said, adding: “Your ad dollars can either fund Musk’s vanity project or hold him to account.”
Musk responded to the report by writing “Who funds these organizations that want to control your access to information? Let’s investigate”
He added in a follow-up tweet “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
Sunlight is the best disinfectant
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 3, 2022
Some of the responses to Musk”
God bless you Elon. Honestly you’re single handedly restoring my faith in humanity.
— Obsidian (@obsidian1000) May 3, 2022
This one is pretty egregious. It actually has partnerships with the U.S. State Department and Department of Defense. I have no idea how its behavior can be considered constitutional. It should be sued for maliciously depriving Americans of their rights.https://t.co/vSEC5iQuUF pic.twitter.com/6joLd8sxF9
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) May 3, 2022
Elon going to buy out everyone.
— David Gokhshtein (@davidgokhshtein) May 3, 2022
Elon Musk’s legal team getting ready for another battle: pic.twitter.com/PER4pVhPhR
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) May 3, 2022