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Ariana Baio
Nov 04, 2022
Is Elon Musk killing Twitter?
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The same fact-checking feature on Twitter that Elon Musk praised earlier this week, has just fact-checked him for complaining that "activist groups" are trying to decrease revenue.
On Friday, Musk tweeted that Twitter experienced a "massive drop in revenue" which he attributed to "activist groups pressuring advertisers" to leave Twitter.
Musk said the campaign by activist groups is "extremely messed up" because content moderation has not changed on the platform and "we did everything we could to appease the activists.
"They're trying to destroy free speech in America," he added.
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But a few hours after Musk tweeted a fact-checking Birdwatch box popped up notifying people that advertisers were suspending or canceling ad buys because of concerns related to content moderation.
\u201cThis is getting good now. Twitter has added a \u201cfact check\u201d to Elon Musk\u2019s own tweet falsely claiming activist groups are responsible for a massive drop in Twitter revenue. Twitter points out it\u2019s his own mismanagement that\u2019s responsible.\u201d— Mike Sington (@Mike Sington) 1667583435
Organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, GLAAD, Free Press, and Media Matters have called on advertisers to pull out of Twitter ads.
Citing Musk laying off a large portion of Twitter's staff, sharing a conspiracy theory, a rise in hate speech, and welcoming back rapper Kanye West, the organizations expressed doubt about Twitter's safety.
General Mills, Pfizer, and Audi are just some of the major companies to pull ads from Twitter according to the Wall Street Journal.
Some companies have pointed to Musk's lack of clarity regarding the future of Twitter's content moderation as their reason for scaling back advertisements.
Musk's tweet was met with counterarguments.
\u201cI don\u2019t know who needs to hear this, but advertisers deciding to leave your platform because you behave like a gigantic asshole is called the free market. People telling advertisers that they should leave is called free speech.\u201d— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen) 1667575586
The Birdwatch fact-check disappeared from Musk's tweet in the afternoon. It is unclear why.
\u201cIt appears Elon Musk has removed the fact check box that Twitter added to the bottom of his tweet.\n\nIn Muskland, some voices are more equal than others.\u201d— Max Burns (@Max Burns) 1667584079
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