KUALA LUMPUR – Social media platform X’s (formerly Twitter) controversial owner Elon Musk appears to be on the receiving end of public backlash yet again, this time over his announcement that certain pro-Palestine terms will result in users being suspended.
The app has since been flooded with users criticising his announcement, which was issued by Musk in a tweet last Thursday.
For the record, his tweet in question was published on the same day the White House condemned his supposed support of “anti-semitic and racist hate” after he called a post sharing anti-semitic conspiracy theory as “actual truth”.
It was previously reported that a number of US tech and entertainment giants, including Apple, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery, have temporarily suspended their online ad campaigns on X after Musk’s comment.
Other companies suspending their ad spending on X are Paramount Global, Lionsgate Entertainment, Comcast, and IBM.
It was also reported that the European Commission had said it had stopped advertising on X due to widespread concerns relating to the spread of disinformation.
“As I said earlier this week, ‘decolonisation’, ‘from the river to the sea’ and similar euphemisms necessarily imply genocide,” Musk said in a post addressing the backlash, referring to the slogan commonly chanted by pro-Palestine supporters calling for the nation’s liberation.
“Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension.”
In response to the directive, netizens who were none too happy about the ban did not hold back in expressing their dissatisfaction with the move, with some taking the opportunity to educate Musk on the chant.
“‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ is not a call for genocide. It’s a complete opposite. It’s a call to freedom and equal rights for Palestinians who are being ethnically cleansed and illegally occupied by Israel,” said a user by the name of @Majstar7.
Another user, @caitoz, deemed Musk’s ban as the “single largest escalation in online censorship”, claiming that the businessman is “suppressing normal political speech on false grounds”.
In pointing out Musk’s alleged change in principles, @snackvampire posted a screenshot of Musk’s tweet from November 28 last year in which the billionaire said: “If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead.”
However, Musk’s decision appeared to have the backing of some, including Jonathan Greenblatt, a former White House staffer who served as the assistant to former United States President Barack Obama.
In expressing his support of Musk’s actions, Greenblatt said: “This is an important and welcome move by (Musk). I appreciate this leadership in fighting hate.”
Meanwhile, “from the river to the sea” was trending on X over the weekend in certain countries, including the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia and Nigeria. – November 20, 2023