Elon Musk on Sunday tweeted a hyperlink to an unfounded rumor in regards to the assault on Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, simply days after Musk’s buy of Twitter fueled considerations that the social media platform would not search to restrict misinformation and hate speech.
Musk’s tweet, which he later deleted, linked to an article by a fringe web site, the Santa Monica Observer, an outlet that has beforehand asserted that Hillary Clinton died on Sept. 11 and was changed with a physique double.
On this case, the article recycled a baseless declare that the non-public lifetime of Paul Pelosi, the speaker’s husband, in some way performed a job in an intruder’s assault final week within the couple’s San Francisco dwelling, though there isn’t any proof to assist that declare.
Musk did so in reply to a tweet by Hillary Clinton. Her tweet had criticized Republicans for usually spreading “hate and deranged conspiracy theories” and stated, “It’s surprising, however not shocking, that violence is the consequence.”
In response to Clinton’s tweet, Musk offered a hyperlink to the Santa Monica Observer article and added, “There’s a tiny chance there is perhaps extra to this story than meets the attention.”
The Los Angeles Instances, the dominant information group within the Southern California space the place the Observer is positioned, has stated the Observer is “infamous for faux information.”
Police in San Francisco have stated the suspect in final week’s assault, recognized as David DePape, 42, broke into the Pelosi household’s Pacific Heights dwelling early Friday and confronted Paul Pelosi, demanding to know, because the AP has reported, “The place is Nancy?”
The 2 males struggled over a hammer earlier than officers responding to a 911 name to the house noticed DePape strike Paul Pelosi at the least as soon as, police stated. DePape was arrested on suspicion of tried homicide, elder abuse and housebreaking. Prosecutors plan to file costs on Monday and count on his arraignment on Tuesday.
Police say the assault was “intentional” and never random however haven’t said publicly what they take into account to be the motive.
The trade between Musk and Clinton occurred a day after Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of security and integrity, tweeted that the corporate’s insurance policies towards “slurs” and “hateful conduct” have been nonetheless in place.
“Backside line up entrance: Twitter’s insurance policies haven’t modified. Hateful conduct has no place right here,” Roth wrote.
Shortly after Musk took management of Twitter, some accounts on the platform started tweeting messages starting from racist slurs to political misinformation, corresponding to “Trump received,” to see what Twitter will now tolerate.
Musk himself stated Friday that he would kind a “content material moderation council” for Twitter and promised advertisers that the web site wouldn’t devolve right into a “free for all hellscape.” Musk has additionally described himself as a “free speech absolutist.”
However at the least one main advertiser, Common Motors, has stated it can droop promoting on Twitter whereas it screens the course of the platform underneath Musk.
Additionally on Sunday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, stated on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that she didn’t belief Musk to run Twitter.
Referring to antisemitic assaults and the QAnon conspiracy idea that have been superior on-line by DePape, the suspect within the assault, Klobuchar stated, “I believe it’s a must to have some content material moderation.”
“If Elon Musk has stated now that he’s going to begin a content material moderation board,” the senator stated, “that was one good signal. However I proceed to be involved about that. I simply don’t assume folks ought to be getting cash off of passing on these items that’s a bunch of lies.”
