Joe Biden says Elon Musk bought a platform in Twitter that ‘spews lies’ around world
- ‘There’s no editors any more. How do we expect kids to be able to understand what is at stake?’ Biden said amid concerns about tackling misinformation
- Musk said ‘nothing has changed with content moderation’ after he announced large lay offs at the company
“Now what are we all worried about? Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends and spews lies all across the world,” Biden said.
“There’s no editors any more,” Biden added. “There’s no editors. How do we expect kids to be able to understand what is at stake?”
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His plans to revamp its content moderation though have rattled advertisers, including Pfizer and General Mills, who say they will temporarily pause ad spending on the platform to see how Musk intends to change Twitter.
Civil rights groups are also stepping up pressure on advertisers to ensure Musk takes steps to keep the platform from being a host to hate speech or disinformation.
Musk acknowledged on Friday that fears over content moderation on Twitter had caused a “massive drop in revenue” but said “nothing has changed with content moderation.”
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He also addressed the job cuts in a tweet late Friday. “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing” more than US$4 million a day, he said in the post. “Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked on Friday about the lay-offs of content moderators.
“Look, the president has been outspoken about the importance of social media platforms continuing to take steps to reduce hate speech and misinformation,” Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One. “That belief extends to Twitter. It extends to Facebook and any other social media platforms where users can spread misinformation.”
