The Big Tech overlords at Facebook are making what looks like a final attempt to block any chance of Elon Musk leveling the playing field for conservatives on social media.
Facebook’s self-described “Supreme Court” called on Twitter’s new owner to imitate their draconian approach to “content moderation” as he weighs changes at the company, Breitbart reported.
Musk announces “content moderation council”
Musk moved immediately to fire Twitter’s top executives after completing his $44 billion takeover last week, ending months of legal back-and-forth. He is now the company’s sole director.
The big question looming at the moment is when and whether Donald Trump, who was banned while yet a sitting president, will return to Twitter under Musk’s leadership.
Musk’s critics are alarmed by his plans to make Twitter more democratic by prioritizing free speech. The billionaire has tempered expectations of change, saying the platform won’t become a “free-for-all” and that no accounts would be reinstated until a “content moderation council” convenes.
Facebook weighs in
Facebook’s Oversight Board, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described as Facebook’s own “Supreme Court” and which upheld Facebook’s ban on Trump last year, responded to Musk’s announcement with seeming enthusiasm.
“Independent oversight of content moderation has a vital role to play in building trust in platforms and ensuring users are treated fairly,” the board tweeted.
“This is a model we have been proving since 2020. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss Twitter’s plans in more detail with the company.”
More collusion?
Musk, in a follow-up tweet responding to another user, suggested he would be skeptical of unduly restrictive approaches to content control.
“Good point. Being able to select which version of Twitter you want is probably better, much as it would be for a movie maturity rating. The rating of the tweet itself could be self-selected, then modified by user feedback,” he said.
Democrats are freaking out about Musk’s takeover, with Senator Chris Murphy (Ct.) calling for a “national security” assessment by the federal government.
A bombshell report Monday exposed further collusion between the federal government and Twitter’s former executives to combat so-called “misinformation” on matters such as “the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, racial justice, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the nature of U.S. support to Ukraine.”