Elon Musk’s tweet amplifiying a baseless article about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, created a stir. Musk deleted the tweet later. AFP
Days after taking over Twitter, Elon Musk has raised eyebrows over yet another controversial tweet. The new owner of the microblogging website posted a tweet on October 30 about the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of United States Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. However, Musk later went on to delete the post.
What did Musk post?
On Friday, Paul Pelosi was attacked with a hammer in his California home by an intruder who is now identified as David DePape. He allegedly shouted at Paul Pelosi, wanting to know where Nancy was.
Days after the attack, on Sunday, Musk tweeted an article on a conspiracy theory about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband. The report by Santa Monica Observer, a website with a history of publishing misinformation, made unverified claims about Paul’s personal life and the role it could have played in the attack on him.
Musk wrote on Twitter, “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story”, referring to the attack. He shared a report headlined, “The Awful Truth: Paul Pelosi Was Drunk Again, And In a Dispute With a Male Prostitute Early Friday Morning”.
While Elon Musk deleted the tweet, it has raised questions about his seriousness to run Twitter
The post by the Twitter owner came in response to former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tweet about the attacker, DePape. Sharing an article reported by the Los Angeles Times, she wrote, “The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result. As citizens, we must hold them accountable for their words and the actions that follow.”
The mainstream media in the US have linked the attacker to blog posts propagating far-right views online, including the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Also read: Elon Musk completes Twitter takeover. What changes will the billionaire introduce?
What happened to Musk’s tweet?
While screenshots of Musk’s ill-informed tweet are doing the rounds of the internet, he appears to have deleted the post. The report shared by him was baseless. However, it remains on Santa Monica Observer‘s website.
On October 31, the publication posted an “update” to the report saying, “In response to this story, San Francisco Police said today that victim Pelosi and suspect Depape, did not know each other prior to the attack. SFPD reaffirmed that the assault followed a break-in.”
According to the news agency Reuters, Santa Monica Observer is “a purveyor of hoaxes, including that Clinton herself had died and been replaced by a body double”.
On Friday, a man broke into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California home and severely beat her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer. The 82-year-old underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands, and his doctors expect a full recovery. AP
Why did Musk delete his tweet?
Musk, who has 112.7 million followers on Twitter, boosted fake news about Paul Pelosi and then deleted it. According to a report in Washington Post, the theory “was amplified by several right-wing figures”, who cited no sources.
Musk received criticism for promoting the conspiracy, casting doubts on the seriousness of his Twitter ownership, the report says.
“When the world’s richest man/owner of this very site himself traffics in conspiracy theories days after claiming to advertisers that he’s going to be a responsible leader, all I can say is: I’m not overreacting by expressing my concerns. Actions always speak louder than words,” Yael Eisenstat, the vice president of the Anti-Defamation League and former Facebook executive, wrote on Twitter.
Columnist David Rothkopf tweeted, “It’s already becoming apparent that in order to save Twitter, ultimately Elon’s going to have to ban himself.”
Why do Musk’s tweets matter more today?
It is not the first time that Musk has used Twitter to spread misinformation.
As the Washington Post article pointed out “he has a track record of using his account to promote or allude to misinformation, and to interact with and amplify a circle of prominent right-wing influencers online”. However, he is no longer just a “blue tick” with a massive following.
Joan Donovan, research director of the Technology and Social Change Research Project at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School told the publication, “When he was just a user, that did not matter as much as it does now because people may come to distrust the platform if they don’t trust the owner’s core values.”
He said that the conspiracy theory tweet failed to recognise the social media platform’s “value as a place where people seek authoritative information about everything from geopolitical conflicts to elections”.
Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labour and a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, wrote in Guardian that Musk’s tweet is a “warning” sign about his judgment and character. “Doesn’t Musk know that the world is watching to see how responsible he is, as the new owner of Twitter? The fact that he personally posts such unhinged, dangerous drivel within three days of taking over the platform suggests he doesn’t give a damn,” Reich opined.
Also read: Will Elon Musk kick out Twitter’s many fake accounts?
What does this mean for advertisers?
In a letter to advertisers, Musk wrote that Twitter would not become a platform that allowed unfettered commentary. “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences,” he wrote. “Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world.”
However, his actions do not do justice to his promise.
With inputs from agencies
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