Walt Mossberg, the esteemed tech reporter and columnist, has made the decision to leave Elon Musk’s social media platform following Musk’s threat to sue the Anti-Defamation League. Mossberg expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the platform, referring to it as a “cesspool” in a scathing post on rival app Threads. Mossberg, with over two decades of experience covering technology for The Wall Street Journal and working on tech ventures like AllThingsD and Recode with Kara Swisher, held Musk responsible for turning Twitter into a hub for “bigots, liars, and pro-insurrectionists.” Mossberg stated, “I have deactivated my account on Twitter (X), which began in 2007,” sharing his grievances on Threads, a new platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. The veteran journalist took issue with Musk’s lax approach to content moderation, which involved reinstating accounts of controversial individuals who had previously been banned. “Under Elon Musk, Twitter not only stopped blocking bigots, liars, and pro-insurrectionists but actively embraced them, with apparent support from Mr. Musk,” Mossberg stated. He further revealed that he had significantly reduced his activity on the platform, eventually leading to his complete departure.
In his announcement, Mossberg emphasized his deactivation of his Twitter account, which he had been using since 2007. The decision was made due to Musk’s lenient content moderation policies, including the unbanning of controversial figures.
Referring to Musk’s recent threat to ban and sue the ADL, Mossberg referred to this as the final straw. He criticized the move, as it seemed to please anti-Semites and other hate groups. While Mossberg acknowledged that other social platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram had their own drawbacks, he believed that none compared to the toxic environment on Twitter under Musk’s leadership, which he felt was approaching the level of Truth Social.
Regarding Musk’s threat to sue the ADL for approximately $22 billion, no lawsuit has been filed against the civil rights group as of Wednesday. ADL CEO Johnathan Greenblatt expressed concern over Musk’s engagement with anti-Semitic campaigners on his platform, emphasizing that the safety of the Jewish community against rising anti-Semitism should be the real focus.
Musk faced backlash over the weekend for endorsing the hashtag #BantheADL, which was circulating among far-right and nationalist Twitter accounts. Mossberg highlighted Musk’s tweet, suggesting a poll on the matter, as fuel for his decision to leave the platform.
Mossberg, who spent more than two decades covering technology for The Wall Street Journal, concluded his statement by discussing the impact of the ADL on advertising revenue for Twitter. Musk claimed that the group was responsible for a significant drop in ad sales, leading him to buy the platform for $44 billion in October. The ADL criticized Musk’s handling of hate speech on the site and had previously condemned his comments about George Soros, comparing him to a supervillain.
In addition to Shannon Thaler’s reporting, Walt Mossberg’s departure from Elon Musk’s Twitter-like platform due to content moderation concerns has raised concerns about the platform’s user base.
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