'It saddens me': Elton John quits Twitter over concern that ‘allows misinformation to flourish unchecked'
WINDSOR, UK: Elton John has said that he will no longer use Twitter as a result of a policy change that he claims "will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked." The 75-year-old musician's remarks came after Elon Musk bought the social media network for $44 billion. Musk previously claimed he was providing "general amnesty" for "suspended" accounts, which experts say will result in "superspreaders of hate" returning to the platform, as per The Guardian.
John tweeted on Friday, December 9, “All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world. I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.”
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All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) December 9, 2022
I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.
The EU's commissioner for digital policy, Thierry Breton, recently reminded Tesla CEO Elon Musk that he must strengthen user protection safeguards to prevent Twitter from breaking laws that may result in heavy fines or possibly a ban in the 27-nation bloc. Musk has been informed that he needs to work much harder to adhere to the new regulations, known as the Digital Services Act, which will go into force next year, as per reports from AoL.
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) argued that Musk's recent tweet, which claimed that the number of tweets containing hate speech had decreased by a third, was reportedly false because it concentrated on how frequently tweets were seen rather than the number of such tweets that were actually being posted to the social media platform, as per The Guardian. Since Musk's takeover, a number of other celebrities have quit Twitter, including Whoopi Goldberg, Gigi Hadid, and Jim Carrey.
People were quick to turn to social media after Elton's statement, with one user commenting, "Ironically, Elon loses a rocket man." Another tweeted, "I presume, by misinformation, you mean opinions you don't share?" A third said, "Sure, no one was divided before Elon took over, before that it was all peaches and cream." A fourth chimed in, "The best way to combat that is by staying and denouncing it here. maybe together we can change Elon's mind." "This is is heartbreaking to me. Your music is essentially the soundtrack to my life. I was somehow sure you were on the side of freedom," said a fifth. A sixth tweeted, "Love your music. It’s called the truth, not misinformation. Bye bye."
I presume, by misinformation, you mean opinions you don't share?
— Jeffrey Peel (@JeffreyPeel) December 9, 2022
Sure, no one was divided before Elon took over, before that it was all peaches and cream
— Adam Foster (@AdamFostermusic) December 9, 2022
the best way to combat that is by staying and denouncing it here. maybe together we can change Elon's mind.
— Paco Ragageles (@pacoragageles) December 9, 2022
This is is heartbreaking to me. Your music is essentially the soundtrack to my life. I was somehow sure you were on the side of freedom.
— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreyatucker) December 10, 2022
Love your music. It’s called the truth, not misinformation. Bye bye
— Sal LaBarbera (@Sal_LaBarbera) December 9, 2022
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