Musk Posts Then Deletes Tweet Spreading Conspiracy Theory on Pelosi Attack
Episode shows pressures ahead as free-speech goals run up against Musk’s pledges to advertisers
Three days after Elon Musk purchased Twitter Inc., the tech billionaire posted and deleted a tweet spreading a baseless anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theory about the recent attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco.
The episode underscored the pressures that Musk, a self-styled “free speech absolutist,” now faces in running the popular social media website — particularly in how to place limits on misinformation and hate speech on its service. Musk has pledged to advertisers that Twitter won’t become a “free-for-all hellscape” under his leadership, but at the same time pronounced that unfettered speech should be the norm on the site.