Apple hates free speech (2022), Iger ought to be fired (2023) – Musk

X proprietor Elon Musk has continued his tirade towards main companies who’ve suspended promoting on his social community, after rising considerations about hate speech on the platform.

Musk final 12 months requested whether or not Apple “hate[s] free speech in America” when the corporate paused promoting over earlier considerations concerning the social community, and is now calling for Disney CEO Bob Iger to be fired …

2022: ‘Apple hates free speech’

When Musk purchased Twitter in April of final 12 months, he introduced that he was a “free speech absolutist” and could be primarily permitting hate speech and disinformation to run rampant on the platform, counting on others to counter it.

Issues escalated when he eliminated blue checkmarks from verified accounts, and as an alternative allowed anybody to purchase one for $8. That predictably led to a mass of hoax accounts.

The following chaos noticed a variety of main manufacturers droop promoting on the platform, afraid of being related to the free-for-all world Musk had created. Apple was one in all these, main Musk to make a really public assault on the corporate.

Within the newest improvement at Twitter, Elon Musk has taken to his social platform to share that Apple has “largely stopped promoting.” Together with the announcement, he implied in his quick tweet that the choice makes the iPhone maker an opponent of free speech.

Issues did steadily relax after Twitter began addressing the hoax verified account drawback, and advertisers slowly returned – Apple amongst them.

2023: Disney CEO Bob Iger ‘ought to be fired’

Nearly precisely a 12 months later, renewed considerations about hate speech have once more seen greater than 100 main companies suspended promoting on what’s now X.

Apple was one of many first of those, appearing after it was revealed that one in all its advertisements was proven alongside neo-Nazi posts. Musk argued that this was a deliberate manipulation, and promptly filed a lawsuit towards the group which recognized the problem. However the very lawsuit itself admitted that this had in reality occurred with out any synthetic circumstances.

Whereas Apple, IBM, and a handful of different main manufacturers paused promoting on X at this level, it was Musk’s personal endorsement of an anti-semitic tweet which led greater than 100 others to observe.

Manufacturers who’ve suspended promoting on X say they have been extra involved concerning the conduct of Musk himself, who responded to an antisemitic submit with the remark: “You might have mentioned the precise reality.” That remark stays on the platform virtually two weeks later, with no signal of a withdrawal or apology.

Musk did, lastly, apologize for that – although it stays on the platform for anybody to see.

Requested what he would say to advertisers who’ve withdrawn their advertisements, Musk responded: “Go f*ck your self.” He particularly singled out Iger with a “Hello Bob” follow-up, earlier than final week attacking the CEO for the field workplace failures of The Marvels and Want.