1y ago

Musk threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets

apnews.com Musk threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets

A nonprofit organization that researches links between social media, hate and extremism has been threatened with a lawsuit by X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Technology @kbin.social

apnews.com /article/elon-musk-lawsuit-cchd-twitter-x-hate-speech-extremism-434a80631f9e76833ee30387c04dd290

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61 comments

The "free speech absolutist" strikes again to silence speach he personally doesn't like.
- He's such a hero! Imagine where we would be without him.
  
  Honestly it would be amazing.
  
  A lot fewer doge investors and a lot fewer people got scammed into buying crypto.
- It's so mortifying that I bought into the Mush hype for a few years. It's one of those "embarrassing things you did as a kid" levels of self cringe.
  
  When he was just running Tesla and SpaceX, and generally keeping his mouth shut he seemed okay. It was around Hyperloop that he started to show his true self.
- "By 'free speech,' I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law."
  -- Musk Tweeted that after getting criticized for censoring Twitter in Turkey and India. So apparently if North Korea allowed Twitter, he'd happily censor away since that would be the law.
  
  The good ol "Everything I say has super smart and deep meaning that needs to be explained everytime I make seemingly absurd, contradictory and short-sighted comments." What a deep, mysterious and nuanced fellow.
- Well he was right about one thing. Humour is legal again because this is hilarious.

In order to win a libel suit it is my understanding they must prove the claims to be false. So if this goes to court they could end up proving in court that it is a matter of fact provable that Twitter has become more toxic since Musk took over. And then they would win. That would be brilliant.
- That would require the researchers to be able to afford a lengthy trial, which I'm guessing they can't. Rich people do this shit to scare people out of going to trial.
  
  Good thing there are plenty of good lawyers that would cream their pants to take up a high profile slam dunk case like this pro bono or on contingency.
  
  Can Twitter afford it? They don't have any accountants anymore and they may be the ones who will go in the shitter against a lengthy trial. Their ad incentive program had like only 5 mil available and Musk became neutered the moment he had to pay 100 million to the disabled guy he was about to fire.

This is clearly a SLAPP lawsuit. Since civil penalties and fines don't matter to Musk it seems the only way to enforce good behavior is with criminal ones.

Elon Musk's slow transformation into Donald Trump is as disturbing as it is fascinating. Not much good at anything, but incredible at self-promotion so people think he is; obsessed with Twitter and conspiracy theories, then becoming a right-wing demagogue; refusing to pay people he owes and suing anyone who looks sideways at him. Few would have predicted this 10 years ago.
- Not much good at anything, but incredible at self-promotion so people think he is
  A friend of mine once made what I thought was an absolutely brilliant observation: "Self-promotion is the only skill that is consistently rewarded."

Fuck this guy. I'm embarrassed that there was a time that I thought he was alright. I hope he slips and falls on a steaming pile of dogshit.
- Once upon a time he did seem to be okay (as far as billionaires can be).
  Musk almost seemed philanthropic with his ventures of bringing forward the future with SpaceX and Tesla. Then almost suddenly he started to be vocal about certain politics and various bad practices came to light in how he behaved or treat his workforce.
  In fact, it's only until relatively recently it seems where the ultra wealthy seemed to be quite under the radar. Bezos, for example. Before and during his divorce you never really heard much about him. He seemed pretty likable in many ways. Then suddenly that changed, the media perception shifted and these people started getting lots of publicity and they were clearly unable to curate their image any longer.
- He truly fell off the rails since covid.
  
  From experience, he was just as bad before COVID. He just had better people keeping him in the lines.

In the letter, attorney [for Twitter] Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X’s competitors
Is this enough for a countersuit?
- Then Mr Musk said: "my dad can beat up your dad!" and ran away to knock over the bicycle of one of the researchers. Then everyone got ice cream.
- If you mean a countersuit for libel, then no. Anything said as part of a court proceeding is immune from libel lawsuits.
  
  Awwwww.
  Makes sense but that is such any easy way to get things into the press with legal protections…

If the evidence around changes in Twitter content might be harmful to the business model and alarming to advertisers?
If the shoe fits, then what?

The thing that most stands out to me about Musk and his ilk isn't their hate - it's their cowardice.
If they would actually own their hate, I'd have some bare modicum of respect for them. At least then it would be a principled stance. A loathsome one to be sure, but at least principled.
But they're too cowardly and weak-willed for that. They're all telling it like it is and going their own way and fuck your feelings right up until someone calls them out on it, then they instantly turn into weepy schoolgirls moaning about how picked on and persecuted they are.
- It's projection. They shout about 'snowflakes' and 'freedom of speech'. Or screech about 'wokeness' and all the other nonsense.
  It's only to deflect from the fact that they're the snowflakes.
  Most of them are too stupid to realise that's what they're doing. They're too embarrassed to admit (often to even themselves) that they have no idea what freedom of speech actually is, or indeed any of the things are that they whine incessantly about. Utterly drowning in their cognitive dissonance.
  They get whipped up into such a feverous stupour of fear that they can't take a second to stop and actually think about what they're being fed by their media rag of choice. They might actually realise that their stance doesn't actually make any sense.
  From Climate Change to Brexit. From Hunter Biden to Electric Vehicles. From '15minute cities' to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Someone level headed will make a comment or raise an issue of 'hey guys, maybe we should think about doing something about x. If we don't then it's probable that it will lead to something bad'. Something even as simple as offering a policy that will actually improve a great deal of people's quality of life (including their own) with little cost. It's all met with ruddy faced rage and flying spittle.
  It's absolute insanity.
  
  I read your first paragraph too fast and read "freedom of screech". Fits as well.
- It’s because, truthfully, they have no other stance except those that either make them money or headlines.
  They’ll have whatever fuck principles and stances that will give them either more money or more acknowledgement for their egos.

Free speech y'all

Barbra Streisand called, she wants her effect back.
- It feels like the Streisand effect is negatively impacting me/everyone else in this instance
  I despise the guy, but I’m tired of hearing about every stupid exploit. He’s so fabulously rich that no negative publicity can really cause reprecussions, I feel like it now just keeps him constantly in the public eye a la Trump circa 2016
  
  This would be a reasonable take if it weren't for the fact that Twitter is, or was effectively the default platform for public discourse for most of the western world. What the Muskrat is doing to it has real, significant, and far-reaching consequences.

They published those lawyers' letters, both from Muskiboi and the answer. Pretty entertaining read, actually.
- Could you link those? I'd like to read them!
  
  here you go

Pure SLAPPery.
Musk will just sue, lose, appeal, lose, refile, lose and on and on until the non-profit simply run out of money.

Threaten to sue? Maybe
Remember that in the legal process, discovery uncovers all truths and communications. Depositions are the one sand trap for people like Trump and Musk. If you lie under deposition, you get prison time. That’s why they rarely if ever agree to it.
I’ll bet a lot of money no suit is filed. This is all posturing for crazies to assume X sued them and it must not be true. Threatening to sue is the new spin doctoring.

I don't think this non profit is seeking to "drive advertisers away", Twitter and musk seem to be doing a pretty good job of that on their own!

sees nonprofit researching the rise of hate on social media platforms and threatens them
Ye ol' Muskrat just gave them a data point.

One would assume it would be cheaper to perform your own study to refute their results.
- but that isn't a headline

Being totally against free speech as an advocate for free speech... couldn't be musk!
- Not our precious Musky!
  You think this is bad? This chicanery? He's done worse.