Elon Musk tweeted a link to an unsubstantiated rumor about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband – just days after he bought the platform, sparking fears that he would no longer seek to curb disinformation and hate speech.
The tweet, which he later deleted, linked to an article in the Santa Monica Observer, a newspaper that previously said Hillary Clinton died on 9/11 and was replaced with a stunt double.
In this case, the article recycles an unfounded claim that the personal life of Paul Pelosi, the husband of the Speaker of the House, has somehow played a role in a attack of the intruder at the couple’s home in San Francisco.
Moss he was replying to a tweet from Mrs. Clinton.
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He had criticized Republicans for generally spreading “hateful and unbalanced conspiracy theories” and said, “It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result.”
In response, Musk posted a link to the fringe website and added, “There’s a small chance there may be more to this story than meets the eye.”
Nancy and Paul Pelosi pictured in 2018
San Francisco police said the suspect in last week’s attack, identified as David DePape, 42, broke into the Pelosi family’s home in Pacific Heights early Friday and confronted Mr. Pelosi, demanding to know: ” Where is Nancy? “
The two men fought for a hammer before officers answering a call to the emergency health services saw DePape hit Mr. Pelosi at least once, police said.
DePape was arrested on charges of attempted murder, elder abuse and burglary. Prosecutors plan to file a complaint on Monday and expect him to be sued on Tuesday.
A police officer spreads more yellow tape on the closed road below Nancy and Paul Pelosi’s house
Police say the attack was “intentional” and not accidental, but have not publicly stated what the reason is.
The exchange between Musk and Ms. Clinton came the day after Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of security and integrity, said the company’s policies against “insults” and “hateful conduct” were still in place. .
Shortly after Musk took control of Twitter, some accounts on the platform began tweeting messages ranging from racist slurs to political disinformation, such as “Trump won,” to see what will be tolerated.
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Mr. Musk said Friday he would form a “content moderation council” and promised advertisers that the site would not turn into a “free-for-all hell landscape.”
This despite describing himself as an “absolutist of free speech”.
However, at least one major advertiser, General Motors, has said it will suspend Twitter advertising while monitoring the direction of the platform under Musk.
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