With Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, there has been a call for major brands to boycott the company if Musk goes through with his plan to end content policies, which are supposedly meant to limit hate speech and misinformation.
But when Musk became aware of this call for a boycott, he tweeted that he wants to investigate who is behind the idea.
Who funds these organizations that want to control your access to information? Let’s investigate …https://t.co/dBFsGjOMC8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 3, 2022
In a letter sent to major brands, like Coca-Cola, Disney, Kraft and others, more than 20 civil society groups said that marketers should secure commitments from Twitter that the social media platform will keep its policies on civic integrity and hateful conduct on the platform, CNN reported.
These civil society groups said that if Twitter refuses to do so, the brands should pull funding and advertisement money from the platform.
“As top advertisers on Twitter, your brand risks association with a platform amplifying hate, extremism, health misinformation and conspiracy theorists,” the letter said.
“Your ad dollars can either fund Musk’s vanity project or hold him to account,” the letter added.
Twitter told advertisers in an investor filing on May 2 that “we have no planned changes to our commitment to brand safety” but that the company “cannot speculate on changes Elon Musk may make post closing.”
Musk, however, began tweeting that he wants to find out who exactly is behind this boycott movement.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” the billionaire tweeted.
When one Twitter user suggested that an organization related to George Soros will likely be one of the groups behind the boycott, Musk replied, “I will call him and ask.”
I will call him and ask
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 3, 2022
Musk then tweeted again, “George, please slide into my DMs!”
The New York Post reported that the organizations behind the letter are also backed by “former Clinton operatives,” the European Union and the Canadian government.
“Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter will further toxify our information ecosystem and be a direct threat to public safety, especially among those already most vulnerable and marginalized,” the letter said.
They also warned that Musk will turn Twitter into a place for disinformation to thrive.
“Under Musk’s management, Twitter risks becoming a cesspool of misinformation, with your brand attached, polluting our information ecosystem in a time where trust in institutions and news media is already at an all-time low,” the letter said.
Musk has been vocal throughout his process of buying Twitter that he wants to make changes to the platform and promote free speech.
In a statement after officially buying the social media giant, Musk said that “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” NPR reported.
The billionaire also said that Twitter has “tremendous potential” he can’t wait to unlock, CNBC reported.
But clearly, not everyone is thrilled about how Musk may go about unlocking Twitter’s potential. It remains to be seen how major brands will respond to changes on the platform and what they will do about their advertising on the platform.