Even when tech billionaire Elon Musk took to Twitter, he slammed Indian-origin lawyer Vijaya Gadde for censoring particular stories related to the laptop of Hunter, son of US President Joe Biden, in the wake of the Capitol Hill violence.
Gadde, who has worked with Twitter since 2011, has been the chief executive officer of the microblogging platform overseeing trust and security, legal and public policy functions. She was also involved in decisions to remove former US President Donald Trump and ban political advertising on the platform.
Musk slammed the lawyer for suspending the account of the New York Post on Twitter. During the 2020 US presidential elections, the Post wrote an exclusive article about Hunter Biden’s laptop. The article has since been verified by multiple outlets, who initially dismissed the report as misinformation.
“Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a true story was clearly incredibly unfair,” Musk said in a tweet. Musk said this in response to podcast host Sagar NJT, who shared a Politico report that stated that Gadde, after Musk took over Twitter in a $44 billion deal, expressed concern over the future of the platform. reportedly had a tearful virtual meeting with his teams.
NJT tweeted, “Vijaya Gadde, the top censorship advocate on Twitter who made the world famous on Joe Rogan’s podcast and censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, is deeply upset about the Elon Musk acquisition.”
Musk had long been advocating for free speech on the platform, sparking apprehension for many as he feared the site would be left without rules.
“The overwhelming antibody response from those who fear free speech says it all,” Musk wrote on Twitter.
By “free speech” I simply mean that which is in conformity with the law. I am against censorship which goes far beyond the law. If people want less freedom of expression, they will ask the government to pass laws to that effect. Hence, going beyond the law is against the will of the people,” he explained.