Elon Musk held a wide-ranging interview with the BBC on Twitter Spaces Tuesday night where he touched on the direction of his social media platform, labeling media organizations, battling misinformation and the future of Donald Trump on Twitter, among other topics.
On Labeling Media Outlets
Twitter recently blindsided NPR with a new label that has the media organization up in arms. But Twitter has since admitted that it got the label wrong.
DON'T MISS: Elon Musk Takes Drastic Step With New Twitter Label for Major Media Company
"We are adjusting the label to be accurate," Musk said of his company's recent initiative to label media outlets that accept government funding.
But the adjustment may be too little too late for NPR, which said that it will suspend its use of the platform. Twitter recently changed the NPR label to "Government-funded Media" from its previous label of "U.S. state-affiliated media."
Bringing Donald Trump Back
When asked whether Donald Trump should be allowed back on the platform, Musk was unequivocal.
"The point is that Twitter should be a town square that gives equal voice to the whole country and the whole world. It shouldn't be about partisan politics," Musk stated. "In order for something to serve as a town square it must accept views from all political persuasions. Free speech is meaningless unless you allow people I don't like to say things you don't like. Otherwise it's irrelevant."
Misinformation on Twitter
The reporters pushed back by asking whether Musk prioritizes free speech over regulating disinformation or hate speech on Twitter.
"Who's to say that something is misinformation. Who is the arbiter of that? Is it the BBC," Musk retorted.
"I think there's less [misinformation] these days because we've eliminated so many of the bots that were pushing spam. The previous administration ignored the bots because their compensation was tied to user growth. We've also given a lot of attention to Community Notes which, using the community itself, corrects misinformation."
