Twitter, Promised Not to Create Hell... Musk Deletes Tweet with Conspiracy Theory After Criticism

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla who acquired the social networking service (SNS) Twitter, spread a conspiracy theory on Twitter on the 30th (local time) mocking the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was recently attacked, but deleted it after facing criticism.

Just a few days after Twitter urged advertisers that it "will not become a hell for everyone," CEO Musk posted a conspiracy theory, reigniting market concerns.

According to The New York Times (NYT) and others, the incident began on the 28th when Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker Pelosi, was seriously injured by a blunt weapon wielded by David DePape, who broke into their San Francisco home. At the time, Speaker Pelosi was on a business trip in Washington D.C.

The next day, on the 29th, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shared a Los Angeles Times (LAT) article on Twitter stating that DePape was obsessed with fake news and conspiracy theories from right-wing media spreading hatred. Former Secretary Clinton criticized, "The Republican Party and its propaganda outlets are now habitually spreading hatred and conspiracy theories, resulting in violence," emphasizing that they must be held accountable.

In response, CEO Musk commented on this post, "There is a small possibility that there is more to the story than immediately apparent," and linked to a conspiracy theory article from the minor outlet 'Santa Monica Observer' related to the Paul Pelosi attack. This outlet claimed a conspiracy theory that Paul Pelosi was drinking and attempting homosexual acts when the accident occurred.

After this tweet caused controversy, it was deleted. The NYT reported, "It is unclear who deleted it." Bloomberg News stated that some of his supporters criticized the deletion of such tweets as a "concession to the left."

The Guardian pointed out that this tweet came amid concerns that hate speech would become more rampant on Twitter after Musk's acquisition. Bloomberg evaluated that by tweeting a conspiracy theory just three days after acquiring Twitter, Musk is increasing concerns that Twitter will not properly block misinformation and hate speech.

Earlier, on the 28th, CEO Musk announced that he would form a 'Content Oversight Board' within Twitter and discuss the restoration of banned accounts through this board. He said, "No significant decisions or account restorations will occur before this board is convened."