The European Commission fears that Elon Musk – knowingly or not – is helping Russian President Vladimir Putin after the takeover of social media Twitter. Since the takeover, Twitter employees have been fired or left en masse.
As a result, there may be less manpower to remove Putin’s propaganda from the platform, says Vera Jourova, vice president of the European Commission. The EU sees Twitter being “abused” because it fails to combat false or misleading content on the medium. Furthermore, the vice president also fears that Twitter acts as a ‘hub’ for Russian propaganda.
‘Musk wants to be seen as an aide to Ukraine’
“By not actively taking action against propaganda and removing disinformation, you are actively supporting the war,” Jourova said in an interview with Bloomberg. She thus sees that Musk’s takeover of Twitter may be “a difficult and perhaps even a dangerous undertaking” for the tech billionaire. “He just wants to be seen as someone who helps Ukraine,” Jourova refers to Starlink satellites that help the Ukrainian military and population with internet communication.
Also listen | Technical Update ‘EU warns Twitter about Russian propaganda’
More supervision
The richest man in the world has often been criticized by the EU. European Commissioner Thierry Breton (Internal Market) has also been scathing about the Twitter policy since Musk owns the medium. He thinks more oversight is needed on the platform in the area of freedom of expression and disinformation. Furthermore, Breton wants greater guarantees for the privacy of Twitter users.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
