Linda Yaccarino, the new CEO of Elon Musk’s Twitter/X, has boasted during a new interview that she has overseen measures to censor the American people on the platform.
Yaccarino, who has long-held links to the globalist World Economic Forum (WEF), told the Financial Times that the social media platform is now “successfully” censoring “lawful but awful” speech.
According to Yaccarino, X is censoring the conditionally protected speech of Americans if their words fall into the vague category of “awful.”
During her interview with the outlet, Yaccarino appears to flip-flop on her positions regarding the First Amendment.
At some points, she echoes Musk’s championing of free speech.
Other times, however, she would suggest that censoring people is a positive thing if it fits a certain agenda.
When the subject of free speech was brought up, she would also often try to divert the conversation away by promoting other aspects of Twitter’s business plans.
This oscillation between defending free speech and avoiding the subject has drawn scrutiny, however.
It raises questions about the possible politicization of free speech and the role of tech giants in shaping public discourse.
“How is freedom of speech politicized?” Yaccarino asked during the interview, apparently perplexed by the concept.
“It is one of the foundational core values of what this country was formed on, so I don’t really understand how that’s a political issue.
“I think that would be something everyone, no matter what your opinions are, would agree on.”
However, Yaccarino also repeated the contentious phrase “freedom of speech, not reach” during the interview.
Yaccarino’s use of the phrase is something that she has already been widely criticized for.
The comment suggests that X will not allow free speech, but will instead have control over which voices are heard and which are not.
As we’ve seen time and again, once these mechanisms are handed over to “woke” moderators, the system quickly becomes corrupted.
Yaccarino also repeated the equally contentions idea of X restricting what it considers to be “lawful but awful” speech.
In the interview, Yaccarino gloated that X is “successfully” restricting “awful” speech, even if it doesn’t break any laws.
She did not explain what constitutes “awful,” nor did she reveal who decides what qualifies as such.
Yaccarino’s conflicting statements have come amidst rising debates over censorship and the rights of individuals to express their viewpoints openly.
X owner Elon Musk, the tech magnate known for his eclectic political affiliations, was previously a vocal Democrat supporter.
However, despite describing himself as a centrist, he now aligns with and supports Republicans and prominent conservatives, such as Tucker Carlson.
The apparent change in Musk’s affiliations has heightened discussions around whether freedom of speech is increasingly becoming a politicized concept.
It’s a question that Yaccarino claims she struggles to process.
She was questioned about the establishment of a “content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.”
The proposal was made by Musk during his initial tenure as CEO.
Yaccarino responded with unfamiliarity, stating, “That is news to me.
“You’re the first person that mentioned that.”
This controversy emerged shortly after Yaccarino’s reputedly fruitful meeting with the leftist head of ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt.
The ADL has been increasingly calling for more censorship on the platform.
However, Musk has threatened to sue the ADL for causing what he says is a drop in 60% of its advertising revenue.
Musk claims X lost major advertisers after the ADL pressured companies to suspend advertising on the platform.
Both Yaccarino and Greenblatt have publicly described their meeting as productive.
“The issue that’s being debated is not about supporting ADL’s mission to fight antisemitism,” Yaccarino clarifies.
“We’re all in on fighting antisemitism.
“The issue is about the ADL misrepresenting or not addressing the progress that we’ve made in our ongoing efforts.”
In anticipation of the critical 2024 presidential election, Yaccarino is intensifying efforts to guard against manipulation and the prominence of inauthentic accounts.
She says the company will be maintaining stringent surveillance of the platform to thwart emerging threats.
Whether any vital information will be blocked on the platform during the election remains to be seen.
