The Twitter CEO refused to censor the ex-Russian president, explaining that people should decide for themselves whether he can be trusted
Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building on January 24, 2023 in San Francisco, California. © Justin Sullivan / Getty Images / AFP
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has rejected calls to crack down on the account of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after the latter posted that Ukraine would eventually vanish from the world map.
One user asked the billionaire why he allowed “Russian leaders back on the platform” and why he did not abide by the Western sanctions while attaching Medvedev’s tweet. In a post, the ex-Russian president claimed that Ukraine would sooner or later disappear because neither the global community nor its own citizens have a need for it.
“All news is to some degree propaganda. Let people decide for themselves,” Musk replied on Sunday. Later, he also tweeted that the social media platform “will neither promote nor limit their [Russian officials’] accounts, but we will rapidly address any attempts at gaming the system.”
“It is a weak move to engage in censorship just because others do so. Letting our press be free when theirs is not demonstrates strength,” he added.
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In April 2022, after Moscow started its military campaign against Ukraine, Twitter slapped restrictions on Russian state-affiliated accounts, including the Kremlin official account.
At the time, the social media platform said it would “not amplify or recommend government accounts belonging to states that limit access to free information and are engaged in armed interstate conflict.”
Russia blocked Twitter in early March 2022 after the nation’s media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, accused the platform of spreading misinformation about the Ukraine conflict.
