Some Twitter users aren’t waiting until Elon Musk takes over to start breaking the rules.
A host of accounts began tweeting verboten statements such as “Rachel Levine is a man” and “Lia Thomas is a guy” after Monday’s announcement that Twitter had agreed to sell the company to Mr. Musk for an estimated $44 billion.
Twitter has locked out numerous conservative figures, including the Babylon Bee, Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk, and Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance, for violating its policy against “hateful conduct,” which includes the “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender people.”
Those accounts apparently remained frozen Tuesday. Fox host Tucker Carlson was able to tweet Monday after a monthlong suspension, but it was unclear why he was able to access his account.
Other potentially problematic tweets making the rounds included “Trump won,” “Hydroxychloroquine works,” “Boys can’t become girls,” “Men can’t get pregnant,” and “There are two genders.”
Among those pushing the limits was BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales, whose tweets included “Covid was created by a lab in China” and “Climate change is a hoax.”
Such comments could still have consequences.
Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person, plans to take the company private, but it may be months before the deal is completed and the management changes. The company is still listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
A self-described “free speech absolutist,” the Tesla CEO is expected to loosen the moderation on the platform, which critics argue has been used to censor conservatives and restrict mainstream debate on legitimate political issues.
Let’s see if free speech is back. Lia Thomas is a man!
— Alaskan2A. (Brilliant/Handsome) (@AAlaskan2) April 25, 2022
Men are male, women are female. You can’t magically change your gender just by stating it #ElonMuskBuyTwitter #FreeSpeech
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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