Steve Jurvetson/NBA (DR)
Very active on social media, LeBron James apparently got wind of the Twitter takeover by billionaire Elon Musk. The Lakers superstar soon gave his opinion on the matter, in part with a big plea to the businessman.
This has been a topic that has made regular headlines in the news over the past few months, due in part to various turns of events. Very interested in the idea of buying Twitter, Elon Musk finally abandoned it in the summer after the company’s value fell, as well as after rumors of manipulation on his part. However, the multi-billionaire has taken a new turn as he himself recently confirmed the acquisition of the platform:
bird released
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
The bird is released
Among the main actions of the founder of the Tesla dealership, we find that he made Twitter a space that promotes free thinking and all kinds of speeches. The only problem is that this also includes unblocking accounts deemed hateful or promoting violence, especially among the far right. In particular, it was about the reactivation of the account of former US President Donald Trump, who was banned from the network in January 2021 after the riots in the Capitol.
LeBron’s big request for Elon Musk
However, such a decision would not please NBA players, the vast majority of whom were clearly against Trump’s policies during his tenure as head of state. First of all, we think of LeBron James, who was regularly criticized by the real estate mogul, even advising him to become a woman. That his account might be up and running again logically worries the king, which is why he made a clear request to Elon Musk after the Twitter takeover announcement. Whether this will be heard remains to be seen.
I don’t know Elon Musk, and frankly, I don’t give a damn who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope that he and his people will take it very seriously, because it is scary. So many damn inappropriate people say that hate speech is free speech. https://t.co/Sy0jvXIBnC
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 29, 2022
I don’t know Elon Musk and to be honest I don’t care who owns Twitter. But I would say that if this measure is confirmed, I hope that he and his team will take it very seriously, because it’s scary as hell. There are so many inappropriate people who are of the opinion that hate speech is included in freedom of expression.
Without directly quoting the Donald Trump case, with whom he has major disagreements, LeBron James’ request to Elon Musk seems clear and simple. Be careful not to give too much space to hate speech on Twitter, in particular by speaking out on far-right supporters.