Elon Musk accused of 'throttling' free speech after Twitter vows to limit reach ... trends now
Twitter boss Elon Musk has sensationally claimed staff working under him 'made a mistake' when they reneged on an agreement to air a Daily Wire-funded documentary Thursday over claims it 'misgenders' trans people.
Earlier in the day, Musk - currently out of the country - was accused of flouting free speech for pulling the deal, which pertains to a planned airing of Matt Walsh's polarizing What Is a Woman.
Laid bare by the conservative publication's CEO in a barrage of tweets, Twitter's qualms with the 95-minute film stem from instances staffers, upon viewing, categorized as 'misgendering', which goes against the site's terms of service.
However, taking notice of the saga overseas was Musk -who seemed to suggest he had no knowledge of his workers' decision, and even fundamentally disagreed.
That said, the new Twitter CEO's statement addressing the matter was decidedly vague, leaving brass at the Daily Wire wondering if the deal was still on - after they were told it was off and the screening's reach would be limited on social media.
Elon Musk has claimed staff working under him 'made a mistake' when they reneged on an agreement to air a Daily Wire documentary Thursday
The pulled deal pertains to Matt Walsh's polarizing What Is a Woman documentary - which Twitter brass, after agreeing to air it for free Thursday at 8pm in honor of it being a year since its release, are now saying contains instances of 'misgendering'
This was a mistake by many people at Twitter,' Musk, 44, tweeted from China in reply to posts from The Daily Wire's CEO, Jeremy Boering.
'It is definitely allowed. Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.'
Musk quickly added that while he does not believe 'misgendering' - a term that refers to the intentional or accidental use of a person's non-preferred pronouns - is a hangable offense, it is still uncouth, at least by his standards.
'I should note that I do personally use someone’s preferred pronouns, just as I use someone’s preferred name, simply from the standpoint of good manners,' Musk wrote shortly after Boering laid bare the bizarre saga online.
'However, for the same reason, I object to rude behavior, ostracism or threats of violence if the wrong pronoun or name is used.'
Boreing - who launched The Daily Wire with fellow founder Ben Shapiro back in 2015 - minutes late offered up a befuddled response, asking for clarification on the planned Twitter Spaces screening, and their now-up-in-the air partnership.
'I appreciate the reply,' Boreing, also 44, wrote in response to Musk's tweet, which within the span of an hour had been viewed millions of times.
The exec went on to cite that a series of test posts containing scenes Twitter staffers had deemed problematic 'were indeed labeled “hateful conduct”' with their share functions disabled.
'We are trying to reach your team to determine what this means for those posts, whether or not our event tonight will be allowed to proceed unencumbered, and whether or not we will be allowed to purchase the live event page and reach block as originally agreed,' Boreing explained.
Meanwhile, Musk's statement on the matter was decidedly vague, leaving CEO Jeremy Boreing - who unveiled the bizarre saga in a barrage of tweets a few hours earlier - wondering if the deal was still on
'I appreciate your view of polite behavior, but our business is to debate public policy and philosophy,' he continued.
'As such, we have an obligation to speak in ways consistent with our position. Our hope is that Twitter remains a place where we are free to do so.'
Musk, who took over Twitter late last year, has yet to reply.
Twitter - once thought to be a haven for First Amendment revelers following Musk's $44billion takeover last year - recently removed 'misgendering' from their terms of service, but in statements to The Daily Wire, claimed that to be a misunderstanding.
Clarifying their decision, staffers reportedly told Boreing they simply removed their pronoun policy to streamline their hate-speech related policies.
With Musk away on a surprise trip to China - and the 2012 film set to air for free on Twitter's Spaces in honor of its first anniversary - staffers explained they still consider 'misgendering' abuse and harassment, and would not be airing it as agreed.
'They gave us the opportunity to edit the film to comply,' Boering revealed Thursday in one of several tweets just hours ahead from the agreed air time of 8pm ET,
'We declined.'
In the barrage of posts, the 44-year-old Texan revealed it was two scenes in particular that resulted in
