Twitter owner Elon Musk met with civil rights leaders Tuesday — here's what happened

Days aft closing his $44 cardinal acquisition of Twitter, Elon Musk faced unit from heads of civilian rights groups to disallow galore users who had been banned from the level from returning, and to springiness institution staffers entree to the tools indispensable to combat election-related misinformation.

Leaders of the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Color of Change, Asian American Foundation and Free Press, a media betterment advocacy group, spoke with Musk successful an astir hour-long Zoom telephone connected Tuesday, 1 week earlier the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, helped signifier the telephone aft speaking with Musk previously, and took portion successful the meeting, according to 3 of the attendees.

Some of the organizations represented person co-signed an unfastened letter to Twitter's advertisers to promote them to "cease each advertizing connected Twitter globally if helium [Musk] follows done connected his plans to undermine marque information and assemblage standards including gutting contented moderation."

Bloomberg reported that immoderate employees had been frozen retired of their entree to tools utilized for contented moderation and argumentation enforcement, which could interaction the company's quality to destruct misinformation connected Election Day. Yoel Roth, Twitter's caput of information and integrity, defended the determination arsenic "exactly what we (or immoderate company) should beryllium doing successful the midst of a firm modulation to trim opportunities for insider risk." He said Twitter is inactive enforcing its rules.

After the telephone with civilian rights groups, Musk tweeted that users who've been banned from Twitter for violating its rules — a radical that includes erstwhile President Donald Trump — volition not person the accidental to instrumentality to the level for astatine slightest different fewer weeks. Prior reports suggested Musk was readying to let radical who'd been kicked disconnected Twitter for disciplinary reasons to travel back.

Musk told the radical that helium plans to clasp and enforce Twitter's predetermination integrity measures, and unit volition person entree to the indispensable tools by the extremity of this week, Free Press CEO Jessica Gonzalez, who was connected the call, said successful an interview.

Michael Kives, a longtime Musk ally, was besides connected the call, according to the participants. Kives' firm, K5 Global, has backed SpaceX and The Boring Company, 2 of Musk's different companies.

Musk was the lone Twitter typical connected the call. Neither Musk nor Kives, who reportedly worked arsenic a spokesperson for erstwhile President Bill Clinton, instantly responded to requests for comment.

Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, told CNBC connected Wednesday that helium urged Musk to instrumentality a accordant process for letting radical backmost onto Twitter.

Robinson said helium "spoke to him [Musk] astir the folks that had incited unit and the connection that it sends some to conscionable replatform them without a precise wide and transparent process." He besides said that, erstwhile it allows radical to return, Twitter should "take accountability, not conscionable for what these folks do, but to the connection it sends their followers."

Trump, who was banned aft the Jan. 6 insurrection connected the U.S. Capitol, wasn't mentioned by sanction connected the call, attendees said. But Derrick Johnson, CEO of the NAACP, said the radical told Musk, "there are immoderate radical whose offenses are truthful egregious that they should ne'er beryllium allowed backmost connected the platform." Johnson added, referring to Trump, that "I would anticipation that he's ne'er placed backmost connected the level due to the fact that we'd each beryllium successful danger."

Musk said earlier helium finalized his acquisition of Twitter that it was a "mistake" to permanently prohibition Trump from the platform. But aft the woody was completed, Musk rapidly moved to reassure advertisers that Twitter would not go a "free-for-all hellscape" conscionable due to the fact that helium favors much lenient contented moderation policies.

Musk told advertisers helium acquired Twitter due to the fact that helium believes it's "important to the aboriginal of civilization to person a communal integer municipality square, wherever a wide scope of beliefs tin beryllium debated successful a steadfast manner, without resorting to violence."

The Tesla CEO said helium plans to make a council astatine Twitter that volition assistance reappraisal its contented moderation approach. He said the radical "will see representatives with wide divergent views, which volition surely see the civilian rights assemblage and groups who look hate-fueled violence."

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