Throughout the rollercoaster of Elon Musk’s potential acquisition of Twitter, the Stop the Deal coalition has continually raised deep concerns about the devastating impact that Musk’s Twitter ownership would have on our information ecosystem, public safety and already fragile democracy. Tonight, after news broke that the deal has been finalized, The Stop the Deal Coalition released the following statement:
“Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter will make it an even more hate-filled cesspool, leading to irreparable real-world harm. Musk’s plans will leave the platform more vulnerable to security threats, rampant disinformation, and extremism just ahead of the midterm elections. Elon Musk has a thirst for chaos and utter disregard for anyone other than himself and should not own Twitter.
In the last few weeks Musk has waded into foreign diplomacy – including parroting Kremlin talking points about their invasion into Ukraine. He is accepting financing from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud and the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar – two countries run by repressive regimes. Elon Musk owning one of the world’s most powerful communication platforms is dangerous for us all. As Musk runs Twitter to the ground, let this serve as a warning to other platforms that they will be held accountable for ignoring public safety and dismantling the guardrails designed to protect our information ecosystem.
Background on the “Stop the Deal” coalition:
In June 2022, a diverse coalition of nonprofit advocacy organizations launched Stop The Deal – a multifaceted campaign designed to prevent Elon Musk’s hostile takeover of Twitter, and stave off the myriad harms to our information ecosystem that would inevitably stem from Musk running Twitter.
Founding members of the #StopTheDeal coalition:
- Accountable Tech
- Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH)
- Fair Vote UK
- Friends of the Earth
- GLAAD
- Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
- Media Matters for America
- MediaJustice
- MoveOn
- Public Citizen
- SumOfUs
- The Sparrow Project
- UltraViolet
