Elon Musk jokes Twitter would have censored Paul Revere, criticizes for ‘squashing dissenting opinions’
Tesla founder Elon Musk skewered Twitter leadership with a humorous fake Tweet depicting historic American Paul Revere getting fact-checked after tweeting “The British are coming!”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}World-famous industrialist billionaire and possible future owner of Twitter Elon Musk slammed the platform's current leadership with a humorous tweet on July 4, then agreed with another user bemoaning Jordan Peterson's suspension by saying the company's "going way too far in squashing dissenting opinions."
Musk appeared to get into the spirit of Independence Day by sharing a fake Tweet depicting "Twitter in 1775" where iconic American historical figure Paul Revere was fact-checked by Twitter for saying, "The British are coming, the British are coming!" The fake tweet depicted a misinformation label reading, "Learn how British taxes are beneficial for society."
Revere is most remembered for his famous ride from Boston the night of April 18, 1775, warning local militia of approaching British forces who had intended to destroy military supplies in Concord. The following morning, on April 19, the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place and the Revolutionary War began.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Elon Musk’s Twitter account is displayed on the screen of an iPhone. (Photo illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images)
Another Twitter user responded to Musk with a similar fake tweet from Greek philosopher Socrates, who was famously poisoned by the Greek government for criticizing the ruling elite of his own time. The tweet showed Socrates theorizing, "I dunno man, I’m beginning to think that maybe the Ruling Elite aren’t as wise as they claim to be," and featured a similar spoof of a Twitter fact-check alert, reading, "Learn more about how Socrates is corrupting the youth of Athens."
The user sharing the image responded to Musk’s tweet by suggesting his image had the "Same energy," before segueing to ask, "BTW, did you see that [Jordan B. Peterson] was recently banned from the bird app? Strange times..."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Musk responded by observing, "Yeah, they’re going way too far in squashing dissenting opinions."
Twitter had reportedly suspended clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan B. Peterson last week after he ran afoul of its rules in a tweet about transgender actor Elliot Page.
Jordan B. Peterson at The Cambridge Union on Nov. 2, 2018, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. (Photo by Chris Williamson/Getty Images)
TWITTER, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE HAVE REPEATEDLY CENSORED CONSERVATIVES DESPITE LIBERAL DOUBTS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Commentator Dave Rubin tweeted at the time, "The insanity continues at Twitter. @jordanbpeterson has been suspended for this tweet about Ellen Page. He just told me he will ‘never’ delete the tweet. Paging @elonmusk…"
Rubin has reportedly been suspended from Twitter this week as well. He claimed in a statement, "I have been suspended by Twitter for posting a screenshot of Jordan Peterson’s tweet which got he himself suspended."
Rubin also expressed hope that Musk's potential acquisition of Twitter "goes through so he can blow up their servers and humanity can move past this pervasive, twisted, self-imposed mental institution."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dave Rubin is seen on the set of "Candace" on April 28, 2021, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Musk has been a figure that people appeal to when they encounter censorship on the platform because of his battle to acquire Twitter, which appears to have been prodded by the platform’s history of censorship.