Elton John quits Twitter over 'misinformation', here is what Elon Musk had to say

Prominent British singer, pianist, and composer Elton John on Friday said that he was quitting the microblogging site Twitter due to the platform's recent changes in its content moderation policies and inauthentic information circulating on the platform.

“I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked,” John wrote. Twitter has been marred by controversies of late, mostly for the antisemitic posts on the platform by American rapper Ye formerly known as Kanye West, and Kyrie Irving. Kanye was recently suspended from the platform. 

Twitter, just two weeks ago, announced that it will no longer enforce a policy to combat misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. “Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy,” a note on Twitter’s transparency pages read.

Over Twitter's content moderation and disinformation policies, many Hollywood personalities have quit the platform's use including singer Sara Bareilles, This Is Us executive producer Ken Olin, Billions showrunner Brian Koppelman, and Grey’s Anatomy producer Shonda Rhimes, Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Carrey, David Simon, Jamela Jamil, Trent Reznor, Gigi Hadid, Toni Braxton, Téa Leoni, Jack White, Liz Phair, Stephen Fry, Alex Winter, Ken Olin, and Playbill magazine.

'Any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?' asks Musk

John has been an outspoken critic of hate speech and disinformation for more than 20 years. He has sought to end the AIDS epidemic through his Elton John AIDS Foundation. “All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world,” he wrote in the tweet. 

As Elton John announced his departure from the platform, Elon Musk, Twitter's CEO, wrote: “I love your music. Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?”

Since his takeover in October, Elon Musk has faced widespread criticism over his handling of the social media platform, including policy changes and mass layoffs of the staff. Some of the key advertisers have also abandoned the platform. Musk was also ordered by EU’s commissioner for digital policy, Thierry Breton, that the platform needed to ensure that free speech did not violate rules, threatening the tech giant with a big fine or even a ban in the European Union.

While he casually reinstated some of the previously banned accounts for hate speech and violence such as former President Donald Trump's, Musk amid the backlash  tweeted in November, “New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.”