Twitter's former trust and safety head says it might be hard for Elon Musk to understand the impact of his tweets because he's 'the richest man on the planet'
Getty Images
- Former Twitter executive Yoel Roth said Musk's wealth might stop him from seeing the "consequences" of his tweets.
- While some have celebrated Musk's leadership at Twitter, others have raised alarms about his power.
- Since taking over Twitter, Musk has sent several tweets containing inaccurate information.
Elon Musk's former lieutenant at Twitter said that Musk's extreme wealth might result in his inability to assess the "consequences" of his tweets.
Yoel Roth, who was Twitter's former head of trust & safety until earlier this month, spoke at the Knight Foundation's "Informed" conference on Tuesday about Musk's use of the platform.
"I think when you are the richest person on the planet, you don't always have a perspective of what life is like for other people, especially when it comes to safety and security," Roth said.
"That's the core of what the work of trust and safety is. How do you understand and empathize with the problems and the harms and the risks that can come to people whose lived experience is quite different from your own," he added.
While many Twitter users have celebrated Musk's leadership style at Twitter since he took over the company in late October, others have warned that Musk may be opening the floodgates to increased inaccuracies on the platform. For example, earlier this week, Twitter announced it would stop enforcing its COVID-19 misinformation policy.
Since taking over Twitter, Musk has sent several tweets containing false information, including a fake CNN headline and baseless allegations about the recent attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, which he later deleted.
"I think it may be hard to understand the consequences that his tweets can have for the people he targets," Roth said.
Roth said there is power in rallying online communities, using former President Donald Trump as an example.
"When you have 111 million Twitter followers, everything that you tweet out can mobilize exactly some of those same people," he said.
Trump was suspended from Twitter for risking "further incitement of violence" after riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. However, his account was reinstated this month at Musk's direction.
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/lPMjro5
No comments