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Transcript/Script Midterms-Twitter Chaos (TV, R)
HEADLINE: As Midterm Elections Near, Twitter Turmoil Raises Misinformation Concerns
TEASER: A self-described “free-speech absolutist,” tech billionaire Elon Musk takes over Twitter
PUBLISHED AT: Monday, 11/07/22 at 10:45 pm
BYLINE: Tina Trinh
CONTRIBUTOR: Michelle Quinn
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR: Matt Dibble
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, SR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Zoom, Skype
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:42
VID APPROVED BY: wpm
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter comes as the U.S. holds midterm elections this week, with observers warning that online misinformation about the credibility of the electoral process can have real-world effects. Is Twitter, under Musk, ready? Tina Trinh reports.]]
((NARRATOR))
New Twitter owner Elon Musk used the social media platform Monday to tell his 114 million followers to vote for Republican candidates in Tuesday’s mid-term elections.
It’s the sort of advice he has given before as a Twitter user.
Now, as its chief, he is facing a crucial question: Will the service be a source of credible election news and information? Or will it be allowed to promote misinformation about the process?
Katie Harbath, a former director of public policy at Facebook, says it could be harder for Twitter to police electoral content since Musk laid off half its workforce last week.
[[For Radio: She spoke to VOA over Zoom]] ((Katie Harbath, Technology and Elections Expert)) ((Zoom)) “I would just be worried of people just believing stuff that might be on the platform because they couldn't take it down fast enough.” ((NARRATOR))
Twitter has long been both a go-to digital town square for up-to-the-minute information from credible news sources and a place that allows fake and anonymous accounts rife with falsehoods and hate speech. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Michael Edison Hayden.
((Michael Edison Hayden, Southern Poverty Law Center))
“The concern right now is that you have a site that is already filled with bad information. Extremists, extremists given credibility, that could get worse.”
((NARRATOR))
Upon taking ownership of the site, Musk tweeted, “the bird is freed,” a reference to Twitter’s logo and his long-held criticism that the company was too heavy-handed in policing speech, including in permanently suspending former President Donald Trump following the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Musk says that going forward, a “content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints” will determine major content decisions and account reinstatements.
Some users are celebrating Musk’s takeover as a return to Twitter’s roots as “the free speech wing of the free speech party.”
In contrast, uncertainty about Twitter’s direction has reportedly led some major consumer brands to put their Twitter advertising on hold. Musk says that is the result of unfair pressure.
((Elon Musk, Twitter CEO))
“I think frankly this is an attack on the First Amendment. If activist groups can pressure advertisers, upon which Twitter is fundamentally dependent, to suppress free speech, then that doesn’t seem right.”
((NARRATOR))
Legal analyst Faiza Patel says making the social media network profitable will mean rules.
[[FOR RADIO: She spoke to VOA over Skype]]
((Faiza Patel, Brennan Center for Justice)) ((Skype))
“Elon Musk hasn’t bought Twitter just to fritter it away. I assume he wants to make money from Twitter. And if he wants to make money from Twitter, he wants to keep advertising. And if he wants to keep advertisers, he has to make sure that content moderation rules are reasonable and that they are enforced.”
((NARRATOR)) Rules that are changing by the minute.
Tina Trinh, VOA News, New York
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateNovember 7, 2022 23:00 EST
Byline
Tina Trinh, VOA News, New York
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
