Elon Musk confirms misgendering 'allowed' on Twitter after site cancels right-wing documentary

01 June 2023

Billionaire and Twitter Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk publicly backed the use of anti-transgender rhetoric on the social media app Thursday.

Per the right-wing news outlet The Daily Wire, the site's Co-CEO Jeremy Boreing took to Twitter to share "Twitter canceled a deal with the conservative media company to stream its hit documentary 'What is a Woman?' for free on the social media platform due to 'misgendering.'"

Boreing railed against Twitter in a sixteen-tweet thread:

Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of 'misgendering.' I'm not kidding. Here's what happened:"

2/16 One year ago today, we released What is a Woman?. To celebrate the occasion and expand the movie’s already enormous impact, we decided to give it away for free for 24 hours on Twitter.

3/16 With Twitter's recent commitments to free speech, we thought it would be the perfect place to distribute the film and drive the conversation forward on one of the most important topics of our day.

4/16 Twitter responded with enthusiasm and offered us the opportunity to buy a package to host the movie on a dedicated event page and to promote the event to every Twitter user over the first 10 hours.

5/16 We accepted and signed an agreement. After we signed, Twitter asked to see the film to better understand what parts may 'trigger' users, so they could better prepare their response. They said they were still all hands on deck for launch, so we sent them a screener.

6/16 After reviewing the film, though, Twitter let us know that not only could we no longer purchase the package they offered, they would no longer provide us any support and would actually limit the reach of the film and label it as 'hateful conduct' because of 'misgendering.'

7/16 Specifically: In the film, a father refers to his 14-year-old daughter as 'her,' and a store owner uses the 'wrong' pronoun in a confrontation with a trans person.

8/16 We reminded Twitter they removed 'misgendering' from their policy, that the term 'misgendering' itself is misleading, and that enforcing such a policy places them on the side of the most radical elements in society - the side most opposed to their commitment to free speech.

9/16 Twitter clarified they only removed 'misgendering' from their policy because they didn’t need to be that specific, but that they still consider “misgendering” abuse and harassment. They gave us the opportunity to edit the film to comply. We declined.

10/16 When we asked how much they would limit the visibility if we posted the film anyway, Twitter replied that our own followers would not be able to see it in their feeds. This, they said, is part of their 'speech not reach' policy.

11/16 Of course, saying 'you have the right to speak, but we'll make sure no one hears you' is a bit like saying “you have the right to cast a vote, but we'll make sure it isn't counted.' That's not a right at all!

12/16 We brought all our shows to Twitter Tuesday because we believed Twitter was committed to free speech, especially on this issue. After all, the @TheBabylonBee was silenced on Twitter over this very issue, and that in part prompted @elonmusk to purchase the platform.

13/16 The other tech platforms have already decided where they stand in the trans debate and demonetize and deprioritize all those who disagree. Now, Twitter has joined the ranks of the other tech superpowers in ensuring one side of the debate is suppressed.

14/16 @elonmusk is not beholden to conservatives. He has the right to run his business as he sees fit. But if Twitter is going to throttle one side of one of the most important debates facing society, it cannot claim to champion free speech.

15/16 I hope @elonmusk will reconsider this awful policy. If we can't debate these issues on Twitter, where can we debate them? If conservatives aren't welcome on Twitter, where are they welcome? It’s unlikely another centibillionaire will come along to offer an alternative.

16/16 We plan to post the movie anyway tonight at 8:00 pm eastern. Will Twitter make good on their threat to throttle it and label it 'hateful conduct,' or will Twitter live up to its great promise? We'll all find out together.

Seth Dillion, the owner and Chief Executive Officer of the conservative site Babylon Bee, replied to Boreing's thread, saying, "In the interview we just released, Musk reaffirmed his commitment to free speech, saying there will be no compromise, even if it means lost revenue. He also said that Tucker Carlson's main concern was the possibility of censorship. Elon assured Tucker that lawful speech would not be censored. Tucker only announced he'd be bringing his show to Twitter after getting that assurance. Seems like someone over there hasn't gotten the free speech memo."

Musk also replied to Boreing, writing, "This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed. Whether or not you agree with using someone's preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws. I should note that I do personally use someone's preferred pronouns, just as I use someone’s preferred name, simply from the standpoint of good manners. However, for the same reason, I object to rude behavior, ostracism or threats of violence if the wrong pronoun or name is used."

The Daily Wire host Matt Walsh later tweeted, "What Is A Woman streams tonight at 8 ET. Elon says that the decision to label the film hate speech was a 'mistake by many people at Twitter.' But currently the clips from the film are still flagged and censored and all trends related to What Is A Woman are still being suppressed," before adding, "We will see what happens tonight."

In November, VICE News reported:

Musk's apparent embrace of the white supremacist community has already led to a rise in hate speech on the platform, and it’s about to get even darker. In far-right forums, extremists of all stripes are salivating at the prospect of being able to share their hateful ideologies on a platform with much greater reach when Musk reinstates accounts that were banned for spreading hate speech.

Furthermore, Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism told VICE News, "As soon as" Musk "took over Twitter, we saw extremists trying to exploit the platform, we've seen hate of all kinds increase, so these messages that he’s sending have to be understood in the context of what is happening to that platform. As it's becoming a hellscape for antisemitism and racism and bigotry, it just so happens that he is putting out the type of language that is appreciated by those who are doing that."

The Daily Wire's full report is available at this link. VICE News' report is here.

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