Since Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter became official on Thursday, there’s been no shortage of opinions on what it means and how he will change (or ruin) the way speech and censorship are handled on the social media site.
Many believe that Musk’s vision for Twitter is doomed for one reason or another. Some are sure that it’s destined to lose him billions of dollars as advertisers and users flee his “free speech” mandates. Others think that Twitter was already on its way down as “heavy users” have been leaving in droves for years now. And others still think Musk will simply get bored after a while like he usually does with his pet projects.
NBA superstar LeBron James doesn’t appear to be among those angry at Musk’s purchase, but he is apparently upset with a reported rise in hate speech since Musk’s arrival, something many have worried about given the billionaire’s very public stance on allowing banned users like Donald Trump to return.
James took to Twitter on Saturday to share his concerns.
I dont know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech. https://t.co/Sy0jvXIBnC
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 29, 2022
LeBron quote-tweeted a tweet by Huffington Post editor Philip Lewis in which he reports on a “surge in the use of the N-word” on Twitter.
“I don’t know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter,” wrote the Los Angeles Lakers star. “But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech.”
Unfortunately, all signs point to Musk allowing that kind of speech on Twitter in the days ahead, so it’ll be interesting to see if James and other prominent athletes decide to leave the platform if and when it becomes untenable.
