US President Joe Biden on Friday said that Elon Musk purchased a social media platform Twitter that spews lies around the world. Speaking at a fundraiser, Biden said "And now what are we all worried about: Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends - that spews lies all across the world... There are no editors anymore in America. There are no editors. How do we expect kids to be able to understand what is at stake?" Elon Musk who acquired Twitter in October laid off half of its workforce on Friday. He said that the cuts were smaller in the team responsible for preventing the spread of misinformation, as advertisers pulled spending amid concerns about content moderation.
Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden had been clear about the need to reduce hate speech and misinformation. "That belief extends to Twitter, it extends to Facebook and any other social media platforms where users can spread misinformation," she said. Musk has promised to restore free speech while preventing Twitter from descending into a "hellscape." But major advertisers have expressed apprehension about his takeover for months.
Musk on Saturday defended his decision of laying off employees from Twitter and said that there was no choice as the microblogging site is losing over $4 million a day. "Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately, there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day.
Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required," Musk tweeted. On Friday, according to an unsigned internal memo seen by The Verge, Twitter employees were notified in an email that the layoffs were set to begin. Earlier this week, Musk announced a new version of "Twitter Blue" where he planned to charge USD 8 a month for Twitter's subscription service with priority in replies, mentions, and searches.
(With Reuters Inputs)