by Elon Musk gave his 120 million Twitter followers on Sunday to Dr. He said that Anthony Fauci should be tried criminally, and echoed the speeches of far-right conspiracy theorists with whom he has increasingly allied on the platform.
“My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” tweeted New Twitter owner whose message mocks the use of pronouns.
The attack came as Fauci, the country’s top immunologist, was preparing to step down from his role in overseeing the country’s COVID-19 response. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and has served in the public health field for fifty years.
Musk didn’t provide any explanation for his message, but followed up with a previous tweet posting a meme mocking past coronavirus lockdowns. his tweet received support From far-right Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R). Until it was reactivated under Musk, Greene’s personal account was permanently suspended from Twitter for spreading misinformation about COVID-19. She also advocated against transgender acceptance and equality, she.
Fauci has faced intense backlash for advocating for COVID-19 vaccines, including death threats and social imperatives, including the use of masks aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. More than 1 million people in the US have died from the virus since the beginning of 2020.
Musk has increasingly allied himself with right-wing commentators, such as those who defended against Fauci. After acquiring Twitter, it removed a company policy against the spread of COVID-19-related misinformation and granted an “amnesty” to users whose accounts were frozen, including for posting hate speech and inciting violence. These accounts include neo-Nazis and former President Donald Trump, who was banned from the platform for inciting the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Musk’s attack on Fauci also comes amid weeks of turmoil after his Twitter takeover, including a study that found a massive employee exit, slowing ad revenue, a surge in fake “verified” accounts, and an increase in racial slurs on the site.
After founding members of Twitter’s Trust and Security Council resigned earlier this month, Musk responded by accusing them of refusing to take criminal action on child abuse. This was in response to a right-wing conspiracy theorist. saying ex-employees “all belong in jail.” Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded directly, describing the allegations as false.
Musk also accused Twitter’s former head of security, Yoel Roth, on Saturday of falsely supporting the sexualization of children online.
Musk accused Roth, who resigned last month, of advocating for kids to be able to use adult websites like Grindr for a PhD. thesis. according to a part of the thesis Shared by Musk, Roth argued that young adults will likely continue to use the link site even though it’s not safe or age-appropriate for them, so more protection should be added for them.
Roth did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Musk’s attack on Roth is reminiscent of the 2018 incident when the billionaire was sued after falsely calling a British cave explorer involved in rescuing Thai children trapped in a cavern “pedo man”. Musk argued in court that the explorer’s comment, which was an obvious response to Musk’s claim that he was only offering to help the rescue as a “PR stunt,” should not be taken literally.
Musk reportedly paid a private investigator $50,000 to find conciliatory information about the explorer.
The lawsuit against Musk ultimately went to waste.
