Elon Musk’s X Pushes Back After Turkey Orders Block of Over 700 Accounts Amid Free Speech Backlash
Key Takeaways
- Turkey’s authorities have called on X to remove the accounts of over 700 individuals and organizations.
- The social media platform has refused to comply with the demand, slamming the request as “unlawful.”
- Elon Musk has long described himself as a “free speech absolutist.”
Elon Musk’s X has refused to comply with a call from Turkish authorities to close over 700 accounts on the platform following mass unrest following the arrest of the President’s opposition.
Ekrem İmamoğlu, mayor of Istanbul and prominent opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was arrested over corruption charges, leading to widespread protests across the country.
X’s pushback on the calls highlights the complex relationship Musk and his social media platform have with balancing free speech with national legal requirements.
X Pushes Back
On Monday, Turkish authorities called for the deletion of over 700 accounts on X, including those of teachers, news organizations, journalists, and political figures.
“We object to multiple court orders from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority to block over 700 accounts of news organizations, journalists, political figures, students, and others within Türkiye,” X’s communication team said in a statement.
The platform said it was committed to defending “everyone’s right to free speech” and that the decision from the Turkish government was “unlawful.”
“We look forward to defending these principles through the legal system. X will always defend freedom of speech everywhere we operate,” X said.
Censorship Balancing Act
Musk has long advocated for free speech and displayed strong views on censorship, which were controversially transferred to X after he purchased it in 2022.
After gaining ownership, the Tesla CEO immediately began reversing high-profile bans and suspensions under its former leadership, including Andrew Tate and Kanye West.
His approach was based on his self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” stance, emphasizing fewer content restrictions and more openness to controversial viewpoints.
The backlash saw a massive stream of advertisers pulling out of the site and an increase in hate speech circulating the platform.
However, X’s approach to censorship has so far been inconsistent.
In Brazil, X initially refused to comply with government orders to remove certain accounts, which led to the platform’s suspension in the country.
The social media platform was forced to pay fines totaling 28 million reais ($5.1 million) and appoint a local representative in the country.
The platform has also previously complied with content suppression orders in India and Turkey.
“Free Speech Absolutist”
Musk’s self-identification as a “free speech absolutist” has been criticized as hypocritical by critics.
One of the most contradictory moments came in January when an investigative reporter who debunked a conspiracy theory about Musk was banned from X.
The conspiracy theory claimed that Musk was using a burner account named Adrian Dittmann to post constant praise about himself.
Jacqueline Sweet, a reporter for the conservative magazine The Spectator World, shared her in-depth article dispelling the theory about Musk.
Sweet was suspended from the platform days later, with links to her article now including a warning label of “violent or misleading content.”
Hours after the article was first published, Musk seemingly confirmed that he had read it after posting a cryptic message on X: “I am Adrian Dittmann. It’s time the world knew.”
In the first six months of 2024, X suspended 5.3 million accounts, compared to 1.6 million in the first half of 2022 — marking a three times larger increase of bans since Musk bought the platform.
