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Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James responded Saturday to a reported spike in hate speech on Twitter since Elon Musk took over the platform on Thursday.
James was responding to a report by The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell, Taylor Lorenz, and Cat Zakrzewski that detailed the findings of a research group called the Network Contagion Research Institute. The NCRI said the use of the N-word on Twitter rose nearly 500 percent in the 12 hours after Musk took over.
LeBron tweeted the following, urging Musk and Twitter to take the information seriously:
LeBron James @KingJames
I don’t know Elon Musk and honestly I don’t care who owns Twitter. But I will say if that is true then I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many bloody inept people say hate speech is free speech. https://t.co/Sy0jvXIBnC
CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan and Clare Duffy reported Thursday that Musk had inked a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.
Musk, a 51-year-old native of South Africa and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been outspoken in support of freedom of expression, leading some Twitter users to brace for the return of notable suspended accounts, such as that of the former US President Donald Trump who was AWAY from the platform in 2021 “due to risk of further incitement to violence” following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
It has also led to questions about whether accounts that have been banned for racist rhetoric will be allowed back, or whether accounts using racist language will still be allowed to do so.
In response to questions about the future of Twitter, Musk noted that a Content Moderation Council will be established:
Elon Musk @elonmusk
Twitter will form a Content Moderation Council with very different viewpoints.
No major content decisions or account restorations will be made prior to the convening of this council.
Musk also noted that no decisions regarding the possible reinstatement of accounts have been made and have not been made any changes have been made the platform’s content moderation policy.
Regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time, James has 52.3 million followers on Twitter, making him one of the most influential users of the platform.
Regardless of Musk’s plans for Twitter, LeBron’s concerns over his acquisition will no doubt be brought to his attention.