Will Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter be good or bad for free speech?

According to a study by the Angus Reid Institute, just 39% of Canadians believe that Elon Musk buying Twitter would be good for free speech.

53% of Canadians believe instead believe that Musk’s purchase of Twitter would cause an increase in the spreading of hate speech and misinformation on the platform.

“Human rights groups expressed concern that if Musk’s purchase of Twitter goes through, hate speech may proliferate on Twitter. Amnesty International expressed concern that a Musk-owned Twitter would roll back content moderation of violent and abusive speech by users on its platform. While free speech is of importance to the company, the tension between allowing personal expression and mitigating harmful hate speech and misinformation has been a challenge for all social media platforms in recent years.”

—Angus Reid Institute

Liberal (74%) and NDP (70%) voters were most likely to believe that Musk’s Twitter takeover would be bad for free speech. Conservative voters were the least likely to say the same, at 34%.

“In the United States, Republicans were quick to cheer Musk’s potential acquisition of Twitter, believing it would be good for free speech.”

—Angus Reid Institute

Free Speech or Free Fall? Half in Canada say Musk buying Twitter will lead to more misinformation on the platformhttps://t.co/iSoSkhVyuq pic.twitter.com/OoncWrOBiY

— Angus Reid Institute (@angusreidorg) June 6, 2022

This article was originally published on June 6 and updated on Oct. 29, 2022.

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