Civil Rights Groups Urge Twitter Ad Boycott Over Donald Trump Return
Civil rights leaders are urging major advertisers to stay away from Twitter after Elon Musk, the company's new billionaire owner, reinstated former President Donald Trump over the weekend.
The activists say Musk broke promises he made to them in a closed-door meeting about hate speech and misinformation earlier this month. During the meeting, which included the heads of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and digital racial justice group Color of Change, Musk said he would create a “content moderation council” before he made any decisions to reinstate controversial accounts. He invited all of the civil rights groups in attendance to join.
Several weeks later, they say there's been no follow-up from Musk about the proposed council. The Tesla chief executive officer reinstated Trump's account based on the results of a Twitter poll posted by Musk himself.
“We got a commitment he wouldn't replatform anyone until he had a transparent process,” said Anti-Defamation League vice president Yael Eisenstat, who attended the meeting between Musk and the civil rights groups. “It is pretty clear that doing a Twitter poll is not a transparent process, especially because there's no information about who voted in the poll.”
Eisenstat said the ADL is “reevaluating” its relationship with Twitter, including its position on the company's trust and safety council, a panel that predated Musk's takeover.
Jessica Gonzalez, co-CEO of the digital rights group Free Press, said Musk has “gone back on every promise he made to civil-rights leaders and advertisers.”
“Musk either changed his mind or lied to civil rights leaders and advertisers,” Gonzalez said. “He is a reckless and erratic billionaire who puts his whims ahead of
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