OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
A reporter from the UK’s British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was caught ill-prepared for an interview with Twitter CEO and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.
The BBC journalist and tech reporter James Clayton claimed that there is a significant increase in “hate speech” on Twitter following Musk’s takeover, but couldn’t provide any evidence or a single example when pressed by Musk.
Clayton found himself caught in a web of lies. At one point, the British journalist argued that even “slightly” offensive speech should be banned. WATCH:
BBC ‘journalism’ at its finest 🤦🏻♂️
BBC Journo: “There’s been a rise in hatful content on Twitter.”@elonmusk: “Give me an example.”
Journo: “I can’t.”
Musk: “You just lied.” pic.twitter.com/wOfzn5vGfJ— Darren Grimes (@darrengrimes_) April 12, 2023
Clayton said, “We’ve spoken to people very recently who were involved in moderation and they just say there are not enough people to police this stuff, particularly around hate speech in the company. Is that something that you want to address?”
Musk responded, “What hate speech are you talking about? I mean, you use Twitter. Do you see a rise in hate speech? Just a personal anecdote.”
Clayton said, “Yeah, you know just, content will solicit a reaction that may include something slightly racist or sexist, those kinds of things.”
Musk responded, “Well, then how can you say you’ve seen more hateful content?”
One would imagine, if you are going to tackle one of the brightest people on the planet, about a company he has recently bought, that you’d come into the discussion at least semi-prepared. What a car wreck of an interview 🎪
— Mike Abel (@abelmike) April 12, 2023
“So then at some point, you must have seen hateful content,” Musk said. “I’m asking for one example and you can’t give a single one. I say sir that you don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Really?” Clayton asked.
“Yes because you cannot give me a single example of hateful content, not even one tweet. And yet you claimed that hateful content was high. That is false, you just lied.”
“One would imagine, if you are going to tackle one of the brightest people on the planet, about a company he has recently bought, that you’d come into the discussion at least semi-prepared,” one Twitter user said. “What a car wreck of an interview.”
