A senior Ukrainian official questioned Saturday whether Twitter can be more — or less — free under latest owner Elon Musk.
“Did the bird really get its freedom, or has it just moved to a latest cage?” Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted Saturday, noting Musk’s “unusual moderation” of the web site.
Musk has promised to champion free speech on the social media platform under his ownership, tweeting “the bird is freed” Thursday after completing his acquisition.
Twitter’s latest owner had drawn Kyiv’s ire earlier this month after he tweeted a poll that proposed a “Ukraine-Russia peace plan,” which stipulated that Crimea is ceded to Russia with water supply to the region assured, and the creation of a referendum under UN supervision to find out control of Russian-annexed regions. Fifty-nine percent of greater than 2.7 million respondents voted “no.”
Russia offered a more enthusiastic tone toward Musk’s latest position as Twitter’s owner, with Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, tweeting on Friday: “Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit that Starlink in Ukraine business.”
Starlink refers back to the hundreds of satellite-connected web devices operated by Musk’s SpaceX company, which have been a significant communication vital for the Ukrainian army.
With Post wires
