Source: The Daily Dot
On Wednesday, May 25, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk took to Twitter to slam Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. This was following a report claiming that the billionaire philanthropist giving millions into attacking Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition deal.
According to far-right publication Breitbart News, millions and millions of dollars went from Gates’ foundations towards about 11 to 26 organisation. Reportedly, these organisations were one to sign ‘an open letter’ in April urging advertisers on Twitter ‘to boycott the company’ if Musk successfully ‘restores free speech’ on the social media platform.
The report presented an analysis of the public filings that showed how the hundreds of dollars came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the letter signatories. They cited this analysis and research from the Foundation for Freedom (FFO). Cumulatively, stated the report, about 11 from the 2’6 anti-Musk organisations’ got their funding from an organisation that was ‘Gates-backed.’ To this, Musk responded saying ‘What a d*** move!’
Moreover, the billionaire CEO even responded to a follower saying ‘You think that’s bad, wait until you find out what he put in your vaccine.’
According to the analysis from FFO, Gates Foundations gave about 102 separate cash grants to or through the New Venture Fund. This took the total to $457 million.
The tweet from Musk:
What a dick move!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 24, 2022
Moreover, staffers of Clinton, Obama and Soros shot off anti-Musk letter to boycott Twitter. Late on Wednesday, reports regarding the groups behind the Anti-Musk campaign after a tweet from Musk. In it, Musk said that whoever funds ‘these organisations’ looking to control users’ ‘access to information.’ The report stated how these groups funding the organisations mainly comprise ‘wealthy Democrat donors,’ along with their ‘family foundations, labour unions, and the governments of European nations.
Earlier in May, various signed a letter to advertisers on Twitter requesting to boycott the social media platform in case Musk brings about changes based on content moderation. These signatories also included 26 activist organisations, along with NGOs. Subsequently, revelations showed how some of these groups were funded or connected to former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
In the letter, the groups noted how Musk’s acquisition of the platform go on to ‘toxify’ their ‘information ecosystem’ even more. Additionally, prove to be a ‘direct threat to public safety,’ mainly among the people who are already significantly ‘vulnerable and marginalised.’
“Under Musk’s management, Twitter risks becoming a cesspool of misinformation, with your brand attached, polluting our information ecosystem in a time where trust in institutions and news media is already at an all-time low,” the groups wrote
As we know, the Tesla CEO has currently put the Twitter acquisition deal on temporary hold. This is till the social media company discloses the actual figure of the total number of fake and bot accounts on Twitter.
