JERUSALEM, Israel – Many people hate big media’s rampant censoring, de-platforming and canceling of social media participants. Now they have great hope that Twitter CEO Elon Musk will display a much more tolerant respect for free speech.
However, a top Israeli tech journalist has doubts, both about Musk and about free speech that may not be as free as some may think. Hillel Fuld, the world’s 7th most popular tech blogger, believes Twitter’s a very big deal.
“I don’t think people realize how significant it is,” Fuld told CBN News. “I mean, you hear it on the news: this guy tweeted…that guy…politicians – that’s how they’re getting their message out,” he explained.
Fuld added, “Twitter, while it’s not as big in terms of users as Facebook, it is in my opinion the most significant platform in the social media world.”
So, he’s concerned as he watches new Twitter owner Elon Musk bumble at the start.
“I think – you look at some of the things he did – he fired a person in the company who’s in charge of access, physical access to the office. And he got locked out of the office because no one could open the door for him,” Fuld said.
Fuld says some of the things Musk is doing to protect free speech, especially on behalf of people who have been censored, is good. But he’s concerned about a lack of consistency.
“Because the Supreme Leader of Iran is on Twitter all day, calling for the genocide of Jews – like straight-up genocide of Jews – and he’s allowed on the platform. But Donald Trump, I’m not talking politics here. Forget if you like Trump, you don’t like Trump. But at least be consistent. You going to kick him off, you going to kick Kanye off, kick (Iran’s Supreme Leader) off, too,” Fuld argued.
Musk famously conducted a recent Twitter poll about whether he should remain CEO after suspending several notable journalists for publishing the whereabouts of Musk and his family. He says he’s looking for a CEO to replace him and has been doing so for some time.
For now, at least, Fuld believes Musk doesn’t have a clue about what he’s doing with Twitter, though he has hope.
“I think, and I may be a cup-half-full kind of guy, at the end, things will work out, because he’s a smart guy,” Fuld said of Musk.
He also has some advice for Musk concerning walking that fine line between allowing unfettered free speech and censoring sensitive, possibly lethal speech such as anti-Semitism.
“Free speech is extremely important. It’s a fundamental principle, obviously, in the western world and in democracy, and that should never be belittled. Having said that, you know, if somebody’s inciting to violence, someone’s hate speech – there’s no room for that in the western free world,” Fuld said.
He added, “And so, now the question is, where do you draw the line? Meaning, some people will say, ‘Oh, if you’re criticizing the Israeli government, you’re an anti-Semite.’ Well, that’s silly, right? You can criticize policy. But if you’re anti-Zionism, which is the fundamental belief that the Jewish people deserve a homeland – if you’re anti-THAT, aka, you don’t think I deserve a homeland, then you’re an anti-Semite.” To Fuld, one can’t divide hating Israel from hating Jews, and he says Twitter shouldn’t tolerate that hate.
“Zionism is core to Judaism. We pray to Zion hundreds of times throughout our daily prayers. So, to take Zion, to take Zionism and say ‘I’m anti-that, but I’m not anti-Judaism,’ is silly. It’s a silly claim.”
Fuld believes that people are free to criticize the Israeli government. “You can criticize policies. You can criticize opinions. You can say whatever you want. But to say that Jews are getting together on Friday night and trying to conspire to rule the world, and they rule the media – I mean, come on, stop it,” he said.
Fuld calls those opinions “anti-Semitic tropes” that have been around forever. “I mean, Kanye West thinks he’s so smart. Hitler said it before him and before him…this isn’t new. (It) just keeps repeating itself. So, the importance of free speech, it’s extremely important, within the limit of hate speech. You should have zero tolerance for that,” he concluded.
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