As previously reported by REVOLT, earlier this year, tech billionaire Elon Musk made headlines when he acquired the social networking platform Twitter. Since officially stepping into his role late last month, the transition has been anything but smooth.
The Tesla CEO has faced criticism for lax rules regarding what qualifies as free speech vs. hate speech. Anyone with $8 per month was able to verify their accounts — resulting in hundreds of fake accounts representing brands and public figures — and masses of employees left the company. Now, Musk has found himself in more hot water after St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones publicly quit the site due to highly insensitive comments about the 2014 Ferguson, Missouri protests made by Musk. In a since-deleted post, the entrepreneur explained his reasoning for the t-shirts that he recently promoted. “#StayWoke shirts stem from the Ferguson protests. Obama’s own DOJ proved this [and] exonerated the cop. ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’ was made up. The whole thing was a fiction,” he tweeted on Nov. 23.
In 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by police in Ferguson, about 20 miles northwest of St. Louis. The incident sparked intense protests and drew national outrage. “This is the final straw for me. I’m out. Follow me on Instagram @tishaura. Y’all can have this bird app. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate and Happy Holidays. #PeaceOut,” Jones tweeted in regard to Musk on Nov. 24. As for Brown’s case, law enforcement officials were accused of exhibiting racial bias. The city manager, police chief and municipal judge later resigned, and Brown’s family ended up settling with the city in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Jones has not completely made her Twitter exit in light of Musk’s tweets. The mayor actually has two accounts — one for politics and one for her personal life. Just today (Nov. 28), her professional account shared a message about an event at City Hall. According to the New York Post, her spokesperson, Nick Dunne, shared that Jones’ account will remain active “in the short term.”
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