Biden accuses 'Chief Twit' Musk of buying platform that 'spews lies all across the world'

US President Joe Biden opened up about what he thinks of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter at a Democratic fundraiser in Rosemont, Illinois, on Friday. According to CNN, Biden said that the Twitter chief purchased a company that propagates misinformation at a global level.

“Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that spews lies all across the world,” the US President said, adding, “There’s no editors anymore in America.”

Biden made the remarks after a slew of Twitter employees were fired in an attempt at cost-cutting as the social networking company incurs losses of over $4 million per day. Addressing the layoffs, Musk said, “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.” 

The significant reduction in the workforce has raised concerns over the future of employees who directly handle hate speech and harmful material on the platform. Earlier on Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists that Biden understands the importance of social media platforms and their responsibility in dealing with misinformation on key issues like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Look, the President has been outspoken about the importance of social media platforms continuing to take steps to reduce hate speech and misinformation. That belief extends to Twitter. It extends to Facebook and any other social media platforms where users can spread misinformation," Jean-Pierre said. 

Several users quit Twitter as Musk becomes CEO

Meanwhile, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has garnered mixed reactions, with several public figures announcing their plans to quit the platform, including Jameela Jamil, Toni Braxton, Shonda Rhimes, and Mick Foley. Multiple users have also deactivated their accounts and signed up on Mastodon, another social networking company that has a news-based and conversational format. 

Bot-tracking firm Bot Sentinel has said that it is likely that over a million users on Twitter have quit the platform. “Based on our internal data, we estimate 877,000 Twitter accounts were deactivated, and a further 497,000 were suspended between October 27 and November 1,” Bot Sentinel founder Christopher Bouzy wrote on Twitter, adding that the figure is “more than double the usual number.” “We believe the uptick in deactivations is a result of people upset with Elon Musk purchasing Twitter and deciding to deactivate their accounts in protest,” he said.