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30.11.2021 Featured New Twitter CEO Lands in ‘Free Speech’ Controversy

Published 30th Nov, 2021

By Daniel Ojukwu

Jack Dorsey has left his role as Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, bringing an end to an illustrious six years at the helm of affairs.

Although the 45-year-old admitted it was not an easy decision to leave the company he co-founded in 2006, a conflict of interest with his role as CEO of Space, another company he founded, had worried investors for some time.

Dorsey managed to put Twitter at the fore of political debates and arguments when he banned political ads ahead of the 2020 US general election.

During the same period, Twitter also flagged Donald Trump’s tweets, labeling the former US president as a purveyor of misinformation.

However, labeling the tweets earned them more visibility on other social media platforms, raising questions about how effective Twitter’s efforts at combating misinformation were.

On January 8, 2021, Twitter suspended Trump’s account for allegedly inciting an attack on the capitol. The attack happened two days earlier.

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them, we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter’s official safety account tweeted.

Donald Trump

SUPPORT FOR #ENDSARS PROTESTERS

On October 14, 2020, Dorsey endorsed the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria by calling for Bitcoin donations to help fund the nationwide action.

He tweeted his support a week after Nigerian youths took to the streets in protest to demand the disbandment of the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and an end to police brutality.

“Donate via #Bitcoin to help #EndSARS,” he tweeted.

He would later be accused by Lai Mohammed, the country’s Minister of Information and Culture, of being liable for losses suffered during the protests.

Lai Mohammed

“If you ask people to donate money via bitcoins for EndSARS protesters then you are vicariously liable for whatever is the outcome of the protest,” Lai said.

“We have forgotten that EndSARS led to loss of lives, including 37 policemen, six soldiers, and 57 civilians while property worth billions of naira were destroyed.

“A hundred and sixty-four police vehicles and 134 police stations were razed to the ground, 265 private corporate organisations were looted, while 243 public property were looted.

“Eighty-one warehouses were looted while over 200 brand new buses bought by the Lagos State Government were burnt to ashes,’’ Mohammed said.

NIGERIA, TWITTER GO TO WAR OVER BUHARI’S TWEET

President Muhammadu Buhari’s most popular tweet has become one that no longer exists on the platform.

“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” Buhari said in a tweet before Twitter removed it for violating its policy.

In retaliation, Mohammed announced the suspension of the service in the country, effectively denying 200 million Nigerians direct access to the platform.

Although talks have been ongoing to see the service restored, many subscribers now use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass the restriction.

JACK ACCIDENTALLY SUSPENDED SELF IN 2016

Although Dorsey has come under fire for taking on world leaders and engaging in political battles while serving as CEO, he suspended his own twitter account back in 2016.

On November 22, 2016, Dorsey lost access to his account with 3.9 million followers.

After restoring the account, he tweeted that the suspension was due to an “internal mistake.”

PARAG AGRAWAL; BRIGHT NEW INDIAN CEO BEGINS WITH CONTROVERSY

In 2010, Agrawal tweeted, “If they are not gonna make a distinction between Muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists.”

Parag Agrawal

Although he said he only echoed the sentiments of Aasif Mandvi, a correspondent of “The Daily Show”, the tweet resurfaced after his announcement as Twitter’s CEO and he was criticised for being stereotypical.

Parag has also been quoted as saying that Twitter should “focus less on free speech”, raising questions about his leadership and potential censorship during his reign as CEO.

Despite the rocky start, he has accepted the role, making him one of 10 global tech brands’ CEOs of Indian origin.

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Published 30th Nov, 2021

By Daniel Ojukwu

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