Elon Musk censored a BBC documentary. So much for free speech.

Details

Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00

Written by editor

Twitter is blocking access to a documentary that reveals Narendra Modi’s role in a genocidal massacre, just weeks after Musk banned journalists critical of him at home.

Elon Musk is at it again. Officials from India’s ruling right-wing party say Twitter complied with the India government’s demands to remove a documentary critical of the regime.

This isn’t the first time Musk has silenced journalists on Twitter.

Only a little over a month ago, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who had covered Twitter critically — reporting for CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Intercept, and more — under flimsy pretenses.

Now, new reporting reveals that Twitter agreed to censor access to a BBC documentary critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in a genocidal massacre in the Indian state of Gujarat.

At the request of Kanchan Gupta, the senior adviser... at the Indian government’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting who called the documentary “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage,” Twitter blocked all links to the film.

Twitter went further to also specifically remove posts by members of Parliament from the opposition All India Trinamool Congress party and even blocked Indian audiences from seeing posts by actor John Cusack that link to the documentary.

This is unacceptable. We must not let these attempts to silence freedom of the press go unchallenged. Will you join us in standing against Musk’s censorship?

Add your name to tell Elon Musk to stop silencing journalists on Twitter now.

YES, I'LL SIGN →

Elon Musk has buckled under public pressure before. That’s why he let the journalists he suspended last month back on the platform a few weeks later. That’s how he’s made several major decisions about the future of the platform too, including the decision to let Donald Trump return.

Help us send this important message to Musk: Journalists and the public deserve a platform where they can express their opinions freely and without fear of retaliation from a billionaire owner.

It’s time for Elon Musk to live up to his own rhetoric on free speech. Sign the petition and demand that Twitter restore access to the BBC’s documentary and stop silencing journalists now.

First Look Institute is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax ID number 80-0951255).

The Intercept’s mailing address is:
First Look Institute
P.O. Box 27442
Washington, DC 20038

The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept’s readers, but if you’d like to stop hearing from us, click here to r0 from all communications. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Contribute now to support our independent journalism.