Elon Musk Challenges Governments That Supress Free Speech To Fund Twitter

Twitter latest owner and world’s richest person, Elon Musk has notified, he shall fund his twitter deal with money from countries that suppress free speech.

It would be recalled that when Musk announced his bid to buy Twitter last month, he said he wanted to make the social network a free speech haven.

Now, the billionaire, reportedly, plans to accept financing Twitter from two countries that have historically restricted freedom of speech: Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well as every other government who would simulate threats to freedom of expression.

Saudi Arabia ranks number 166 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index, while Qatar ranks number 119, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Both countries have been notorious for imposing harsh censorship to quash dissent: A Qatari law states that spreading “false or malicious news” can land you in prison for five years, while in Saudi Arabia, critics of the government have faced arrest and even murder.

Interestingly, Saudi Prince Alwaleed wrote on Twitter that the Kingdom Holding Company, an investment firm he controls, would roll over its current $1.9 billion investment in Twitter to join Musk on “this exciting journey.” The move came after Alwaleed spurned Musk’s plan in a tweet last month, saying the Tesla CEO’s offer didn’t come close to the “intrinsic value” of the company. KHC has been a Twitter stakeholder since 2011.
Musk responded by asking about the size of the Kingdom’s stake in Twitter, as well as the country’s views on “journalistic freedom of speech.”
READ ALSO:Binance Commits $500Mn Equity Investment In Elon Musk’s Twitter
Permit us to remind you that Saudi Arabia has been frequently criticised for censorship and human rights abuses, including the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi government has denied any involvement by its leaders.
The prince didn’t publicly answer Musk’s questions, but in his tweet Thursday called Musk a “‘new’ friend” and “excellent leader.”

It will be recalled that last year, the Qatari government  arrested seven people for using social media “to spread false news” during its elections. The country also has a history of suppressing free speech. In 2012, a Qatari poet was sentenced to 15 years in jail after reciting a poem critical of the government.
Here in Nigeria, Nigerians would forever remember how the Buhari administration suspended Twitter access after the president’s tweet was deleted.

But the information minister, Lai Mohammed quickly swung to action, blaming the use of the platform for ‘activities capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.’
After many months of the ban, Buhari disclosed in his nationwide broadcast to Nigerians, marking the nation’s 61st independence and warned that Twitter ban would be lifted if Nigerians  use the platform for business and positive engagements only.

“…Rather some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments,” he said.
 
“To address these negative trends, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5, 2021 to allow the Government put measures in place to address these challenges.”

Finally, the ban was lifted but with a more stringent conditions gagging free speech as twitter was now expected to “respect Nigeria’s sovereignty, cultural values and promote online safety.”