Australian PM Criticizes Elon Musk Over Censorship and Safety on X
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk are locked in a public feud over censorship of violent content on Musk's social media platform, X.
The Details: X is refusing Australia’s request to globally block a video of a 16-year-old attacking a bishop at a church in Sydney, instead simply hiding the clips from Australian viewers. Australian authorities reportedly believe the video exacerbated riots that occurred later outside the church.
Arguments: Musk has criticized the Australian eSafety Commissioner and argued that no one nation should hold the power to censor content worldwide. On the other hand, Albanese sees Musk's actions as a disregard for Australian laws, arguing that the distressing content should be blocked in the interest of public safety.
How the Media Covered It: Coverage was fairly similar across the spectrum, often highlighting quotes from Albanese calling Musk a “bloke” or an “arrogant billionaire.” Some headlines differed in framing Albanese as taking on Musk over violent images, or Musk as taking on Albanese over censorship, but coverage generally focused on the feud between the two. This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Australian PM rips Musk as ‘Bloke who’s chosen ego … over common sense’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slammed tech billionaire Elon Musk as a “bloke” who has chosen ego “over common sense” after Musk accused the country of censorship.
“This is a bloke who’s chosen ego and showing violence over common sense,” Albanese said in an interview with “First Edition.” “I think that Australians will shake their head when they think that this billionaire is prepared to go to court, fighting for the right to sow division and to show violent videos, which are very distressing.”
From the Left
Australia is taking on ‘arrogant billionaire’ Elon Musk over violent images on X
In one camp is a tech billionaire with more than 181 million followers on his own social network. In the other, political leaders representing a country of just 26 million people.
Insults have been hurled for days by both sides in an increasingly bare-knuckled fight between X owner Elon Musk and the Australian government that’s playing out both online and in the Federal Court.
At issue is the right of X to publish a video showing the moment a 16-year-old allegedly stabbed a bishop in an Orthodox Christian Church in Sydney earlier...
From the Right
Australian prime minister criticizes ‘bloke’ Elon Musk for combating censorship
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken out against billionaire and X owner Elon Musk, specifically as he fights a court order from the country.
The order relates to videos shared on X showing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel getting attacked by a person with a knife, with an Australian judge ruling on Monday that X must block all users from viewing the video. Albanese said in an interview that by fighting the court’s order, Musk is “fighting for the right to sow divisions and to show violent videos which are very distressing.”
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