Musk personally led call with civil rights groups to address hate speech on Twitter

Twitter CEO Elon Musk led a call with civil rights groups in an effort to assure them that he would curtail hate speech — and stop the spread of misinformation ahead of the midterm elections. Musk said that Twitter employees responsible for election integrity who had been locked out of their moderation tools during the company’s acquisition will have their access reinstated soon. Musk also said that users banned by the platform — including former President Donald Trump — will remain off the site “for at least a few more weeks.” The gathering was part of Musk’s effort to set up a “content moderation council,” which would presumably police users and content on the platform — and help ease concerns from worried advertisers. Musk said that he wanted his council to “include representatives with widely divergent views, which will certainly include the civil rights community and groups who face hate-fueled violence.” Participants on the Zoom call included Free Press, the Anti-Defamation League, the Asian American Foundation, Color Of Change, the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the NAACP, and the former CEO of LULAC, a nonprofit representing Hispanic communities in the US. Musk also discussed his idea of creating a “council” to review content and policies related to potentially harmful material, but he did not lay out any specific next steps. However, the groups reminded Musk that any such organization should include those who are targeted with hate-filled online language.