African-American tech entrepreneur and new Twitter owner Elon Musk spoke up in defense of the right to be anonymous online after former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee called anonymous users “keyboard cowards hiding behind silly little sophomoric screen names.”
“I hope @elonmusk will insist that all Twitter posters use their real names & not be keyboard cowards hiding behind silly little sophomoric screen names,” Huckabee tweeted on Saturday. “Be man enough or woman enough (if you even know what that is) to stand by what you say! If you can’t own it don’t say it.”
Musk, whose previous statements about requiring authentication for all Twitter users had drawn concern from online privacy activists, struck a more nuanced tone in response to the former governor’s tweet on Sunday.
“Authentication is important, but so is anonymity for many. A balance must be struck,” Musk told Huckabee.
Authentication is important, but so is anonymity for many. A balance must be struck.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 1, 2022
In response, Huckabee tweeted, “Perhaps the balance is anonymity for issues but authentication if attacking other people by name. A “say it to my face” policy-but whatever you do, at least Twitter will lead w/ liberty. Glad @elonmusk has “taken the conn!”
Perhaps the balance is anonymity for issues but authentication if attacking other people by name. A "say it to my face" policy-but whatever you do, at least Twitter will lead w/ liberty. Glad @elonmusk has "taken the conn!" https://t.co/zKGbRHONRY
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) May 1, 2022
As Valiant News previously reported, a new survey shows that the majority of Americans believe Elon Musk will make Twitter a better platform, and the same remained true even when the data was broken down by political affiliations, with a slim majority of Democrats trusting Musk to improve the big tech site.
This week Twitter’s board confirmed that the company will sell to Musk for $54.20 per share, or about $44 billion, and later announced a $1 billion termination fee should either side back out.
62% of Americans said Musk’s purchase will make Twitter better, while only 13% said the purchase will make Twitter worse.
12% said Musk’s ownership won’t make a difference, and 13% said they’re unsure.
70% of Republicans, 57% of Democrats, and 61% of independents believe that Musk will improve the platform.
