Elon Musk and RFK Jr claim Kamala Harris will try to 'shut down' X if she becomes president

WASHINGTON, DC: Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jr recently claimed that if Kamala Harris becomes president, she would likely "shut down" social media platform X (formerly Twitter) if it does not comply with government oversight. 

The two shared a clip from a 2019 CNN interview, where the vice president criticized social media platforms for "directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight and regulation" and stated that this "has to stop," as per Fox Business. 

Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jr claim Kamala Harris seeks to destroy free speech

RFK Jr took to X to share the viral clip where Kamala Harris can be heard saying, "He has lost his privileges and it should be taken down. The bottom line is that you can't say there's one rule for Facebook and you have a different rule for Twitter."

She went on, " The same rule has to apply, which has to be a responsibility placed on these social media sites to understand their power. They're directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight and regulation. And, that has to stop." 

In the caption, the former presidential candidate included some of her statements from the interview, and wrote, "Can someone please explain to her that freedom of speech is a RIGHT, not a 'privilege'?"

He added, "Translation: 'If they don't police content to conform to government-approved narratives, they will be shut down.'"

However, RFK Jr misinterpreted Harris' comments and incorrectly suggested that she referred to Elon Musk when she made these statements.

Musk reshared RFK Jr's post and wrote, "This is what she actually believes. Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and the Democratic Party (Kamala is just a puppet) wants to destroy it."

Kamala Harris' statements were about Donald Trump and not Elon Musk

During the 2019 CNN interview, which took place after a Democratic presidential primary debate, Kamala Harris was actually voicing her concerns regarding then-President Donald Trump's use of Twitter and the broader impact of social media on society.

The Democratic presidential nominee further said, "And when you’re talking about Donald Trump, he has 65 million Twitter followers, and he has proven himself to be willing to obstruct justice – just ask Bob Mueller." 

She added, "You can look at the manifesto from the shooter in El Paso to know that what Donald Trump says on Twitter impacts peoples’ perceptions about what they should and should not do."

Harris also said that Trump’s account "should be taken down" because it violated the platform's terms of service. 

Moreover, in 2019, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was the owner and CEO of the platform. Musk initiated an acquisition of Twitter in April 2022 and consummated the $44 billion takeover on October 27, 2022. 

The Tesla founder rebranded the microblogging platform as X in July 2023. 

Internet rips Elon Musk and RFK Jr for claiming Kamala Harris wants to 'shut down' X

Netizens weren't in agreement with Elon Musk and RFK Jr's claims that Kamala Harris would look to "shut down" X if it did not align with government oversight on becoming president. 

One wrote, "Elon’s entire fake free speech crusade is a power grab," while another added, "Typical man mansplaining what a woman thinks when she told you what she thinks directly."

"Free speech doesn't need wings. It is the economic form of a society that determines its morality, not the other way around," expressed a person. Someone else pointed out, "Elon, I'm one of your biggest fans, but she's talking about Trump in that clip, not you. Look up the transcript. It's from around 2019." 

One more mentioned, "This is an old interview. She's referring to Donald Trump. Not Elon Musk. Just wanted to clarify that."

"What exactly are the rules on X? Because a lot of us are still getting suspended for tweets that you’ve said are allowed. If free speech is a right then why are users still getting punished for it," stated an individual. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.