Australia’s ‘censorship’ of terror-related posts on X, according to Elon Musk

Australia's 'censorship' of terror-related posts on X, according to Elon Musk

Following a court decision requiring his social media site to delete footage of an alleged terrorist incident in Sydney, Elon Musk, the owner of X, previously Twitter, took aim at Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, ABC News reported.

Recently, X was ordered by Australia’s Federal Court to temporarily remove articles that featured footage of the event from a week earlier, in which an Assyrian priest and others were knifing a youngster who was charged with terrorism.

According to Reuters, Australia’s e-Safety Commissioner stated that the content should be removed since it depicted graphic violence, despite X’s claim that it had previously prohibited the postings from Australian users.

“Does the PM think he should have jurisdiction over all of Earth?” The 52-year-old Musk made reference to PM Albanese in a post.

The internet mogul, who purchased X in 2022, shared a joke on the network, stating that other social media platforms stood for “censorship and propaganda” whereas X stood for “free speech and truth”.

Musk also stated that “if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, which is what the Australian ‘eSafety Commissar’ is demanding, then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire Internet?”

The nation will “do what’s necessary to take on this arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above the law, but also above common decency,” Albanese said angrily to Musk.

Albanese said the Australian Broadcasting Corp., “The idea that someone would go to court for the right to put up violent content on a platform shows how out-of-touch Mr. Musk is.”