<p>Key figures on the American left, Barack Obama among them, have shed thousands of followers since Elon Musk's planned purchase of Twitter emerged, while numbers have soared for right-wing politicians.</p>

<p>Musk, the world's richest man, struck a deal Monday to buy the US-based social media platform for $44 billion.</p>

<p>The news was greeted with enthusiasm by fans of Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, and horror by proponents of strong moderation of disinformation and hate speech.</p>

<p>Promises to leave the platform trended under hashtags such as #LeaveTwitter. Within hours, many appeared to be following through.</p>

<p>According to news outlet NBC, former US President Obama, the most popular person on Twitter with more than 131 million followers, lost 300,000 of them nearly overnight.</p>

<p>Controversial Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, by contrast, gained nearly 100,000 followers on her official congressional Twitter account in just 24 hours.<br />
<br />
<strong>Watch:&nbsp;</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-what-will-elon-musks-twitter-look-like-474154/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Greene, a vocal ally of former president Donald Trump whose personal profile was banned by the platform, praised the acquisition.</p>

<p>"Prepare for blue check mark full scale meltdown after @elonmusk seals the deal and I should get my personal Twitter account restored," she tweeted, referencing the site's system for verifying users.</p>

<p>"It really is something how conservative accounts are getting massive follower increases today," Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, another Trump ally, said Tuesday.</p>

<p>Twitter on Tuesday told AFP that while they were monitoring the situation, the fluctuations appeared to be organic and largely due to new accounts being created and existing ones deactivated.</p>

<p>The exodus extended beyond political accounts.</p>

<p>"It's strange to see a loss of some 35,000 followers overnight," the Auschwitz Memorial account posted Tuesday. The profile, which has 1.3 million followers, tweets photos and stories of concentration camp victims.</p>

<p>Musk has said he wants to increase trust in Twitter, which he sees as a digital town square for free speech and debate.</p>

<p>Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted Monday that "Elon's goal of creating a platform that is 'maximally trusted and broadly inclusive' is the right one."</p>

<p>He thanked Musk and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal "for getting the company out of an impossible situation.</p>

<p>"This is the right path...I believe it with all my heart."</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong><br />
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Key figures on the American left, Barack Obama among them, have shed thousands of followers since Elon Musk's planned purchase of Twitter emerged, while numbers have soared for right-wing politicians.

Key figures on the American left, Barack Obama among them, have shed thousands of followers since Elon Musk's planned purchase of Twitter emerged, while numbers have soared for right-wing politicians. Musk, the world's richest man, struck a deal Monday to buy the US-based social media platform for $44 billion. The news was greeted with enthusiasm by fans of Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, and horror by proponents of strong moderation of disinformation and hate speech. Promises to leave the platform trended under hashtags such as #LeaveTwitter. Within hours, many appeared to be following through. According to news outlet NBC, former US President Obama, the most popular person on Twitter with more than 131 million followers, lost 300,000 of them nearly overnight. Controversial Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, by contrast, gained nearly 100,000 followers on her official congressional Twitter account in just 24 hours. Watch: Greene, a vocal ally of former president Donald Trump whose personal profile was banned by the platform, praised the acquisition. "Prepare for blue check mark full scale meltdown after @elonmusk seals the deal and I should get my personal Twitter account restored," she tweeted, referencing the site's system for verifying users. "It really is something how conservative accounts are getting massive follower increases today," Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, another Trump ally, said Tuesday. Twitter on Tuesday told AFP that while they were monitoring the situation, the fluctuations appeared to be organic and largely due to new accounts being created and existing ones deactivated. The exodus extended beyond political accounts. "It's strange to see a loss of some 35,000 followers overnight," the Auschwitz Memorial account posted Tuesday. The profile, which has 1.3 million followers, tweets photos and stories of concentration camp victims. Musk has said he wants to increase trust in Twitter, which he sees as a digital town square for free speech and debate. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted Monday that "Elon's goal of creating a platform that is 'maximally trusted and broadly inclusive' is the right one." He thanked Musk and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal "for getting the company out of an impossible situation. "This is the right path...I believe it with all my heart." WATCH WION LIVE HERE

After Musk buyout, progressive Twitter accounts lost followers and conservatives gain

<p>Tesla CEO Elon Musk has criticised Twitter's censorship lawyer Vijaya Gadde just a day after taking over the microblogging site.</p>

<p>Saagar Enjeti, the co-host of the 'Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar' and 'The Realignment Podcast' tweeted a post of an article saying Gadde cried during a staff meeting after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion.</p>

<p>Earlier, conservative commentator Enjeti had said, "Vijaya Gadde, the top censorship advocate at Twitter who famously gaslit the world on Joe Rogan's podcast and censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, is very upset about the @elonmusk takeover."</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-what-will-elon-musks-twitter-look-like-474154/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>In response, Musk tweeted ''The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.''</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all</p>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519020176884305920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>The South African billionaire also said Gadde was wrong when she fought off misinformation around a news story about US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden by restricting it reach.</p>

<p>He faced the support of a few Twitter users who used racist slurs against her as she has an Indian origin.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">All they have is censorship. Their ideas don’t hold up in debate.</p>
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1519021887568887808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>However, other netizens slammed Musk for claiming to be a ''free speech'' supporter but blocking accounts such as that of Public Citizen, which stands against corporate power.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">This you? <a href="https://t.co/hwV1QBeW7o">pic.twitter.com/hwV1QBeW7o</a></p>
— chip goines (@chipgoines) <a href="https://twitter.com/chipgoines/status/1519124300086792192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>''It’s not a fear of free speech. It’s a deep concern that one man will become the arbiter of free speech on such a powerful platform. A concern that democracy will be undermined by the greater spread of misinformation. And a concern that hate speech will boom,'' said a Twitter user.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It’s not a fear of free speech. It’s a deep concern that one man will become the arbiter of free speech on such a powerful platform. A concern that democracy will be undermined by the greater spread of misinformation. And a concern that hate speech will boom.</p>
— Matthew Stadlen (@MatthewStadlen) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewStadlen/status/1519241950733479936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>Justifying his comment, Musk tweeted ''By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.''</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.<br />
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I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.<br />
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If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.<br />
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Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.</p>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519036983137509376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>Gadde is an American lawyer who has been a part of Twitter since 2011 and was a confidant of former CEO Jack Dorsey.</p>

<p>The 48-year-old was responsible for several key decisions made by Twitter including the suspension of former US President Donald Trump's account after he incited violence at the Capitol on January 6 last year.</p>

<p><strong>Watch WION's live TV here:</strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Tesla CEO Elon Musk has criticised Twitter's censorship lawyer Vijaya Gadde just a day after taking over the microblogging site. Saagar Enjeti, the co-host of the 'Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar' and 'The Realignment Podcast' tweeted a post of an article saying Gadde cried during a staff meeting after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has criticised Twitter's censorship lawyer Vijaya Gadde just a day after taking over the microblogging site. Saagar Enjeti, the co-host of the 'Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar' and 'The Realignment Podcast' tweeted a post of an article saying Gadde cried during a staff meeting after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. Earlier, conservative commentator Enjeti had said, "Vijaya Gadde, the top censorship advocate at Twitter who famously gaslit the world on Joe Rogan's podcast and censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, is very upset about the @elonmusk takeover." In response, Musk tweeted ''The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.'' The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022 × The South African billionaire also said Gadde was wrong when she fought off misinformation around a news story about US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden by restricting it reach. He faced the support of a few Twitter users who used racist slurs against her as she has an Indian origin. All they have is censorship. Their ideas don’t hold up in debate. — Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) April 26, 2022 × However, other netizens slammed Musk for claiming to be a ''free speech'' supporter but blocking accounts such as that of Public Citizen, which stands against corporate power. This you? pic.twitter.com/hwV1QBeW7o — chip goines (@chipgoines) April 27, 2022 × ''It’s not a fear of free speech. It’s a deep concern that one man will become the arbiter of free speech on such a powerful platform. A concern that democracy will be undermined by the greater spread of misinformation. And a concern that hate speech will boom,'' said a Twitter user. It’s not a fear of free speech. It’s a deep concern that one man will become the arbiter of free speech on such a powerful platform. A concern that democracy will be undermined by the greater spread of misinformation. And a concern that hate speech will boom. — Matthew Stadlen (@MatthewStadlen) April 27, 2022 × Justifying his comment, Musk tweeted ''By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.'' By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022 × Gadde is an American lawyer who has been a part of Twitter since 2011 and was a confidant of former CEO Jack Dorsey. The 48-year-old was responsible for several key decisions made by Twitter including the suspension of former US President Donald Trump's account after he incited violence at the Capitol on January 6 last year. Watch WION's live TV here: (With inputs from agencies)

Musk criticises Twitter's censorship lawyer Gadde after taking over microblogging site

<p>Indian-American Vijaya Gadde, 45, who takes care of Twitter's legal affairs has been instrumental in permanently suspending President Donald <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/arnold-schwarzenegger-blasts-trump-compares-us-capitol-violence-to-rise-of-nazi-germany-355912">Trump's</a> Twitter account.</p>

<p><strong>Watch:</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/twitter-permanently-suspends-donald-trumps-account-355517/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Twitter had earlier suspended Trump's account but later moved to block the US president's account amid riots in US Capitol which the company believed encouraged rioters.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The account of <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> has been permanently suspended from Twitter due to the risk of further violence. We've also published our policy enforcement analysis - you can read more about our decision here: <a href="https://t.co/fhjXkxdEcw">https://t.co/fhjXkxdEcw</a></p>
— Vijaya Gadde (@vijaya) <a href="https://twitter.com/vijaya/status/1347686841881821184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>"The account of @realDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended from <strong>Twitter</strong> due to the risk of further violence," Gadde had tweeted on Friday.</p>

<p>President Trump's Twitter account was "permanently suspended due to the risk of further incitement of violence," the company said.</p>

<p>Gadde who was born in<strong> India </strong>grew up in Texas graduated from <strong>Cornell</strong> University and New York University Law School and had joined Twitter in 2011.</p>

<p>The Indian-American actively oversaw the US elections declaring that of the "300,000 flagged tweets, 456 were covered over by a warning message and had engagement features limited -- users could not like, retweet or reply to the posts."</p>

<p>"During the election period, Twitter posted messages on American users' pages which were seen 389 million times that "reminded people that election results were likely to be delayed, and that voting by mail is safe and legitimate," she said.</p>

<p>Vijaya Gadde had accompanied Twitter CEO<strong> Jack Dorsey</strong> when had met US President Donald Trump last year and had accompanied Dorsey when he met India's Prime Minister Narendra<strong> Modi</strong> three years ago.</p>

<p>Twitter said Trump's tweets were assessed under "glorification of violence"&nbsp;policy and that it determined that they were "highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the <strong>US&nbsp;Capitol</strong> on January 6, 2021."</p>

<p>"President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behaviour from this account in recent weeks," it added.</p>


Indian-American Vijaya Gadde, 45, who takes care of Twitter's legal affairs has been instrumental in permanently suspending President Donald Trump's Twitter account.

Indian-American Vijaya Gadde, 45, who takes care of Twitter's legal affairs has been instrumental in permanently suspending President Donald Trump's Twitter account. Watch: Twitter had earlier suspended Trump's account but later moved to block the US president's account amid riots in US Capitol which the company believed encouraged rioters. The account of @realDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended from Twitter due to the risk of further violence. We've also published our policy enforcement analysis - you can read more about our decision here: https://t.co/fhjXkxdEcw — Vijaya Gadde (@vijaya) January 8, 2021 × "The account of @realDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended from Twitter due to the risk of further violence," Gadde had tweeted on Friday. President Trump's Twitter account was "permanently suspended due to the risk of further incitement of violence," the company said. Gadde who was born in India grew up in Texas graduated from Cornell University and New York University Law School and had joined Twitter in 2011. The Indian-American actively oversaw the US elections declaring that of the "300,000 flagged tweets, 456 were covered over by a warning message and had engagement features limited -- users could not like, retweet or reply to the posts." "During the election period, Twitter posted messages on American users' pages which were seen 389 million times that "reminded people that election results were likely to be delayed, and that voting by mail is safe and legitimate," she said. Vijaya Gadde had accompanied Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey when had met US President Donald Trump last year and had accompanied Dorsey when he met India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi three years ago. Twitter said Trump's tweets were assessed under "glorification of violence" policy and that it determined that they were "highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021." "President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behaviour from this account in recent weeks," it added.

Meet Indian-American Vijaya Gadde who moved to ban Trump's Twitter account

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After Musk buyout, progressive Twitter accounts lost followers and conservatives gain

Musk criticises Twitter's censorship lawyer Gadde after taking over microblogging site

Meet Indian-American Vijaya Gadde who moved to ban Trump's Twitter account