TED chief Chris Anderson wrote an open letter to Elon Musk on Tuesday (Jan 7) stating that his recent posts on social media "could get someone killed" and that the Tesla CEO was forgetting the "core tenets of journalism".

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"...Without them, I think your efforts to make X the respected home of citizen journalism will fail. When you tell hundreds of millions of people that someone should be hanged or jailed for outrageous crimes against humanity, just possibly you should first sound out what those who know those people really well would say about them. Some of your recent posts could literally get someone killed. Do you really want to risk that?," Anderson questioned, referring to the recent posts by the tech mogul.

Musk has been openly bashing international governments whose political views don't align with his and backs far-right figures. He's been using his platform X to express his disapproval and make accusations against various political leaders, particularly in the UK, Germany, and Canada.

"You say you want to maximize un-regretted user seconds on X. By far the simplest way you could do this, Elon, is simply to thoughtfully edit what you yourself post," Anderson said.

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Anderson criticised Musk for disregarding the "fairness doctrine", which requires seeking comments from individuals or institutions before publishing critical claims about them.

Anderson, although, acknowledged that Musk is tackling important issues but said that the way it was being presented was "playground bullying".

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"It's crass and it's cruel, and it's therefore not nearly as effective as it could be. You're hearing the cheers of your most loyal followers, but missing the fact you're making yourself a laughing stock among many who you really want on your side. Long-term that's going to damage X, your other businesses, and indeed your long-term dreams for humanity. No one wants to follow a playground bully to Mars," the TED chief said.

'Miss the old Elon'

Anderson further said that Musk was someone he admired and that he misses the "old Elon" as at present his actions are causing concern.

"I miss the old Elon. You can be funny, interesting, insightful and inspiring. You've fought incredibly hard for what you've built. And you may feel you're entitled to do whatever the hell you want with it. But I also know that you understand the danger of holding too tightly to the ring of power, how it can distort someone's judgement and turn them ugly," he wrote.

"I'm hoping you can loosen that ring just a little. For the love of humanity that you profess, I really urge you to embrace the fairness doctrine and showcase a better face of X," Anderson added.

(With inputs from agencies)