Statement by NAACP President Derrick Johnson on Meeting with Elon Musk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jonah Bryson | jbryson@naacpnet.org

"The NAACP met with Elon Musk to express our grave concerns with the dangerous, life-threatening hate and conspiracies that have proliferated on Twitter under his watch. According to a report, hate speech increased by approximately 500% in the first 12 hours following his acquisition. Now let that sink in. Nazi memes, racial slurs, and extreme far-right propaganda do not belong in the "town square" of any democracy or online platform. Taking the necessary actions is not rocket science, but failing to do so will put human lives at risk and further unravel our democracy.

In the immediacy, it is critical that Twitter's existing election integrity policies remain in effect until at the very least after the midterm elections have been certified. Any content (or account) promoting election denial and other harmful lies about election results cannot be allowed to exist on his platform. As long as hate, misinformation, and disinformation spread across Twitter, the bird cannot be free."

President Johnson participated in the meeting with the Stop Hate For Profit coalition.