Musk's X entity settles dispute with Twitter, shelling out millions to Trump - Musk and Trump reach settlement in Twitter lawsuit, with Musk shelling out $1 million
In a recent turn of events, former United States President Donald Trump scored a victory in his legal spat with tech giants, with Elon Musk's newly rebranded platform, X, reportedly shelling out a staggering $10 million to settle a lawsuit stemming from the suspension of Trump's Twitter account back in 2021. The Wall Street Journal broke the news, citing informed sources, albeit court documents on the matter have yet to surface.
This development follows Meta's payment of $25 million to Trump last year, to settle a similar lawsuit regarding the suspension of his accounts after his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington. The online platforms had acted upon the perceived risk of inciting violence, with Meta keeping Trump suspended for two years before lifting the ban in January 2023. Twitter, however, had maintained that Trump's return to the platform was an impossibility, due to its own regulations.
Trump's initial foray into the courtroom met with initial skepticism, as Twitter emerged victorious in the first round. A final appeal hearing took place in the fall of 2023, but Trump's arguments again faced scrutiny from the judges. However, this week saw the withdrawal of the appeal as court documents reveal.
The January 2021 Capitol incident, where supporters of Trump disrupted a session of the US Congress, aiming to certify Joe Biden's election victory and Trump's defeat in the presidential election, saw Trump urging his supporters with false notions of widespread voter fraud. During the attack, Trump remained conspicuously silent, refraining from calling the attackers to retreat from the Capitol.
In an interesting twist, Elon Musk, the entrepreneur who bought Twitter for around $44 billion in the fall of 2022 and rechristened it X, reactivated Trump's account. Meta, too, had eventually lifted the suspension after two years in January 2023. Musk's alignment with Trump was evident through his investment of over $250 million in Trump's election campaign and his subsequent appointment as a special government employee in the Department of Government Efficiency.
The revelation of the $10 million settlement from X to Trump has sparked controversy, particularly against the backdrop of X's ongoing challenges with misinformation, hate speech, and account reinstatements. The rebranding of Twitter to X has also faced criticism, with the platform continuing to wrestle with its share of challenges.
Sources:
- The Wall Street Journal
- The Washington Post
- The New York Times
Enrichment Insights:
- Suspension of Trump's Account: Twitter suspended Donald Trump's account in 2021 due to the risk of inciting further violence following the Capitol insurrection.
- Lawsuit and Appeal: Trump sued Twitter in 2021, claiming the suspension violated his First Amendment right to free speech. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2022, but an appeal was still pending this week.
- Reinstatement and Settlement: Elon Musk reactivated Trump's account after acquiring Twitter in 2022 and renaming it X. X agreed to pay $10 million to settle the lawsuit, following Meta's $25 million settlement earlier.
- Controversy and Challenges: The settlement and X's ongoing controversies and challenges, including the rebranding, misinformation, and hate speech, are topics of ongoing discussion.
This week's settlement of $10 million by Elon Musk's X platform to former President Donald Trump, following the suspension of his Twitter account in 2021, has amplified discussions about X's handling of misinformation and hate speech. Interestingly, this settlement comes after Meta paid Trump $25 million to settle a similar lawsuit last year.
