Anti-Defamation League CEO Is ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Twitter’s Future After Elon Musk Meeting

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on Wednesday said he is “cautiously optimistic” about Twitter under Elon Musk’s leadership after a “productive” meeting in which the platform’s new owner apparently committed to maintaining content moderation guardrails.

“This was certainly a productive meeting & I appreciate @ElonMusk’s willingness to hear our concerns,” Greenblatt tweeted Wednesday, noting that Musk had agreed to “a transparent process for re-platforming people” who have violated Twitter’s policies or incited hate/violence; enforcement of existing policies around election integrity; and the inclusion of representatives from the civil rights community and groups who face “hate-fueled violence” on Twitter’s new content moderation council.

“With these 3 commitments, we’re cautiously optimistic about the future of @Twitter & will provide input & insight whenever possible,” Greenblatt wrote. “Ultimately, actions speak louder than words.”

Greenblatt was just one of the several civil society leaders Musk touted meeting with in the midst of outrage over a reported increase in hate speech and concern over changes to the platform’s content moderation policies.

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On Monday evening, Musk tweeted he had also met with ADL Vice President Yael Eisenstat, Color of Change CEO Rashad Robinson, Free Press Co-CEO Jessica González, Norman Chen, CEO of the Asian American Foundation and NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson, among others.

The meetings surrounded “how Twitter will continue to combat hate & harassment & enforce its election integrity policies,” according to Musk.

The new Twitter boss assured users the company’s content moderation council will “include representatives with widely divergent views, which will certainly include the civil rights community and groups who face hate-fueled violence.”

As for whether Twitter will allow previously banned users like Donald Trump back on the app, Musk said the company will not “allow anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on platform until we have a clear process for doing so,” a process that will take “at least a few more weeks.”

On Tuesday, Yoel Roth, Twitter’s Head of Safety & Integrity noted the platform’s priority ahead of election misinformation, tweeting “We’re staying vigilant against attempts to manipulate conversations about the 2022 US midterms.”