Ranvir Shorey tells Elon Musk: '5% bots on Twitter not as much a problem as 25% bigots'

Ranvir Shorey's tweet followed Elon Musk's announcement that his deal to buy Twitter will not move forward until the company shows proof that spam accounts make up less than 5 per cent of the total user base.

After Elon Musk stated that his deal to buy Twitter will not move forward until the company shows proof that spam accounts make up less than 5 per cent of the total user base, actor Ranvir Shorey took a veiled hit at the tech billionaire.

"Dear Elon Musk, in my experience, 5% being bots is not as much of a problem on Twitter as 25% of the humans being toxic bigots is," Shorey tweeted.

Dear @elonmusk, in my experience, 5% being bots is not as much of a problem on #Twitter as 25% of the humans being #toxic bigots is.

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— Ranvir Shorey (@RanvirShorey) May 17, 2022

While Musk has not responded to the tweet yet, Ranvir Shorey appears to be pointing out that the tech billionaire's "free speech" policy on the social media platform to be a bigger problem than bots.

Elon Musk, a free speech absolutist, has frequently spoken in favour of free speech being allowed on Twitter. He had said that central to his vision for Twitter is for it to be an “inclusive arena for free speech”.  But, the micro-blogging site has rarely been limited to a place for rational, nuanced speech and Musk's concept of free speech has been a cause of concern for many -- especially after he sought to buy it for $44 billion.

On Twitter, Musk had once dubbed as “pedo guy”, a British man who helped rescue 12 boys trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand. He got away with it in a US court too — saying the term was synonymous with “creepy old man”, and should not be taken literally — but many remain unconvinced that it constitutes free speech.

The richest person in the world had, however, clarified what he actually means by the term. "By 'free speech', I simply mean that which matches the law," Musk had tweeted on April 26.

"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."