New Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted — and later deleted — a conspiracy theory on Sunday about the night US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked.
Mr Musk's comments highlighted concerns about the platform's future after he pledged it would not become a "free-for-all hellscape."
The self-declared "free speech absolutist," was responding to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who tweeted about Republicans who promote baseless conspiracy theories and the violent attack on Paul Pelosi in San Francisco on Friday.
"There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye," Mr Musk told Ms Clinton, attaching a link to the story, which is no longer accessible, by the conservative Santa Monica Observer.
The weekly has published conspiracy theories in the past, including that a body double for Ms Clinton was sent to a debate with Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Elon Musk's year as he closes $44bn Twitter deal — in pictures
Mr Musk later deleted his tweet after it swiftly became a focal point for critics who have been nervous about the direction in which he intends to take Twitter.
His outspoken and controversial tweets have courted trouble in the past, and he has pledged to reduce content moderation, relying more on computer algorithms than human monitors.
Conservatives say past moderation has unfairly attacked their views.
In a message meant to reassure Twitter advertisers about his leadership, Mr Musk said this week that he realised Twitter "cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences."
But detractors warn that without standards, the world's "digital town square" is at risk of becoming flooded with misinformation, with possibly perilous consequences for democracy and public health.
"Clinton: Conspiracy theories are getting people killed and we shouldn't amplify them. Owner of Twitter: But have you considered this conspiracy theory?" wrote University of Denver political scientist Seth Masket after Musk's Sunday tweet.
Ms Pelosi, who is second in line to the US presidency, has said her family is "heartbroken and traumatised" after the intruder broke into the couple's San Francisco home early on Friday and attacked her husband with a hammer, fracturing his skull.
Mr Pelosi, 82, is recovering in hospital.
President Joe Biden has said it appeared the assault was "intended for Nancy," and called out increasingly polarising political speech.
"The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result," Ms Clinton said in her tweet.
Mr Musk's response came hours after Twitter said the site was being hit by a trolling campaign testing its moderation policies under the billionaire's leadership.
"Twitter's policies haven't changed ... And we're taking steps to put a stop to an organised effort to make people think we have," tweeted the platform's chief of safety and integrity, Yoel Roth.
The years Ramadan fell in May
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
The five pillars of Islam
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Results
Women finals: 48kg - Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL) bt Distria Krasniqi (KOS); 52kg - Odette Guiffrida (ITA) bt Majlinda Kelmendi (KOS); 57kg - Nora Gjakova (KOS) bt Anastasiia Konkina (Rus)
Men’s finals: 60kg - Amiran Papinashvili (GEO) bt Francisco Garrigos (ESP); 66kg - Vazha Margvelashvili (Geo) bt Yerlan Serikzhanov (KAZ)
The five pillars of Islam
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The%20specs
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Quran memorisation:
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Dunki
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Read more about the coronavirus
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
