Elon Musk accuses BBC journalist of lying over claims of hate speech on Twitter

Elon Musk has accused BBC reporter and US tech journalist James Clayton of lying during an interview that turned somewhat into a row over whether hate speech is on the rise on Twitter.

What has been described as a car crash interview for Clayton took place on Twitter spaces.

Musk went on the attack against Clayton who had asked him to respond to claims that hate speech was on the rise on Twitter since his takeover. 

After Mr Musk asked the reporter, James Clayton, for an example of the hate speech, he accused him of spreading a “false” claim.

Mr Musk said: “I say sir that you don’t know what you are talking about… because you cannot give me a single example of hateful content, not even one tweet.

“You claimed that hateful content is high, That is false, you just lied.” 

Mr Clayton defended his line of questioning, citing an organisation that has warned about a rise in hateful posts on the site.

Musk turned the tables on the reporter, asking him to respond to the BBC’s failure to report on scientific studies showing masks don’t work and failure to report on Covid vaccine injuries.

Clayton said: “This is not an interview about the BBC.”

Elon Musk responded: “Oh you thought it wasn’t?”