LONDON: Elon Musk retweeted on Saturday the Daily Wire’s documentary on gender in the digital age, sparking a debate that saw the film gain over 110 million views and get retweeted at least 120,000 times.
The owner of Twitter wrote in his pinned tweet: “Every parent should watch this,” promoting “What is a Woman?”, which features American right-wing political commentator Matt Walsh.
Every parent should watch this https://t.co/pIp6UP6vq8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2023
The move came a day after his platform was accused by users of stifling free speech for curtailing the film’s exposure on the basis of “misgendering.”
But Musk’s promotion of “What is a Woman?” was hailed by many Twitter users, including British broadcaster Piers Morgan, who replied with three claps.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 2, 2023
Twitter user Silvia Penack said Musk’s backing for the film provided “two sides of the story” as opposed to “one-sided reporting.”
It's refreshing to see two sides of the story... lately we've been exposed to one-sided reporting. Critical thinking is crucial for progress and decision making.
— Silvia Pencak (@SilviaPencak) June 3, 2023
Another commentator shared a meme showing Musk standing up to a group of people who reject the documentary.
— Lorenzo (@thenftake) June 2, 2023
However, not everyone was pleased with Musk’s stance. Columnist Donna Miles said in response to the retweet: “People who want you to watch this so-called documentary clearly neither care about children’s safety nor women’s rights.”
The opening and closing scenes of this highly manipulative documentary are very instructive.
Opening scene:
A boy actor feigns delight at receiving a toy gun as a birthday present despite gun violence being the leading cause of death for American children.
Closing scene:
The…
— Donna Miles دانا مجاب (@UnPressed) June 3, 2023
Musk also promoted the film in his response to a tweet by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, in which the latter asked: “If aliens were to visit us right now, what’s one thing we’ve chosen to do as a society (that feels relatively simple or obvious) that would be super hard to explain?”
What is a woman?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2023
“What is a Woman?” was censored on Thursday by Twitter staff, but following accusations of “throttling free speech,” to which Musk did not respond, the film was allowed and retweeted by the platform’s owner, who said the initial rejection was “a mistake by many people at Twitter.”
