Elon Musk pledges to fund legal bills of X users ‘unfairly treated’ by employers for their posts

Elon Musk has said his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will fund the legal bills of people who have been treated unfairly by employers for posting something on the site.

“If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill,” Musk said in a post on X, adding that there will be no limits to funding the bills.

Musk has been vocal about his commitment to freedom of speech in the past, once defining himself as a ‘free speech absolutist’.

Shortly after acquiring Twitter, he tweeted: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”

The firm has endured months of chaos since Mr Musk’s takeover in October, including thousands of layoffs, criticism over lax moderation and an exodus of advertisers who did not want their ads appearing next to inappropriate content.

Ad revenue had fallen 50 per cent, Mr Musk said last month.

Musk unveiled the new name and logo last month, signifying his focus on building an "everything app" with services beyond social media, such as peer-to-peer payments.

It comes after an anti-hate speech campaign group accused X Corp of intimidation after Musk threatened legal action over the organisation’s research into hate speech on the platform.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has regularly conducted research into content on the platform since it was bought last year by Musk. It claims publication of hateful material on the site has risen since the $44bn (£34bn) deal.

Musk’s legal representative has written to CCDH and its chief executive, Imran Ahmed, accusing the organisation of posting articles making “inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading assertions about Twitter”.