NewsRescue
Because of comments he made, NBC News briefly stopped covering Elon Musk and Twitter, and many on the left criticized the news organization.
Ben Collins covered disinformation and extremism for NBC, but once Musk bought Twitter, he was one of the more outspoken detractors of his leadership. He incorrectly asserted that Musk’s termination of a number of staff would result in the collapse of the entire website.
NBC News noted that it does not comment on personnel choices but did not go into detail about the comments that influenced its choice. Collins had received numerous warnings for his offensive remarks prior to being dropped from the coverage.
While many on the right applauded the action, those on the left viewed it as a troubling development that would undermine democracy.
Activist Judd Legum said, “This is an utterly unacceptable course of action by @NBCNews to adopt in reaction to an an unprecedented attack on journalistic freedom.
Don’t miss Dave Rubin’s content that is uncensored by big tech. Play The Rubin Report right now.
Ben Collins is one of the best and most important reporters you have, so suspending him is a bulls**t, cowardly move, another critic clarified in response.
“Atrocious, @NBCNews. Cowardly cowardly people, stand by your reporter. Ben Collins is an expert in his field “another critic said.
Others claimed that the action would bring the country closer to fascism.
“The media is kowtowing to Musk and the right-wing hate machine in bad faith. same as always putting their own reporters, such as Ben Collins, in the wrong. The wealthy and powerful have always worked together to pave the way for fascism “Wajahat Ali, an attorney and author, tweeted.
Entrepreneur Exavier Pope questioned “Why is corporate media caving to the will of bigots and fascists?”
Conservatives have already condemned Collins for his inflammatory remarks. He believed that many of the former president Donald Trump’s followers abstained from the midterm elections in November because they had turned to violence. He removed a tweet in January that referred to a gun rights event as a “white nationalist rally” after receiving vehement criticism for it.
Here is a clip of Ben Collins discussing Musk:
