On Tuesday, both NBC’s Today show and ABC’s Good Morning AmericaA suggestion by Amazon founder was hyped and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos that fellow billionaire and new Twitter owner Elon Musk might be under the influence of China’s authoritarian regime given the amount of business the Tesla CEO does in the country. However, neither network mentioned that in a follow-up tweet, Bezos admitted that Musk was “probably not” beholden to China.
“Sold. After weeks of watching and waiting, Elon Musk reaches a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion,” co-host Hoda Kotb announced at the start of NBC’s Today show. The alarm was sounded immediately by her: “This morning, inside the world’s richest man’s plans to change the popular platform, the critics who call the move dangerous, and the looming battle of the billionaires as Jeff Bezos raises his own questions about the deal.”
Savannah Guthrie, Savannah’s co-host, repeated the tease moments later: “Fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos now raising some serious new questions about what it means for the platform and who might benefit, which countries might benefit. We’ll get into that just ahead.”
In the report that followed, technology correspondent Jo Ling Kent – who already claimed in prior coverage that Musk’s takeover of Twitter may endanger the “safety” of users, “especially for women and minorities” – hyped:
Some critics worry how Musk, who’s faced his own backlash over controversial and offensive tweets, will handle Twitter’s challenges with misinformation and toxic content.ACLU raised concerns regarding a powerful central player having such control over our online political speech.
Then, she cited: “Rival billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also throwing shade at the deal, questioning whether China would gain more influence over Twitter due to Musk’s other company, Tesla, doing so much business there.”
Bezos initially quote-tweeted someone pointing out Musk’s business interests in China, speculating: “Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square?”
However, in a second tweet in the thread, Bezos promptly dismissed the notion: “My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter.”
In the final tweet in the thread, Bezos neutrally observed: “But we’ll see. Musk is extremely good at navigating this kind of complexity.”
NBC didn’t bother to include any of that crucial context.
On ABC’s Good Morning AmericaRebecca Jarvis (chief business correspondent) also mentioned the Bezos comment. But she did provide a bit more context.
Musk’s longtime rival, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was up tweeting about what this deal could mean. He wanted to know if China has gained any leverage over Twitter. Musk has a large number of Teslas sold in China. China might pressure Musk on Twitter. Bezos eventually concluded Musk is very good at dealing with this complexity.
Of course what was still missing was Bezos saying “probably not” to China co-opting Musk or Twitter.
Jarvis did remind viewers that Bezos threw around his own considerable wealth to buy up another media outlet years ago: “For comparison, Bezos spent about $250 million to buy The Washington Post. This is going to cost Musk $44 billion.”
An examination of Bezos’ significant business ties to China was another important detail left out of ABC’s and NBC’s coverage. This includes China Daily, a state-run Chinese publication that paid millions for an insert to the newspaper. PostFor years, they have spewed propaganda about the regime.
The fake news hype on NBC’s Today show was brought to viewers by Liberty Mutual, it was brought to ABC viewers by Disney. These advertisers can be contacted to let them know your opinion about sponsoring this content.
Here is a full transcript of the April 26 report on NBC’s Today show:
7:00 AM ET TEASE
HODA KOTB: Sold. Elon Musk has reached a $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter after weeks of waiting and watching. This morning, inside the world’s richest man’s plans to change the popular platform, the critics who call the move dangerous, and the looming battle of the billionaires as Jeff Bezos raises his own questions about the deal.
7:03 AM ET TEASE
KOTB: Meantime, reaction is pouring in to Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE – Jeff Bezos, a fellow billionaire is now asking serious questions about the future of the platform. Who might be benefited and which countries may benefit. We’ll get into that just ahead.
7:06 AM ET SEGMENT
SAVANNAH GUTRIE: Let’s move on to the major overhaul at Twitter. To take over popular social media site Twitter, Elon Musk, who is the wealthiest man in the country, will spend $44 billion. What will this surprising purchase mean for the tens and millions of Facebook users? NBC’s business and tech correspondent Jo Ling Kent taking a closer look this morning. Good morning Jo.
JO LING KENT: Hey, Savannah, good morning. That’s right. Elon Musk already owns SpaceX and Tesla, but now he is expanding his portfolio to include Twitter. But news of the purchase has both supporters and critics concerned about Twitter’s future and what it could mean for your Twitter feed.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Inside Musk’s $44 Billion Twitter Deal]
Elon Musk will take over Twitter at a cost of $44 Billion. After weeks of corporate wrangling, Twitter’s board of directors accepting the billionaire’s buyout offer in a unanimous vote. Musk, who has been one of Twitter’s biggest critics, celebrating with rocket emojis, tweeting in part, “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy and Twitter is the digital town square.”
Twitter, if approved by regulators and shareholders earn more than $54 per share for each common stock scare. How will Musk change your Twitter feed’s appearance? Musk stated that he would add features and make the algorithms more open source in order to boost trust, eliminate spam bots and authenticate everyone.
ELON MUSK: Well, I think it’s very important for – that it be an inclusive arena for free speech.
KENT: There are other ideas, such as charging users for a subscription and adding an editing button to tweets.
Some critics worry how Musk, who’s faced his own backlash over controversial and offensive tweets, will handle Twitter’s challenges with misinformation and toxic content. ACLU raises concerns about Musk’s ability to exert such control on the online boundaries of political speech.
Rival billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also throwing shade at the deal, questioning whether China would gain more influence over Twitter due to Musk’s other company, Tesla, doing so much business there. Since 2009, Twitter has been banned by the Chinese government.
Musk became a tech pioneer when he established the company that would be PayPal. It was later sold to eBay for $1.5 Billion. He then used the profits to create SpaceX and Tesla. He’s still the CEO of both companies.
DAN IVES [WEDBUSH SECURITIES MANAGING DIRECTOR OF EQUITY RESEARCH]: Musk ultimately could be taking on more than he believes but it’s Musk and we all know he’s going to go to the beat of a different drum.
KENT
Another big question is: What will Musk do to ban Twitter users such as former President Trump? Last year, who was suspended? Musk might reinstate them according to some. Musk, for his part says he doesn’t plan to go back. Savannah?
GUTHRIE: Alright, Jo, we’ll be watching. We are grateful.
Here is a full transcript of the report on ABC’s GMA:
7:10 AM ET
ROBIN ROBERTS. Now Elon Musk, and Twitter. The Tesla founder says he wants to make the social media platform, quote, “better than ever after,” after the company agreed to his $44 billion offer. Rebecca Jarvis is chief business correspondent and shares her thoughts on what the huge deal means for Twitter users. Good morning, Rebecca.
REBECCA JAVIS: Robin, Good morning. Elon Musk is almost 85 million strong on Twitter. He’s one of the most prolific tweeters on the platform and now that he’ll also be the owner, he says he wants to transform the company.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Elon Musk Set to Buy Twitter; New Reaction as Social Media Giant Accepts $44 Billion Offer]
This morning, Twitter accepting Elon Musk’s $44 billion all-cash offer to buy the company and take it private. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and world’s richest person on track to be the social media giant’s new owner. It’s likely to happen within six to nine months, subject the regulatory approval.
The news of the deal was met with surprise, concern and cheers all over Twitter. Musk tweeting he wants “to make Twitter better than ever,” adding that the platform has “tremendous potential.”
ELON MOSK: Twitter has been a de facto square.
JARVIS: Musk, a 50-year old, recently acquired a 9% share in the company. He will be paying $54.20 per shares to purchase the remainder. Twitter’s stock closing up 5.7% at the end of trading Monday. Twitter founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey giving Musk his endorsement writing, “Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.”
There were also reports overnight of an all-hands conference at Twitter. This raised many questions about staff compensation and whether Trump will allow them back onto the social network platform. Trump issued a statement shortly before the deal was announced saying he won’t return to the platform.
Musk is openly expressing his wish for freedom of speech and transparency on Twitter. Musk indicated that he may bring back banished accounts and kick bots from the platform. He also suggested giving users an editing button. This was something he discussed at a recent TED Conference.
MUSK
JARVIS: Musk’s longtime rival, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was up tweeting about what this deal could mean. He wondered if China might have gained leverage via Twitter. Musk has a large number of Teslas sold in China. China might pressure Musk on Twitter. Bezos eventually concluded Musk is very good at dealing with this complexity.
Bezos, by comparison, spent approximately $250 million on his purchase The Washington Post. Musk is expected to pay $44 Billion for all of this.
ROBERTS: There’s so many questions and we were peppering you with a lot during the piece.
JARVIS : But there are many more questions. He hasn’t gotten in there and met with the employees yet. That could lead to many changes.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We know you’ll be watching it. Thanks, Rebecca.
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