Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been very critical of Elon Musk ever since he has taken over Twitter. Abdul-Jabbar has called out time and again the misuse of the social media platform to serve personal agenda. Musk has become the target of the six-time NBA champion once again after a number of recent controversies.

According to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elon Musk’s ongoing conflict with legitimate news organizations is not a matter of a man defending free speech and truth against corrupt media outlets, as Musk often likes to portray it. Abdul-Jabbar argues that the reality is much more complex and somber. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar calls out Elon Musk for his questionable actions

In a recent article on his Substack, Abdul-Jabbar wrote that Musk’s behavior is that of a savvy businessman who is skilled at making money but lacks critical thinking skills when it comes to social and political issues. Moreover, he uses his significant influence on Twitter to amplify his flawed thinking and mislead others, especially those who are easily swayed by his wealth and status.

Abdul-Jabbar claims that Musk has banned journalists and implemented an algorithm that censors tweets containing keywords related to the LGBTQ+ community, such as ‘trans’ or ‘transgender’. That’s ironic coming from a free speech advocate, the Hall-of-Famer believes.

He further highlighted the recent controversy in India, saying, “Here’s where the hypocrisy becomes outrageous: Twitter agreed to block more than 120 accounts of people and organizations—including poets, journalists, and an Indian MP—criticizing the Indian government.” The 75-year-old argued that this makes Twitter appear as a state-affiliated media outlet for the Indian government and puts into question Musk’s role as the owner of Twitter in such instances.

Talking about state-affiliated media outlets, the NBA veteran also pointed out Musk labeling NPR as the same despite getting only 1% of its funding from the government. On the other hand, the Tesla CEO has completely ignored certain actual state-affiliated organizations.

Abdul-Jabbar concluded his rant, saying, “So much chest thumping, so little brain using.” He suggested that Musk’s misuse of his platform to spread misinformation, attack media organizations, and curtail free speech is concerning and raises questions about how Musk forms his opinions, as facts do not seem to be important to him.

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Abdul-Jabbar highlights Elon Musk’s troubling Twitter behavior

Abdul-Jabbar also pointed to a recent incident involving Twitter’s verification badges as an example of Musk’s problematic behavior. Twitter announced that it would start removing verification badges from accounts unless they subscribed to a paid verification service, which prompted The New York Times and other organizations to refuse to pay for the badge.

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In response, Musk launched a barrage of insults at The NYT on the platform. Abdul-Jabbar highlighted that this behavior showcases Musk’s tendency to attack media organizations he disagrees with, using derogatory language and dismissing their credibility without providing any factual basis for his claims.