New Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted — and later deleted — a conspiracy theory on Sunday about the night US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked.
Mr Musk's comments highlighted concerns about the platform's future after he pledged it would not become a "free-for-all hellscape."
The self-declared "free speech absolutist," was responding to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who tweeted about Republicans who promote baseless conspiracy theories and the violent attack on Paul Pelosi in San Francisco on Friday.
"There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye," Mr Musk told Ms Clinton, attaching a link to the story, which is no longer accessible, by the conservative Santa Monica Observer.
The weekly has published conspiracy theories in the past, including that a body double for Ms Clinton was sent to a debate with Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Elon Musk's year as he closes $44bn Twitter deal — in pictures
-
After months of negotiations, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk finally purchased Twitter on October 27. AFP -
The billionaire took control of microblogging platform and fired its top executives, including chief executive Parag Agrawal, left, as well as the company's chief financial officer and its head of legal policy, trust and safety. AFP -
Elon Musk entering Twitter headquarters carrying a sink through the lobby area on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. Musk posted a video Wednesday showing him strolling into Twitter headquarters ahead of a Friday deadline to close his $44 billion deal to buy the company. AP -
Mr Musk and his children Damian, Kai, Saxon and Griffin met Pope Francis in July at the Vatican. AFP -
Mr Musk speaks by video in June to the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. Bloomberg -
Mr Musk answers questions at the Qatar Economic Forum. Bloomberg -
Mr Musk arrives at the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in May. Reuters -
Mr Musk and his mother Maye Musk arrive at the Met Gala in May. AFP -
Mother and son pose and laugh on the Met Gala red carpet. EPA -
Mr Musk waves at the Met Gala. Reuters -
Mr Musk joins in online at the 'Financial Times' Future of the Car Summit in May. Financial Times -
Mr Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, in March. Reuters -
Mr Musk at the Tesla factory in Berlin, Germany, in March. AP -
Mr Musk speaks at SpaceX's Starbase centre in South Texas in February. AFP -
The entrepreneur shakes hands with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Porto Feliz, Brazil, in May. AP -
Mr Bolsonaro and Mr Musk greet each other in Sao Paulo. Reuters -
Indonesian President Joko Widodo meets Mr Musk at the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, in May. Reuters -
Mr Musk shows Mr Widodo his mobile phone during a tour of the SpaceX launch site in Texas. Reuters
Mr Musk later deleted his tweet after it swiftly became a focal point for critics who have been nervous about the direction in which he intends to take Twitter.
His outspoken and controversial tweets have courted trouble in the past, and he has pledged to reduce content moderation, relying more on computer algorithms than human monitors.
Conservatives say past moderation has unfairly attacked their views.
In a message meant to reassure Twitter advertisers about his leadership, Mr Musk said this week that he realised Twitter "cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences."
But detractors warn that without standards, the world's "digital town square" is at risk of becoming flooded with misinformation, with possibly perilous consequences for democracy and public health.
"Clinton: Conspiracy theories are getting people killed and we shouldn't amplify them. Owner of Twitter: But have you considered this conspiracy theory?" wrote University of Denver political scientist Seth Masket after Musk's Sunday tweet.
Ms Pelosi, who is second in line to the US presidency, has said her family is "heartbroken and traumatised" after the intruder broke into the couple's San Francisco home early on Friday and attacked her husband with a hammer, fracturing his skull.
Mr Pelosi, 82, is recovering in hospital.
President Joe Biden has said it appeared the assault was "intended for Nancy," and called out increasingly polarising political speech.
"The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result," Ms Clinton said in her tweet.
Mr Musk's response came hours after Twitter said the site was being hit by a trolling campaign testing its moderation policies under the billionaire's leadership.
"Twitter's policies haven't changed ... And we're taking steps to put a stop to an organised effort to make people think we have," tweeted the platform's chief of safety and integrity, Yoel Roth.
