US billionaire Elon Musk vowed on Friday that his SpaceX Starlink internet service would not block Russian news outlets after he was allegedly ordered by unnamed governments to do so.
Starlink has been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources. We will not do so unless at gunpoint.
Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
Musk claimed in a Twitter post that Starlink had “been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources.”
“We will not do so unless at gunpoint,” he pledged. “Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.”
After one person criticized Musk and accused Russian media outlets of being “propaganda,” the billionaire responded, “All news sources are partially propaganda, some more than others.”
Last week, Musk had announced that his Starlink satellite internet program was now active in Ukraine after Kiev’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov begged the SpaceX CEO for assistance after Russia launched the military operation against Ukraine.
Musk’s Starlink satellite internet is one of the only communications services running in war-struck Ukraine at this moment. The company’s CEO Elon Musk had earlier warned Starlink users of being targeted as it is the only non-Russian communications service running in crisis-hit Ukraine.
