#21
Why is free speech so important?
Interviews
7
Answers
8
X posts
7
Span
2023 to 2025
First asked Nov 29, 2023, most recently Oct 31, 2025. Excerpts below are from machine transcripts with filler words (um, uh, you know) and stutters removed; … marks a cut. They are not checked word for word, so use the link to hear the exact words, or the transcript link for the raw text. Timestamps: 1 cross-checked against YouTube captions, 6 from the archive transcript only, 1 unverified caption-only. X has no link-to-time option, so X links open at the start.
How the answer evolved · oldest first
Nov 29, 2023 · DealBook Summit · asked by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Q: We also see, you know, Desantis, you know, preventing people from reading certain things. Maybe you think that's correct?
No, look, we actually are in an odd situation here where on balance the Democrats appear to be More pro censorship than the Republicans. And that used to be the opposite. It used to be left position was freedom of speech. I believe at one point the ACLU even def. Defended the right of someone to claim that they were Nazi or something like that. So, like there really were, like the left was. Freedom of speech is …
Dec 10, 2023 · X Spaces: Free speech with Alex Jones · asked by Mario (host)
Q: How do you balance all these when fighting for free speech?
Well, we're gonna obviously favor free speech. I believe my action has been very clear in this regard that if it is a choice between money and freedom, we will pick freedom.
Dec 10, 2023 · X Spaces: Free speech with Alex Jones · asked by Panelist
Q: But the question is if that law is being enforced by the law enforcement agency of the FBI or the dhs and then they come to X and say these posts need to be censored, this information needs to be censored because we've determined whatever …
Well, if we believe that something is not in accordance with the law, then we will ask a judge or jury to make a decision. We don't have much of that. That is the best we can do. So, and I just want to.
Dec 16, 2023 · Atreju Festival · asked by Interviewer
Q: What's your choice and what, how much is important in your behavior?
I do think free speech is incredibly important because if people cannot speak their minds and then we won't have a democracy. Democracy is the foundation of democracy is freedom of speech,
Jan 22, 2024 · European Jewish Association · asked by Ben Shapiro
Q: How do you balance the necessity for free speech with all these critiques about what is hate speech, what is anti Semitism, and how do you balance that?
Well, the general bias of the platform is in favor of free speech. And I think at the end of the day, free speech wins in that if somebody says something that's false, especially on our platform, you can then reply to it with the correction. And then. I'm a huge fan of community notes. We've put maximum resources and attention behind community notes, so if somebody tries to push a falsehood like Holocaust denial or …
Mar 18, 2024 · The Don Lemon Show · asked by Don Lemon
Q: But don't you think free speech is one thing, right or not?
Look, if something's illegal, going to take it down. If it's not illegal, then we're putting our thumb on the scale. We're bringing censors.
Oct 20, 2024 · America PAC Town Hall: Pittsburgh, PA · asked by Audience
Q: So would you be open to a conversation to work with sex trafficking survivors and sex workers to make X a platform where we are safe and don't get silenced by our government?
Well, as I've said very clearly, I'm in favor of anything that supports freedom of speech. So any infringement on freedom of speech I would be against. And people should be able to speak their mind. That's the whole idea of the first amendment. And I mean, the priority for law enforcement should be protecting children first and foremost, because they can protect themselves. So protect the kids first, everything else …
Oct 31, 2025 · Elon Musk: OpenAI Betrayal, His Future at Tesla, and the Next Big Thing: Grokipedia · asked by unknown
Q: What have you seen in terms of like governments creating new laws? So, we've seen a lot of this crackdown in the UK on what's being called hateful speech on social media and folks getting arrested and actually going to prison over it. … Are you seeing more of these laws around the world in response to your opening up free speech through Twitter?
Yeah, there's been an overall global movement to suppress free speech under the guise of suppressing hate speech. But then, you know, the problem with that is that your freedom of speech only matters if people are allowed to say things that you don't like, or even things that you hate. Because if you're allowed to suppress speech that you don't like, then you don't have freedom of speech, and it's only a matter of time before things switch around and then the shoe's on the other foot and they will suppress you.
In his own posts on X
@elonmusk · Aug 19, 2024
A reminder that free speech in America is special and we need to do everything possible to preserve it https://t.co/yAvX1TpuRp
View on X ↗@elonmusk · Aug 25, 2024
It is vital to the support of free speech that you forward 𝕏 posts to people you know, especially in censorship-heavy countries
View on X ↗@elonmusk · Apr 12, 2026
Freedom of speech is the bedrock of democracy https://t.co/iX2BCGVrsH
View on X ↗@elonmusk · Apr 27, 2026
When violence is categorized accurately, this unequivocally true. You know who the bad guys are, because they’re the ones who want censorship of free speech. https://t.co/Vb9l88ePQI
View on X ↗@elonmusk · Jun 15, 2026
This censorship law is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The real goal is to enable the UK government to track everyone. https://t.co/aZKpGDdPmX
View on X ↗@elonmusk · Jun 16, 2026
Censorship always comes with a “protect the children” lie https://t.co/Chhr7dNrlU
View on X ↗@elonmusk · Jun 20, 2026
@PiersUncensored @piersmorgan @andrewrsorkin Free speech within the bounds of the law is what’s right
View on X ↗
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