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The Patriots for Europe (PfE) group nominates Elon Musk for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, writes Index. “His commitment to freedom of speech, transparency and the fight against censorship is in line with the values of freedom and human rights,” reads a message published on X by the political group.
András László, Fidesz-KDNP MEP, stated in a post on X on Thursday that the Patriots for Europe group is nominating Elon Musk for the Sakharov Prize. According to the politician, the owner of X would deserve the award as the social network defends freedom of speech in a unique way.
“People want more freedom of speech, not less!” stated the politician, adding that X’s role in defending freedom of speech is unique and all social media platforms should strive for it. However, most people would instead opt for censorship, either “willingly or due to government bullying.”
People want more freedom of speech, not less!
The role of @X in defending freedom of speech is unique and it is what all social media platforms should be aiming for.
Yet, most choose censorship instead. Either willingly or due to government bullying.
Community notes on X… https://t.co/ZKCHw6tQ4E
— András László MEP (@laszloan) September 19, 2024
Community notes on X shows the way forward regarding transparent measures for accurate information, emphasized András László.
Awarded for the first time in 1988 to Nelson Mandela and Anatoli Marčenko, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work.
It gives recognition to individuals, groups and organizations that have made an outstanding contribution to protecting freedom of thought.
Through the prize and its associated network the EU assists laureates, who are supported and empowered in their efforts to defend their causes, notes the website of the European Parliament.
The prize has so far been awarded to dissidents, political leaders, journalists, lawyers, civil-society activists, writers, mothers, wives, minority leaders, an anti-terrorist group, peace activists, an anti-torture activist, a cartoonist, long-serving prisoners of conscience, a film-maker, the UN as a body and even a child campaigning for the right to education. It promotes in particular freedom of expression, the rights of minorities, respect for international law, the development of democracy and the implementation of the rule of law.
| The Patriots Group nominates Elon Musk (@elonmusk) for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Speech. His commitment to free speech, transparency, and fighting against censorship aligns with the values of freedom and human rights. #SakharovPrize #FreedomOfSpeech pic.twitter.com/rkSczQ43TP
— Patriots for Europe (@PatriotsEP) September 19, 2024
The European Parliament awards the Sakharov Prize, with its EUR 50,000 endowment, at a formal plenary sitting in Strasbourg towards the end of each year. The final winner or winners of the Sakharov Prize are chosen by the Conference of Presidents, a European Parliament body led by the president, including the leaders of all the political groups represented in the Parliament, making the choice of laureates a truly European choice.
Glad that my proposal to nominate @elonmusk for the #SakharovPrize was selected by the French delegation @PatriotesEurope and then accepted by all 84 MEPs representing 12 countries in the @PatriotsEP group.
In 2024, freedom of expression remains a fight! #Musk4Sakharov pic.twitter.com/UGBECyOswK
— Thierry MARIANI (@ThierryMARIANI) September 19, 2024
In spring 2022, Elon Musk took over the leadership of Twitter with the announcement that he wanted to give more space to freedom of expression. Since then, the platform, now known as X, has come under numerous attacks: US President Joe Biden said after the Twitter takeover that Elon Musk had bought a social media platform that was spreading lies about the world, as Reuters reported at the time.
As Hungary Today also reported, the European Commission tried to blackmail X and censor certain political opinions, accusing the platform of violating the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) regulation in mid-July. Elon Musk, the owner of the social media site, responded by saying that the Commission had offered him an illegal secret deal in which it would have waived penalties in return for censoring the content posted on the platform. Musk explained that other platforms had accepted the offer, but X had not.
Kinga Gál, leader of the Fidesz group in the European Parliament (EP) and first vice-president of the Patriots for Europe group, expressed her concern, as the incident suggests that the European Commission is applying the EU regulation in a biased way and blackmailing social networks to censor politically undesirable content.
Via Index; Featured image via Wikipedia