Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter has been challenged by advocacy groups who, on Friday, launched a campaign called “Stop the Deal”. 

The site notes that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s plans for the social media company threaten users, society, and democracy. It also warns that the world’s richest man would be inciting hate and violence, reinstating banned accounts, and asserting unilateral control. 

“Elon Musk would steamroll basic content moderation safeguards and provide a megaphone to extremists who traffic in white nationalism, hate, disinformation, and harassment—further endangering marginalized communities”, the site says. Musk, who claims to be a ‘free speech absolutist‘ has vowed to let all voices be heard on the platform, which has sparked fears of hatred being spread. 

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The fear of reinstating banned accounts stems from Musk’s own statements about bringing back former US President Donald Trump’s account. Trump was blocked over his tweets regarding the Jan 6 Capitol Hill riots. 

The site adds, “Our safety and democracy should not be at the whim of unaccountable billionaires – whether it’s Elon Musk or anyone else. We cannot allow Elon Musk to own such a large part of our information ecosystem.” 

Accountable Tech executive director Nicole Gill called Musk “a wolf in expensive sheep’s clothing whose Twitter takeover is motivated by ego and grievance”, in a release concerning the site. 

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MoveOn, SumOfUs, Media Matters for America, and the Center for Countering Digital Hate are some of the other organizations campaigning against Musk. They aim to press the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other agencies to scrutinize Musk’s Twitter deal, while also convincing Twitter shareholders and advertisers to oppose Musk’s purchase of the company. 

Less than two weeks after becoming a major stakeholder in the company, Musk launched a hostile takeover. Currently, the billionaire’s deal has hit another speedbump over the number of bots on the platform.