‘Meta Can Never Be Trusted’: Musk Reacts After Facebook 'Deletes' UK Biologist Richard Dawkins’ Account

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has publicly slammed Meta after the tech giant deleted the Facebook account of renowned UK biologist and bestselling author Richard Dawkins.

Dawkins announced on Saturday that his account was deleted after he commented on the participation of genetically male athletes in the Paris Olympics, referencing Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. In a post on X, Musk expressed his disapproval of Meta’s content moderation policies, stating, “Facebook, aka ‘Meta,’ can never be trusted.”

Dawkins argued against policies that allow male athletes to compete in female categories, which he believes undermines fairness in sports. He clarified that his comments were made on X, not Facebook, yet it was his Facebook account that was deleted.

Dawkins expressed frustration over the lack of explanation for the removal, emphasising that while his opinion is open to civilized debate, he finds outright censorship unacceptable. He said, “My entire @facebook account has been deleted, seemingly (no reason given) because I tweeted that genetically male boxers such as Imane Khelif (XY undisputed) should not fight women in Olympics.”

The incident amid the ongoing Paris Olympics has ignited a broader discussion about free speech and the responsibilities of social media platforms in moderating content. So far, Meta has not responded directly to Musk’s remarks or the controversy surrounding Dawkins’ account deletion.

On Friday, Khelif won the women’s 66kg final against China’s Yang Liu in a unanimous points decision, having been the focus of intense scrutiny in the French capital in the past fortnight. Together with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won the 57kg women’s final on Saturday, Khelif was disqualified from last year’s world championships after they failed gender eligibility testing. However, they were cleared to compete in Paris, setting the stage for one of the biggest controversies of the Games.

Amid the ongoing row, Khelif filed a legal complaint in France for online harassment, her lawyer said Saturday. “The boxer Imane Khelif has decided to begin a new fight, a fight for justice, dignity and honour,” Nabil Boudi said in a statement, saying Khelif had filed the complaint for “aggravated online harassment… to Paris prosecutors”. He added: “The investigation will determine who was behind this misogynist, racist and sexist campaign, but will also have to concern itself with those who fed the online lynching.”

The “iniquitous harassment” the boxing champion had been subjected to would remain “the biggest stain on these Olympic Games”, said Boudi. On Friday, after her victory, Khelif said the gold medal she had won was the best response to her critics. Asked by reporters about the row over her eligibility, she said: “I am fully qualified to take part, I am a woman like any other. I was born a woman, lived a woman and competed as a woman.”

(With agency inputs)