Health practitioners are among those condemning Elon Musk for a tweet, which suggested top U.S. infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci should be prosecuted.
Fauci was a senior advisor to the U.S. Government during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Twitter, Musk wrote “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.” It follows a campaign by some Republican lawmakers who are seeking to charge Dr Fauci with crimes because of his health advice.
Musk has recently removed a former Twitter policy, which targeted Covid-19 misinformation.
The policy reversal led to singer Elton John leaving the social media platform, which Musk acquired for $44 billion.
“I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked,” the 75-year-old singer said.
Meanwhile, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly told the Twitter CEO not to “mock and promote hate toward already marginalized and at-risk-of-violence members of the #LGBTQ+ community.”
Kelly said Dr Fauci is a “dedicated public servant”, who was tasked with saving lives when the pandemic began.
Lawmakers have also debated Musk’s original tweet. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said Dr Fauci “calmly guided our country through crisis”.
Ms Klobuchar also asked Musk to “leave a good man alone in your seemingly endless quest for attention.”
However, Republican officials have sided with Musk.
Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted “I affirm your pronouns Elon”. She had been removed from the social media platform over Covid-19 misinformation.
Ms Taylor Greene is one of several Republicans who have announced a probe into Dr Fauci’s handling of the pandemic.
Dr Fauci will leave his post later this month. He has been the Director at the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases since 1984.
