I didn’t really read them taking a stance either way, not sure where you’re coming from there, but I also have no interest in defending them and think you’re missing the point.
You claim Twitter is a bastion of free speech and has decreased it’s compliance with government requests since Musk purchased it, but that’s not actually true — Twitter/x has significantly increased it’s compliance with government requests, which implies that, as a business, it is more in bed with governments then it previously had been. Your claim that is less in bed with governments appears to be untrue, based on twitter’s self-reporting on the question.
Here are articles from more center and center-right publications that say the same.
Musk has previously called himself a "free speech absolutist" and said he would only censor Russian news "at gunpoint."
www.businessinsider.com
The social media platform has not reported denying any government requests since Musk bought it, a change from its previous ownership.
www.forbes.com
Here is the source, which is based on Twitter’s self-reporting to the Lumen database.
The company has not refused a single request since Musk took ownership, according to self-reported data.
restofworld.org