Through the years, Elon Musk has made some huge cash and used it to pay different individuals to make some fairly cool issues for him. He’s additionally a horrible particular person whose checklist of scandals is so lengthy, you’ve most likely forgotten issues that might have gotten another CEO fired, and nowhere is that perspective on show clearer than over on Twitter, the social media community he purchased whereas claiming to defend free speech. As Adam Conover factors out in his newest video, although, all of the proof factors to Musk doing extra to kill free speech on this nation.
Now, earlier than we get too far, we have to set up precisely what free speech is. As xkcd’s Randall Munroe so eloquently put it:
The fitting to free speech means the federal government can’t arrest you for what you say. It doesn’t imply that anybody else has to hearken to your bullshit or host you when you share it. The first Modification doesn’t protect you from criticism or penalties. If you happen to’re yelled at, boycotted, have your present canceled, or get banned from an web group, your free speech rights aren’t being violated. It’s simply that the individuals listening assume you’re an asshole, and so they’re displaying you the door.
That is, in fact, an issue for conservatives as a result of their insurance policies are deeply unpopular and objectively horrible. When Democrats get what they need, the rich pay extra in taxes. When Republicans get what they need, individuals actually die. And that’s even earlier than you get into the wild conspiracy theories and bigotry their elected officers spew nonstop. When social media firms began banning individuals for blatantly or repeatedly violating their phrases of service, conservatives determined they have been being censored. It’s bullshit now, and it was at all times bullshit.
So Elon Musk purchased Twitter beneath the guise of defending free speech. The truth that the first Modification solely applies to the federal government, and Twitter was a publicly traded firm was as irrelevant as whether or not or not Musk even understood the excellence. He’s not a defender of free speech. He’s a bigot who occurs to have cash and used it to amplify the voices of probably the most vile individuals on the web.
Musk didn’t cease there, both. He’s additionally banned critics, journalists, political activists and different customers he simply doesn’t agree with. He even determined the time period “cis” was a slur. Musk additionally made Twitter engineers change the algorithm to spice up his tweets even to individuals who didn’t need to see them, kind of forcing others to hearken to his speech. Oh, and when advertisers determined they didn’t need their advertisements showing close to tweets utilizing racial slurs, Musk responded by suing an promoting commerce group and forcing them to close down as a result of they couldn’t afford to battle the lawsuit.
Even in the event you skip the precise definition of free speech as outlined within the 1st Modification and later interpreted in landmark courtroom instances comparable to Brandenburg v. Ohio, and also you go along with Elon’s model, he’s nonetheless a hypocrite. He’s additionally gotten even worse since he put a Trump 2024 win on his imaginative and prescient board. To see simply how unhealthy he’s gotten, you’ll have to observe the remainder of the video under.
