It’s been less than a month since Elon Musk signed papers to own his own echo chamber, I mean social media app, and you can already see the iceberg right ahead. Twitter is sinking. Fast. And with Elon’s help, so is democracy.
Once purchased at $44 billion, which is greater than the GDP of 30 countries combined, according to Musk, Twitter is losing about $4 million daily. Twitter’s beauty is that it is the great equalizer; a tiny voice can be just as loud as someone’s with a huge platform. With Twitter, users have a direct pipeline to artists and celebrities; one person can change the world in 280 characters. Musk has turned the once golden child of social media into his golden goose, using the app as a wet dream for kids who were bullied and grew up to be rich, giving a revival of “Revenge of the Nerds,” three decades too late. While proclaiming the importance of “free speech” and tweeting, “legalize comedy,” Musk has suspended the accounts of actual comedians for…get this, COMEDY.
Kathy Griffin and Ethan Klein dared to impersonate him comedically and were promptly suspended. The only accounts suspended for impersonating someone other than Elon Musk were @Dmortizrabson for impersonating Andy Ngo, the Asian white nationalist, and Abner Pastoll, who impersonated Keanu Reaves, subsequently tweeting that Musk was a “bully.” Professional lapdogs, the @HodgeTwins, also excitedly jumped for joy when Griffin was suspended while tweeting about Apartheid Papi’s commitment to free speech just days prior. Oh, wait. Daniel Radcliffe also got suspended for impersonating Weird Al Yankovic as a promotion for the movie where he plays Weird Al Yankovic. Again, so much for legalizing comedy.
In order to prevent any comedy that Musk doesn’t find funny or really anything that might criticize Herr Twittler, Twitter has updated its rules. One states, “you may not use Twitter’s services in a manner intended to artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behavior that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience on Twitter.”
Elon, dis you???
I know this ain’t who I think it is. This isn’t the same Elon who paid $20 million in SEC fines for falsely tweeting that Tesla funds were secured, causing “a significant market disruption.” I don’t know, but that sounds like manipulation to me. Not to mention the owner of the largest social media app, who has essentially fired a good number of the people who could hold him accountable and probably has the capabilities to affect the algorithms, should be telling people to vote for a Republican Congress. A Congress that I am sure is wedged deep in his back pockets. Does no one see how that’s a conflict of interest? The wealthiest man in the world, whose humble beginnings were etched in the caves of emerald mines in apartheid South Africa, is now goading people to vote for the far right? Even if you don’t think the far-right is awful, no one can see a problem with this type of political influencing the day before the election?!
While a good portion of Trump’s America is also partitioning their love to have enough saved up for Musk, did any of them stop to think that maybe it is not a good idea for one person to own a company while being able to control how information is disseminated to millions of people, has government contracts worth over a billion dollars for his company, (a company that sent a rocket up which exploded before it reached its destination), oh and an almost trillion dollar car company…like no one?
Elon Musk did not even invent Teslas. He used profits from the sale of Paypal to invest in Tesla. By no means do I think he’s not extremely intelligent, but to paint him as this wunderkind that came from humble beginnings and grew up to be today’s Nikola Tesla, is an exaggeration at best. Elon helped us transfer money and drive a cool car. He does not deserve undying affection. No one does. His ever-increasing power is alarming, and if left unchecked, his hold on us will be too tight to be released.
Musk could’ve spent $6 billion being a better person, but instead spent $44 billion being a bitter person. Of all the things Elon Musk has done, his greatest success is that he is officially the owner of free speech.
