Elon Musk and X: when propaganda disguises itself as freedom of expression

When in November 2022 Elon Musk spent a whopping $44 billion to get his hands on Twitter (now woke”, would from then on become champion of freedom of expression, the same one of which he is supposedly the maximum defender.

There are those who consider, however, that freedom of expression as understood by the owner of X is nothing more than propaganda disguised as something else. And this argument seems to have gained weight after the prestigious German newspaper The world gave shelter a few days ago to a controversial article by Elon Musk in which the South African businessman showered the far-right AfD with praise. “It is the last ray of hope for this country,” Musk said in that article, which ultimately caused the resignation of the head of Opinion of the German newspaper.

Musk’s article has only further inflamed tempers in the pre-campaign ahead of the general elections to be held on February 23 in Germany. and which are emerging as absolutely decisive in the country led by Olaf Scholz. The leaders of the parties (other than the AfD) that will compete in these elections have exploded in anger against Musk for believing in the right to interfere in German politics. However, a media The world In this case, he gave Musk the right to give his opinion in this regard. And even if the newspaper had not become Elon Musk’s platform, he would have in any case had other channels at his disposal to ask for a vote for the AfD in the next general elections in Germany.

Although many do not like it, Elon Musk has the right to give his opinion on the elections on February 23 in German lands. However, The average citizen also has the right to refrain from buying Tesla electric cars, from using platform The worldemphasizes Uwe Vorkötter in an article published in horizon. And advertisers also have the right to stop placing advertising in X and do so instead in quality media.

Immediate regulation of social networks is urgently needed

The opinions (almost always controversial) of Elon Musk cannot be regulated. However, X (and also Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok) should be at the mercy of certain regulations. We are talking, after all, about social networks that play a very important role in society. And in fact, many young people get their information by relying solely and exclusively on these channels, which have ended up becoming the particular playground of “fake news.”

When Elon Musk took the helm of Twitter about two years ago, the (by no means trivial) question arose of whether the famous social network was really in a position to contain the torrent of extremists, racists and theorists whom This platform sought shelter. Two years later, it has become abundantly clear that Musk has no intention of lifting a finger to short-circuit misinformation in X because he himself encourages “fake news” with his publications on this social network.

In October 2022, when Musk took over Twitter, Trump was banned from this platform for providing support to those who carried out the assault on the Capitol in January 2021. More than two years later, Trump’s account has been restored in X and Musk is one of the most faithful acolytes of the future president of the United States, so much so that he will be part of his cabinet.

Besides, In recent weeks, Mark Zuckerberg and other leaders of the “techie” industry have made a pilgrimage to Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago to pay their respects to the president-elect of the United States.. Silicon Valley, which has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, seems to have given in to Trump and his policies.

Social networks, which have been in business for more than 20 years and make money profusely, are more willing than ever to disseminate propaganda, the kind that Elon Musk insists on disguising as freedom of expression. And the future United States Government will do nothing to prevent such an outrage (quite the opposite). Only the European Union can stop the misunderstood freedom of expression that most social networks advocate today, as long as, of course, the AfD and other far-right parties do not come to power, Vorkötter concludes.