The left has been going through it since Elon Musk took over Twitter. From the moment it became apparent that the deal to purchase the social media company was going to go through, they have been ranting and raving about horrible things are about to get on the platform.
Prominent leftist influencers insist that Musk’s focus on free speech will only lead to more misinformation and bigotry being promulgated on the site. But in reality, they seem to be more frightened by the prospect of people who espouse views different from theirs might just have a level playing field when it comes to expressing ideas.
On Wednesday, Musk posted a survey asking if the company should grant “a general amnesty” to all accounts that have been banned or suspended:
Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?
Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022
In response to a comment on the tweet saying that Twitter “should be clear and consistent about it’s rules and penalties for breaking them,” he indicated that as he learns more about the inner workings of the company, he is discovering some troubling information. He wrote:
The more I learn, the worse it gets. The world should know the truth of what has been happening at Twitter.
Transparency will earn the trust of the people.
The more I learn, the worse it gets. The world should know the truth of what has been happening at Twitter.
Transparency will earn the trust of the people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022
On Tuesday, Musk posted a tweet acknowledging that under the previous management, high-profile left-wing accounts were not permanently banned despite “spouting utter lies.”
As is obvious to all but the media, there is not one permanent ban on even the most far left account spouting utter lies
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2022
You remember what happened last time Musk ran a poll on Twitter, right? Shortly after, he restored former President Donald Trump’s account, which resulted in even more wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from progressives. This just might be a sign that he plans to let tons of banned users out of Twitter jail sometime soon.
It is apparent that Musk is intent on cleaning up the Twitter platform despite the incessant whining coming from the left. And indeed, they are whining. Media activist Taylor Lorenz of the Washington Post, during an appearance on BBC News claimed the new CEO is actually against free speech. She said:
Well, there’s absolutely nothing about Elon Musk that’s a free speech advocate. I mean, he’s just notoriously been super anti-free speech over the years, cracking down on anybody that speaks out against him. He’s intimidated journalists, he’s intimidated whistleblowers, and now you see him on Twitter once again just cracking down super hard on any sort of open expression and free speech. Just today, he said that any posts that we’re deemed negative, without even explaining what that means, would be throttled, and it would be basically impossible to find on Twitter. So he will really go to insane lengths to silence people, and to kind of get them to shut up.
Taylor Lorenz: @elonmusk is “super anti-free speech.” pic.twitter.com/AQD9FmUmco
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 23, 2022
It might surprise you to find out that she gave absolutely no examples to support her claims about Musk tamping down on free speech. But this is the same type of folderol being spewed by other leftist influencers upset by the prospect of having to deal with a fair competition of ideas. If the new CEO’s recent moves are any indication, they had better get used to it.
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