Elon Musk - "Free Speech Absolutist"

Freedom of Expression as a Euphemism on Twitter under Elon Musk

The cover image above shows Elon as he might imagine himself to be, a brave soldier waging battle on the front of the War for Free Speech.

Free Speech and Musk’s Twitter Intro

Elon Musk has been known to talk about freedom of expression, but his actions suggest otherwise. For example, Twitter complied with government censorship requests 80% of the time under his leadership, up from 50% before he took over.

Musk has also declared that the words "cis" and "cisgender" are now considered slurs on Twitter, even though they are generally not interpreted as such. This seems to violate his own definition of free speech, which he has said means allowing people to say things you don't like.

There are many other examples of Musk censoring Twitter users, including those who oppose foreign governments or who are critical of the transgender community. It is unclear whether Musk has established a "healthy, functioning free speech situation" on Twitter, as he promised.

Here are some specific examples of Musk's actions that suggest he is not a true free-speech absolutist:

He has increased Twitter's compliance with government censorship requests.

He has declared that the words "cis" and "cisgender" are now considered slurs on Twitter. He has blocked or suspended users who have criticized him or his companies.

He has changed Twitter's policies to make it more difficult for users to share news articles and other information that he disagrees with.

These actions suggest that Musk is more interested in controlling the flow of information on Twitter than in promoting free speech. It is important to note that Musk has not explicitly said that he is not a free speech absolutist, but his actions suggest that he is not.

Turkey’s Presidential Election in May 2023

In May 2023, during a presidential election, the Turkish government asked Twitter to ban four accounts and take down 409 tweets critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The accounts included those of an investigative journalist and a Turkish businessman.

Elon Musk, who had recently acquired Twitter, could have defended his users' right to free speech, but instead, he allowed Twitter to comply with the government's request.

In a tweet, Musk justified his decision by saying that he had to choose between "having Twitter throttled in its entirety or limit access to some tweets."

He argued that it was more important to keep Twitter available to the Turkish people than to allow them to see content that the government had censored.

Musk's decision was met with criticism from some who argued that he had betrayed his commitment to free speech. Others defended Musk, saying that he was faced with a difficult choice and that he had made the best decision he could under the circumstances.

The incident highlights the challenges of balancing free speech with other important values, such as national security and public order. It also raises questions about Musk's commitment to free speech and his ability to uphold the principles he has espoused.

Here are some additional details about the incident:

The Turkish government claimed that the accounts and tweets in question violated laws against spreading false information and inciting violence.

Twitter said that it had reviewed the government's requests and determined that they were "legally valid." The takedowns were met with protests from Turkish journalists and human rights groups.

Musk later said that he regretted the decision to comply with the government's request and that he would have done things differently if he had been in charge at the time.

The Jet Set and More

Elon Musk initially defended the right of a Twitter user to track his private jet's movements, but later changed his mind and had Twitter ban the account. Twitter also banned journalists who wrote about the account, citing its policy against doxxing.

However, the policy against doxxing does not apply to writing about public figures, and many people believe that Twitter was censoring journalists in an attempt to protect Musk.

In one case, Twitter banned Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz for asking Musk about the situation. Lorenz had emailed Musk several times to share information about the account, but he had not responded.

Lorenz tweeted that she was "taking this very seriously" and wanted to ensure that the matter was "pursued in the right way." Shortly after, her account was banned.

Musk later said that Lorenz's account was banned for doxxing, but she had never doxxed anyone. He also said that he had reinstated her account, but he did not provide any explanation for why it was banned in the first place.

The banning of the @ElonJet account and the journalists who wrote about it has raised concerns about Twitter's commitment to free speech. Some people believe that Musk is using his control of Twitter to silence critics and protect his own interests.

Others believe that Twitter is simply enforcing its policies fairly and that Musk is being unfairly targeted.

The situation is still unfolding, and it is unclear what the long-term implications will be. However, it is clear that the @ElonJet account and the journalists who wrote about it have become a test case for Twitter's commitment to free speech.

Substack Links Blocked

Twitter blocked users from interacting with Substack links, such as retweeting, liking, or commenting on them. They also made it so Substack users could no longer embed tweets in their newsletters.

Additionally, some users reported that Twitter made it impossible to search for the word "Substack" on the platform.

Elon Musk, who owns Twitter, tweeted that Substack was trying to download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone. He also said that Substack's IP address was "obviously untrusted." Substack denied these allegations.

Musk also said that Substack links were not blocked, but this was proven to be false. Many people, including Gizmodo, confirmed that Twitter had blocked Substack links. Additionally, IP addresses have nothing to do with searching for the word "Substack" on Twitter.

The blocking of Substack links has raised concerns about Twitter's commitment to free speech. Some people believe that Twitter is trying to stifle competition from Substack, which is a potential threat to Twitter's business.

Others believe that Twitter is simply enforcing its policies fairly and that Substack is being unfairly targeted.

The situation is still unfolding, and it is unclear what the long-term implications will be. However, it is clear that the blocking of Substack links has damaged Twitter's reputation and made it more difficult for the company to attract users and advertisers.

The Twitter Files

After Elon Musk released a document called "The Twitter Files," which argued that Twitter engaged in censorship and colluded with the US government and the Democratic Party, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey posted a long essay defending himself and criticizing Musk.

Dorsey published the essay on Revue, Twitter's newsletter platform.

Immediately after Dorsey's post, Musk shut down the Revue platform, taking Dorsey's views offline. Some people believe that Musk did this intentionally to silence Dorsey's criticisms. Others believe that the timing was coincidental.

Fortunately for history buffs, the content of Dorsey's essay is preserved by the Internet Archive.

Here are some additional details about the incident:

Musk had previously expressed his dissatisfaction with Revue, saying that it was not profitable and that he did not see a future for it.

Some people believe that Musk shut down Revue in order to silence Dorsey's criticisms. They point to the fact that Musk shut down Revue immediately after Dorsey's post and that he has a history of silencing his critics.

Others believe that the timing of the shutdown was coincidental. They point to the fact that Musk had previously expressed his dissatisfaction with Revue and that he may have simply decided to shut it down at that time.

Regardless of the reason for the shutdown, the incident has raised concerns about Musk's commitment to free speech. Some people believe that Musk is using his control of Twitter to silence critics and protect his own interests.

Others believe that Musk is simply running Twitter as a business and that he is not interested in censoring users.

The situation is still unfolding, and it is unclear what the long-term implications will be. However, it is clear that the shutdown of Revue has damaged Twitter's reputation and made it more difficult for the company to attract users and advertisers.

Meanwhile in India

The BBC released a documentary that examined Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's involvement in a riot that killed over 1,000 people, most of them Muslims. The documentary concluded that the riots had the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing.

The Indian government did not like the documentary and asked Twitter to block links to it. Twitter complied with the request and blocked links to the documentary in India.

Actor John Cusack tweeted a link to the documentary and said that he received a notice that his account was now banned in India as a result.

Elon Musk, who owns Twitter, tweeted that he was not aware of his company's action against the documentary and said that it was not possible for him to fix every aspect of Twitter worldwide overnight.

Here are some additional details about the incident:

The documentary, India: The Modi Question, was released in January 2023.

The Indian government asked Twitter to block links to the documentary on January 21, 2023.

Twitter blocked links to the documentary in India on January 22, 2023.

Actor John Cusack tweeted a link to the documentary on January 23, 2023.

Cusack's account was banned in India on January 24, 2023.

Elon Musk tweeted about the incident on January 25, 2023.

The incident has raised concerns about Twitter's commitment to free speech. Some people believe that Twitter is censoring content that is critical of the Indian government. Others believe that Twitter is simply complying with local laws and regulations.

The situation is still unfolding, and it is unclear what the long-term implications will be. However, it is clear that the incident has damaged Twitter's reputation in India.

Gender Blender Mender

Millions of people do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. Some of them choose to identify as the opposite gender. These people are called transgender.

To describe people who are not transgender, we use the word "cisgender", which is sometimes shortened to "cis".

In recent years, the American Right has become increasingly fixated on the transgender community. Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, seems to feel the same way. Recently, he tweeted that the words "cis" and "cisgender" are considered slurs on Twitter.

This is a false claim that is being spread by people who want to make life difficult for transgender people.

The word "cis" is not a slur. It is a neutral term that is used to describe people who do identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. The spreading of this disinformation is part of a coordinated effort to oppress transgender people.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or misinformed.

Here are some additional details about the word "cis":

The word "cis" comes from the Latin word "cis", which means "on this side of."

The word "cis" was first used in the context of gender identity in the 1990s.

The word "cis" is not considered a slur by the vast majority of people.

The spreading of the false claim that "cis" is a slur is part of a coordinated effort to oppress transgender people.

Conclusion

This is a summary of what I found reported about Elon Musk and “freedom of speech” on Twitter since he has taken over. I don’t necessarily agree with all the conclusions presented, but in general, I think they reflect that there are problems at Twitter.

I had assistance from an AI in writing this, and the AI leans to the left. ☺

Finally, in the interest of disclosure, I am permanently banned from Twitter. ☺

As always, Comments, Criticisms, and Suggestions are welcome. God Bless each and all.