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Elon Musk’s New Twitter

www.scottritterextra.com

Elon Musk’s New Twitter

Is Twitter a new pillar of free speech or a security threat and the end of democracy?

Kevin Michelizzi
Writes Information Warfare Analysis · Subscribe
Dec 1, 2022
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Elon Musk’s New Twitter

www.scottritterextra.com

Note: Some links in this article may require a VPN to access them, depending on your location. Article updated December 2 to correct information about Twitter in India. 

When Elon Musk bought Twitter, he said he would make it a free speech platform. Many doubt his goals, but he has started a push against Apple on money and censorship. Is he doing what he promised, or is it just Musk propaganda?

Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
The Twitter Files on free speech suppression soon to be published on Twitter itself. The public deserves to know what really happened …
9:09 PM ∙ Nov 28, 2022
847,549Likes131,589Retweets

Follow the path Musk paves

On November 23, 2022, he started the discussion with a poll on reinstating suspended accounts:

Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?
5:46 PM ∙ Nov 23, 2022
266,690Likes60,611Retweets

The poll passed with a hefty majority vote by non-banned Twitter users, ending with the Latin “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”

But notice that the people who have been the most vocal about banning conservative posts because they are “mean-spirited, offensive, and propaganda” are the minority of voters. The vocal minority often makes the most noise and garners the attention of mainstream media.

Elon Musk was clear about unbanning those that have not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam.”

That statement removes the warnings, complaints, and reasons shouted by the vocal minority, the mass media, and the Democrats.

On November 26, CNN complained Twitter would activate accounts related to “threats and harassment.” They interviewed former CIA intelligence and security analyst Robert Baer who said, “Putin will be all over Twitter […] Fake accounts, spoofed accounts […] talking about the popular voice, he is talking about Russian intelligence.” Baer says Russia will support the far right and spread misinformation that appeals to the “European far right, the Chinese….”

Hate to be the one to let Mr. Baer know this, but Twitter has been banned in China since 2009, along with Iran, North Korea, and Turkmenistan. Twitter is also partially restricted in Russia, and Twitter has banned many accounts in India. An expert in intelligence should know this.

Elon said he would not reinstate accounts that have “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam,” so this argument is still invalid.

On November 27, 2022, Mr. Musk tweeted:

Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
Just a note to encourage people of different political or other views to engage in civil debate on Twitter. Worst case, the other side has a slightly better understanding of your views.
7:00 PM ∙ Nov 27, 2022
321,018Likes29,741Retweets

Note he is calling for “civil debate,” which requires establishing common ground, not disqualifying your opponent’s viewpoint, and conceding points to your opponent when they are due.

“How to debate politics like a gentleman” has good general points for both men and women to hold productive conversations on opposing topics. UC Berkeley also has a good discussion on what free speech is, what hate speech is, and how the First Amendment applies.

On November 28, Elon set the stage for the number of psychological operations (psyops) that happened on Twitter:

Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
The amount of pro psy ops on Twitter is ridiculous! At least with new Verified they will pay $8 for the privilege haha.
9:44 AM ∙ Nov 28, 2022
184,315Likes14,825Retweets

Then, he ties that to Apple no longer advertising on the platform and that they have been censoring information.

Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
Who else has Apple censored? https://t.co/lZculFIkAX
Twitter avatar for @LBRYcom
LBRY 🚀 @LBRYcom
@elonmusk During Covid, Apple demanded our apps filter some search terms from being returned. If we did not filter the terms, our apps would not be allowed in the store. Apple may make good products, but they have been opposed to free speech for some time.
6:07 PM ∙ Nov 28, 2022
146,880Likes21,576Retweets

Lastly, he calls on Apple to publish their censorship actions, accuses them of threatening to remove Twitter from their platform, and again ties it all to the fees Apple charges developers for anything distributed on the App Store.

Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
Did you know Apple puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store? https://t.co/LGkPZ4EYcz
Twitter avatar for @WatcherGuru
Watcher.Guru @WatcherGuru
@elonmusk Apple takes a 30% tax from app developers who make over $1 million through the ‌App Store‌ on an annual basis. Apple's App Store is the equivalent to a 30% tax on the Internet.
6:50 PM ∙ Nov 28, 2022
255,751Likes43,690Retweets
Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why
6:43 PM ∙ Nov 28, 2022
662,802Likes77,502Retweets

The end game

I think Elon Musk is waging his own information war to effect significant change.

In December 2021, Musk said wokeness and political correctness were the biggest threats to modern civilization.

By pressuring Apple on what they take from developers’ money, he is setting the stage for potential antitrust measures by the new Republican House. He already has backing from Republican politicians who have been the subject of censorship on platforms.

Apple will also get pressure from their iPhone users to stand by their stated transparency and anti-tracking policies and release their censorship data. Currently, their policies are vague. Musk is applying pressure where it can hurt Apple – sales. Realistically, Musk cannot compete with a “MuskPhone,” but Apple does not need the loss of its user base either.

It is also likely that advertisers will be more hesitant to flee, wanting to distance themselves from civil rights groups, the White House acting like Big Brother, and threats by the Democrats. As Musk shows he is serious about a safe and accessible place to have civil conversations, advertisers will want to distance themselves from such political discord.

Elon will make this the first battle and pressure other platforms to follow suit in being more transparent or to change their ways.

Go, Elon. Go.

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Elon Musk’s New Twitter

www.scottritterextra.com
A guest post by
Kevin Michelizzi
Kevin Michelizzi is an American living in Crimea. He is an engineer, having worked for the DoD on guided weapon imaging and cyber/information warfare. He now writes corporate cyber security specifications and does videos about life in Crimea.
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19 Comments
Deborah L. Armstrong
Writes Deborah L. Armstrong
Dec 2, 2022Liked by Kevin Michelizzi

Excellent piece! I have my doubts about Elon Musk, as I do about all billionaires, as to their end-goals. No one makes that kind of money by being a nice person. But it will be interesting to see what he does. And we have to note that the billionaires are not all "friends". In fact, it appears there is a lot of division between them. They all want to be "top dog."

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4 replies
Alisah
Dec 2, 2022Liked by Kevin Michelizzi

Not sure it's allowed to share links? This was a tiny opinion piece by Dr. Robert Malone on Elon Musk's Twitter deal which I found very interesting. Musk is a WEF shill and part of the bigger picture Great Reset changes.

You decide for yourself: "Musk’s bigger plan for Twitter is to turn it into a “super app” that “acts as an operating system for people’s digital lives.”

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/dr-robert-malone-elon-musks-big-plans-for-twitter-throw-his-free-speech-credentials-into-question/

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