Elon Musk’s New Twitter

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

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?

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 …

Follow the path Musk paves

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

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?

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:

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.

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:

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.

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

Elon Musk @elonmusk

Who else has Apple censored? https://t.co/lZculFIkAX

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.

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.

Elon Musk @elonmusk

Did you know Apple puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store? https://t.co/LGkPZ4EYcz

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.

Elon Musk @elonmusk

Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why

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.