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We all remember the dark days of the “Twitter Presidency.”
The most powerful man on Twitter used the platform to attack his critics, amplify the alt-right, and harass women with offensive, sexist tweets. He was corrupt, too, using Twitter to manipulate the stock market. And he was also a dangerous threat to public health, downplaying Covid to his millions of followers. He even engaged in what some might call “stochastic terrorism,” turned his anger on non-public figures, opening them up to online harassment and potential violence.
Trump did all these things knowing that the world’s media were waiting on tenterhooks, eager to report breathlessly on his every tweet, every outrage, every (calculated) act of puerile stupidity, every provocative violation of the platform’s “Terms of Service.”
It was only after Trump’s Twitter feed had almost caused the overthrow of the US government and leaders within the GOP were seriously discussing the 25th Amendment to end the risk he posed to the world that he was finally booted off the platform.
The King Is Dead, Long Live the King
Millions of users breathed a sign of relief after Trump’s departure from Twitter. Things were a little quieter, sure. But nicer, too.
Was it possible that Twitter and the world could survive both Trump and Covid?
But the peace didn’t last long.
Suddenly Elon Musk was everywhere. Tweeting about Dogecoin like a pump-and-dump grifter. Promoting conspiracy theories. Attacking pronouns. Going after Justin Trudeau with Hitler memes. Along the way, he even did a Trump-like turn hosting SNL, FFS. (Lorne Michaels is the Illuminati!)
I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to Elon Musk during Trump’s final year in office. But over the past two years Musk has been growing his Twitter following at an even faster rate than he has multiplied his (almost-tax-free) pandemic-era wealth.
And he did it by acting like a Trump parody account.
After Trump famously (and ridiculously) said on 26 February 2020: “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero,” Musk was also eager to share his epidemiology expertise with his then-30-million followers.
More recently, Musk has been sharing dangerous medical advice about antidepressants to his now-90-million followers.
In Trump’s absence, Musk has not only ascended to Twitter’s golden throne, he was so impressed with himself, he bought the company.
The new most powerful man on Twitter uses the platform to attack his critics, amplify the alt-right, and harass women with offensive, sexist tweets. He’s corrupt, too, using Twitter to manipulate the stock market. And he’s also a dangerous threat to public health. Having downplayed Covid to his millions of followers and questioned vaccines, he’s now dispensing advice on what additional pills to take beyond the red one. He even engages in what some might call “stochastic terrorism,” turning his anger on non-public figures and opening them up to online harassment and potential violence.
And now that he’s (almost) bought the company, Elon Musk knows that, more than ever, he’s doing these things with the world’s media waiting on tenterhooks, eager to report breathlessly on his every tweet, every outrage, every (calculated) act of puerile stupidity, every provocative violation of the “Terms of Service” that he wants to reshape.
People say the main reason Trump is saying he won’t come back to Twitter is simply money.
But maybe Trump realizes he can no longer compete. There’s only room for one King of Twitter. And Trump has lost his crown.
Further Reading: Musk’s Misogyny: As women’s rights take center stage, is Elon Musk equipped to lead “the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”? Part One, Part Two.
All content to this ad-free email newsletter is free—there’s no paywall. But the support of paid subscribers is always welcome!
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