American billionaire Elon Musk is more and more utilizing his social media platform, X, to unfold his political opinions worldwide, in response to latest observations.
Musk, who owns one of the influential social media platforms, has not hesitated to put it to use as a instrument to advertise his worldview.
His actions, significantly within the lead-up to the U.S. presidential elections, have raised eyebrows. He has brazenly supported former President Donald Trump, engaged in a public spat with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, clashed with the UK authorities following far-right violence and lately had a disagreement with the Brazilian authorities.
The incidents have fueled criticism that Musk is aligning himself with populist right-wing politics.
Adding to the controversy, Musk lately acknowledged that he’s able to serve in a Trump administration if the previous president wins the election.
Trump has introduced plans to ascertain a “government efficiency commission“ led by Musk ought to he be reelected Nov. 5. In response, Musk wrote on X: “Looking forward to serving America if the opportunity arises.”
– IS X POLITICALLY NEUTRAL?
When Musk initially sought to accumulate Twitter, now rebranded as X, in April 2022, he argued that the platform had failed to meet its potential as a bastion of free speech.
Shortly after the acquisition, Musk emphasised that the platform should stay “politically neutral” to earn public belief. His dedication to the precept, nonetheless, is now underneath scrutiny.
Experts counsel that Musk, who’s the most-followed person on X with 196.6 million followers, is more and more utilizing the platform as a megaphone for his political opinions. The shift has raised questions in regards to the platform’s position in world political discourse.
-OPEN SUPPORT FOR TRUMP IN US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
As the presidential election approaches, Musk has made headlines along with his statements and actions. Previously identified for supporting Democrats, Musk has now seemingly shifted his allegiance to the Republican Party.
On July 14, Musk took to X to precise help for Trump, who lately survived an assassination try.
It marked the primary time Musk had brazenly endorsed Trump. This, nonetheless, was not Musk’s first foray into election-related commentary. Despite supporting Democrats within the final three elections, Musk had beforehand clashed with Trump.
Musk’s evolving political stance and his use of X to market it proceed to spark debate in regards to the affect of social media platforms on world politics.
Musk hosted the official presidential candidacy announcement of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on X in May 2023.
Although the occasion ended unfavorably because of technical glitches, it marked a major improvement in Musk’s want to remodel X right into a “digital town square.”
A latest interview Musk performed with Trump additionally had technical difficulties, beginning 42 minutes late.
During the interview, Musk’s comment that he “wasn’t very political before” drew consideration.
– CRITICISM AS ‘TRUMP’S LACKEY’
Musk additionally invited US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to the interview.
While Harris didn’t reply to the invitation, her marketing campaign reacted to Musk’s interview with Trump.
In an announcement from the marketing campaign crew, Musk was known as “Trump’s lackey,” accusing him of attempting to grab management of American democracy.
– MUSK’S POLITICAL SHIFT AFTER X
Before X, Musk not often engaged in public disputes with politicians or averted them altogether. After buying X, nonetheless, Musk started to have interaction extra ceaselessly in disputes with governments and state leaders, in contrast to different social media platform homeowners.
Musk’s political shift on X coincided with a interval the place social media platforms, notably Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, remained comparatively distant from politics.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has by no means formally endorsed a presidential candidate.
In distinction, Musk argues with those that don’t share his views.
– DISPUTES WITH GOVERNMENTS, STATE LEADERS
In April, Musk clashed with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s authorities for the suspension of entry to footage associated to a church assault in Sydney.
Musk criticized the Australian authorities’s censorship choice, whereas Albanese known as Musk a “conceited billionaire” who sees himself above the regulation.
In September 2023, Musk made an anti-immigrant publish on X, sharing a media report about eight German NGO ships amassing irregular migrants within the Mediterranean “for offloading in Italy.” Germany’s Foreign Ministry responded.
Musk additionally engaged in a social media spat with Maduro, who was declared the winner of the July 28 presidential election in Venezuela.
The alternate took an fascinating flip when Maduro challenged Musk to a duel.
On Aug. 9, Maduro ordered a 10-day ban on entry to X in Venezuela, claiming that the platform was spreading hate and violence.
Musk continued to publish in regards to the election leads to Venezuela whereas commenting on violence attributable to far-right teams within the UK.
Following assaults on lodges and mosques housing refugees and immigrants throughout the UK, Musk posted that “civil war is inevitable,” resulting in a confrontation with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and authorities officers.
Last week, the Brazilian Supreme Court introduced a ban on entry to X within the nation “until a country representative is appointed and the fines are paid.”
In response, Musk posted on X: “Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of democracy, and the so-called unelected judge in Brazil is destroying it for political reasons.”
That put Brazil on the record of nations with which Musk has had clashes.
– INVESTIGATION BY EU
In July, the EU Commission launched an investigation into X for violating the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) by permitting disinformation and unlawful hate speech on the platform.
Musk claimed that the Commission supplied an unlawful “secret deal” to not impose a penalty in alternate for quietly censoring conversations, which X didn’t settle for.
Source: www.anews.com.tr