Social Media Political Lens

[malchior]

Let the games begin. He'll start by setting up a 'both sides' committee to discuss content moderation. I'm sure this will be just as effective as this idea is working out everywhere else.

[stessier]

It doesn't really matter except to laugh at him while pointing out how far from his ideal world he falls.

[malchior]

Yeah it doesn't matter yet. I expect he is seeing a tide of ad cancellations already and we'll see a bunch of things out of him to message 'things will proceed normally for now'. I doubt the idea that his first order of business was to can the leadership and escort them out of the building bolstered confidence. It was as classless as it was unnecessary.

[El Guapo]

It doesn't really matter except to laugh at him while pointing out how far from his ideal world he falls.

It does matter, though. He's going to play a big role in terms of access to Twitter and in terms of what tweets people see, which is likely to have an impact on future elections and political outcomes.

Among other things he probably reinstates Trump's twitter account at some point, right?

[malchior]

It doesn't really matter except to laugh at him while pointing out how far from his ideal world he falls.

It does matter, though. He's going to play a big role in terms of access to Twitter and in terms of what tweets people see, which is likely to have an impact on future elections and political outcomes.

Among other things he probably reinstates Trump's twitter account at some point, right?

He said he would awhile ago. However, that was before he was dragged kicking and screaming in and spending $44B on this turd of a deal. So he might use the committee as an excuse to avoid doing that. Who knows? Trump also is very much tied into his own social media grift and you have to assume he'll only come back running after he drains that well of grift dry.

[stessier]

It doesn't really matter except to laugh at him while pointing out how far from his ideal world he falls.

It does matter, though. He's going to play a big role in terms of access to Twitter and in terms of what tweets people see, which is likely to have an impact on future elections and political outcomes.

Among other things he probably reinstates Trump's twitter account at some point, right?

But Twitter doesn't have to matter - it can matter as much as Truth Social. If people perceive it getting better -they will stay. If he makes it worse, people will leave. Presumably he has 44 Billion reasons to try making it better - but I can find my news other ways if I think he's falling short.

[Jaymann]

The ousted executives should start their own site for people bailing on Musk.

[Kurth]

It doesn't really matter except to laugh at him while pointing out how far from his ideal world he falls.

It does matter, though. He's going to play a big role in terms of access to Twitter and in terms of what tweets people see, which is likely to have an impact on future elections and political outcomes.

Among other things he probably reinstates Trump's twitter account at some point, right?

But Twitter doesn't have to matter - it can matter as much as Truth Social. If people perceive it getting better -they will stay. If he makes it worse, people will leave. Presumably he has 44 Billion reasons to try making it better - but I can find my news other ways if I think he's falling short.

This is my take as well. The world can live without Twitter. If Musk renders it unusable, other alternatives will take advantage of the opportunity.

[malchior]

Responding here - this is not great. That story is the worst sort of irresponsible conspiracy theory. You can't even get to the front page of the website because it is being shattered by the traffic he sent there to amplify a totally made up story. Whether or not Twitter goes down the drain Musk is now intentionally adding in more chaos into a system that is not doing well.

I'm sure this is all fine.

[Blackhawk]

Word is that he may be trying to get the mass layoffs (up to 75%) in by tomorrow, as employees get their stock grant on November 1st. If so, what he just did to three millionaires he's getting ready to do to ~5,000 regular employees.

[malchior]

Word is that he may be trying to get the mass layoffs (up to 75%) in by tomorrow, as employees get their stock grant on November 1st. If so, what he just did to three millionaires he's getting ready to do to ~5,000 regular employees.

Why not toss a class action on top then. I would love nothing more than to see him dragged down by litigation because he shot his mouth off and now has to keep a villains' gallery of not nice people happy.

[Alefroth]

Wonder how eager Trump and the GOP will be now to do away with Section 230?

[malchior]

[Isgrimnur]

Money and hegemony have always been greased with the blood of innocents and dissidents.

[malchior]

I alluded to this in the EBG thread but the CBS News annoucement around Twitter and then their subsequent reporting undermines their trustworthiness now with me. All of a sudden they making and unmaking announcements about Twitter and are running Hunter Biden laptop stories after the midterms? They may all be unconnected but the timing and the fact that other folks have run Hunter Biden laptop stories long ago makes this fucking *weird*.

Edit: One other comment. As someone who works in forensic investigation, the idea they are pushing that this is credible because it came from the "source" is a bit shaky. The chain of evidence consists of a signature from Hunter Biden and this guy's word. The claim that this is same data that was provided to the FBI under sub poena? That's hard to prove. Is this is the same data and not manipulated? Maybe they have some way to prove it but the data that went to the FBI is with the FBI. Unless the FBI provides access then a 3rd party is going to have a tough time verifying what the FBI got and what CBS got is the same. Potentially they shared hashes but we need way more details than what we got in the story. And considering Herridge's background (Edit 2: If you don't know she is a Trumpist and was the primary source of the phrase "as reported" when it came to GOP members talking about news accounts from Benghazi. They hand her talking points and she reports them.) I'm a more than a little dismayed - this is feeling *very dystopian* to me right now.

[LordMortis]

Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. I will promptly fire 50% of them for arbitrary reasons and then quickly follow up by firing a select few more for personal reasons.

No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes and I hold a poll suggesting how I want to things to work out. After the poll agrees with me, the decision will be made that agrees with how I want the results to turn out.

[malchior]

One more note - I have some professional curiosity because the story claims CBS got unpaid expert analysis. That isn't terribly unusual but it was strange how they glossed quickly over who did the analysis. They never even put his name on the screen. Odd behavior for pro bono work. We were just supposed to blindly accept they are experts. It took a bit of searching but I found the location that seems to match the location shown in the clip - and found the bio of the man in the clip Mark Lanterman at Computer Forensics Services. I've never heard of them but there are a lot of firms doing this sort of work. My natural question is why was he selected. Especially since it is a bit odd that something of this profile didn't go to a national firm like say Kroll.

Also, of note a little digging on Lanterman shows that he was Secret Service. He's at least not outwardly crazy or MAGA but he has apparently contributed to the GOP. Those are not necessarily knocks but you have to wonder about politics naturally. He does strike me as an expert so that could mean he may have vetted out the questions I wonder about. There might be footage of it that didn't make the video segment even. All in all, not necessarily obviously crazy but it still seems very strange to me.

[malchior]

[Daehawk]

[Rumpy]

Slippery slope, that. Musk must be having fun on the slip-n-slide!

[malchior]

[Rumpy]

The ironic thing is, Musk himself is contributing to the collapse. He seems to be calling out Woke-ism, but he himself is full of it.

[Sudy]

I don't understand how someone so "smart" can't see that the "woke mind virus" is the death throes of the wealthy white heterosexual male's gross abuse of power. No wonder they're so desperate to prop up the status quo. Blame biology and evolution for our current state if you must, but in this context the only way for mankind to grow is to shed its foul nature that only served our species in brutal, primordial eras. May cultural suicide come swiftly with Musk at its helm. While we once left evolution up to this whims of nature's chaos, a brighter future is finally in our grasp. Those who cannot embrace selflessness are the ones whose flesh must rot in the vile mire of suffering over which they have so long gleefully presided. In the ways that I cannot, I will gladly add my bones to their pile.

[malchior]

I don't understand how someone so "smart" can't see that the "woke mind virus" is the death throes of the wealthy white heterosexual male's gross abuse of power.

The best thing to come out of this was to pierce the veil. People have whispered for a long time that he was riding other people's coattails and his managers at SpaceX and Tesla often had to manage him as much as he managed the company. The one thing almost everyone agreed with is that he was a great investor and businessman at least. Now that's evaporating away. His time isn't up yet but he has done a lot of damage to his brand and who knows if he'll salvage any of it.

[Smoove_B]

Anything to trigger the libs

Oh cool, Elon had found a new number to fixate on. First it was 69 and 420. Now it’s 88.

…Give it a week and he’ll start making sure every one of his tweets is exactly fourteen words.

[Sudy]

Holy shit, I looked up the significance of 88 and without delving too deep, the first page of Google suggests in numerology and Chinese culture it symbolizes abundance and success. But it's a white power numerical code for "Heil Hitler", which I think I'd heard before but had forgotten. Even if it veers into conspiracy theory, that's some disturbing shit.

Edit: I see Smoove's assertion is that he's baiting his detractors but that seems... stupid dangerous, even for him.

[Holman]

Replies to nearly any of Musk's tweets are full of right-wing signals couched in fawning tongue-baths designed to appeal to Musk's ego.

That he engages and encourages them shows us everything we need to know about who he is. The only question is whether he is more soulless or more naive.

[Holman]

A huge number of largely right-wing Twitter accounts are posting promoted messages this weekend.

"Promoted" means that the account paid for visibility in everyone's feed. I'm used to seeing promoted ads for goods and services (maybe 1 tweet in 25), but right now my feed is overrun with promoted tweets from accounts just asking for attention (more like 1 tweet in 5 or 6).

I assume this is because Musk has announced a mass un-banning of Nazis and racists and etc. The assholes are paying for promotion in pursuit of like-minded followers.

[hepcat]

Holy shit, I looked up the significance of 88 and without delving too deep, the first page of Google suggests in numerology and Chinese culture it symbolizes abundance and success. But it's a white power numerical code for "Heil Hitler", which I think I'd heard before but had forgotten. Even if it veers into conspiracy theory, that's some disturbing shit.

Edit: I see Smoove's assertion is that he's baiting his detractors but that seems... stupid dangerous, even for him.

It’s Elon Musk. He’s not stupid, but he is a spiteful, immature asshole who will do the exact opposite of what people tell him he should be doi….


…no, wait..yeah, he’s stupid.

[LordMortis]

Not sure if this is the Musk or Social Media thread but

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... -president

Elon Musk says he will back Trump rival Ron DeSantis in 2024 if he runs for president

Billionaire says he prefers ‘someone sensible and centrist’ but that he had been disappointed by the Democrats so far

Not traditionally left or right, in lieu of his disappointment with democrats, he's voting far right deceitful governor masking himself libertarian ideals while overstepping executive authority in his state. I hate to speak ill of Drazzil in his absence, but I've never seen those two in the same room...

[pr0ner]

A huge number of largely right-wing Twitter accounts are posting promoted messages this weekend.

"Promoted" means that the account paid for visibility in everyone's feed. I'm used to seeing promoted ads for goods and services (maybe 1 tweet in 25), but right now my feed is overrun with promoted tweets from accounts just asking for attention (more like 1 tweet in 5 or 6).

I assume this is because Musk has announced a mass un-banning of Nazis and racists and etc. The assholes are paying for promotion in pursuit of like-minded followers.

I noticed shortly after Elon took over the amount of ads skyrocketed. But at least then they were from legit companies. A few days ago I noticed the same as you - a lot of alt-right accounts paying for promoted tweets. I had one day of getting ads about the Great Reset - thankfully using the "I don't like this ad" option made those stop. For now.

[malchior]

Musk is starting to actually give the 'authoritarian takeover of dissent platform' argument some credibility. This is a prominent anti-authoritarian groups and he is questioning where *they got their money*.

Edit: If you didn't see it - he re-tweeted a conspiracy theory about Alexander Vindman (Vindman's response to a later tweet is below).

[LordMortis]

Can someone like the Vindman tweet for me.

I had to look at his page. He reposted a Musk tweet with the Pepe Frog. Why oh why do I get pulled into what a POS Musk is so often? It's my reality TV in Hell or something.

[Holman]

What's happening at SpaceX and Tesla while Musk spends all his time with his new toy? I thought he was the 100-hour executive whose soaring vision was necessary to guide those companies into the future?

[LordMortis]

Donald J Musk:

Elon Musk
@elonmusk
Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?
12:45 PM · Nov 28, 2022
·Twitter for iPhone

Apple is giving me less money for my new playground. Why do they censor me?

[LawBeefaroni]

Apple can choose to hold their ad dollars

Boycotts or not buying things are not infringement on free speech in America.

Musk is a dumbass.

[YellowKing]

Why do these seemingly "normal" (or at least seemingly functional) people just go completely insane when they get wrapped up in right wing politics? Kanye, Giuliani, etc. etc. It's really bizarre.

[Unagi]

Apple can choose to hold their ad dollars

Boycotts or not buying things are not infringement on free speech in America.

Musk is a dumbass.

I think he’s trying to imply that Twitter is the champion of free speech, and so Apple must not like free speech if it doesn’t want to associate itself with Twitter.

[Unagi]

Why do these seemingly "normal" (or at least seemingly functional) people just go completely insane when they get wrapped up in right wing politics? Kanye, Giuliani, etc. etc. It's really bizarre.

Kanye is a bad example

[LordMortis]

Also Musk has previously threatened to "go to war with Apple" and make his own phone. Why would you advertise with someone shitposts about you daily? I hope Apple have an EV coming down the pipeline.