If there’s any reason to drop a curse word, it’s having to think about Elon Musk.
The investor and famous rich kid has long been imposing his unique mix of divorced dad energy and teenage boy logic on an unsuspecting public. And, with his full-throated of Donald Trump in recent months, his prominence as a public figure has continued to grow. Added to the fact he purchased Twitter (now X) because he didn’t like that people were allowed to disagree with him on it, and you have the sorry situation we’ve found ourselves in, where we have to see and hear what he thinks about topics he has absolutely no clue about.
Despite his best efforts to make everyone like him, Apartheid Clyde remains a deeply unpopular figure among most serious people and those who aren’t terminally online. This includes the current first lady of Brazil, Janja Lula da Silva, who recently addressed a G20 event on the topic of needing to regulate social media in order to stop misinformation spreading.
As per CNN, the Brazilian ad-libbed a joke when she heard a ship’s horn tooting in the background, saying “I think it’s Elon Musk. I’m not afraid of you, f*** you, Elon Musk.”
Since Musk took over Twitter and renamed it X (something he’s been trying to do with every company he’s ever had, because his brain has never moved on from being 14 and he still thinks the letter “x” is super cool), the social media platform has become one of the largest spreaders of misinformation on the web. During that period, Nazi s have also flourished, which makes sense given that Musk grew up in one of the most racist countries in human history, and has clearly taken on many of those beliefs.
Brazil is one of the few countries in the world who have moved to regulate Musk’s social media platform, suspending X in the country because of its refusal to address the wealth of misinformation proliferating on the site. However, the ban was lifted recently as the company reversed their decision to ignore Brazilian requests, instead complying with the local courts. Musk, like many men of his stature, is mostly bravado rather than action.
This all stems from Musk’s alleged of “free speech,” which seems to amount to being allowed to use slurs and promote right-wing beliefs, while silencing any criticisms of anything he deems to be correct. As Musk isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, this means that lies and falsehoods often spread on his site, while rigorous and fact-checked posts are buried or even ignored.
Despite the transparent yet nefarious nature of his aims, and his clear lack on intelligence and talent when it comes to anything other than being born rich, Musk continues to exert an undue influence on American policy. Let’s hope more people begin standing up to him as Janja has, instead of becoming yes-men on the off chance they’ll get some cash thrown their way.
Published: Nov 18, 2024 05:28 pm