The Media and Democracy Project names Elon Musk the “2023 Disinformer of the Year”
It now appears that Musk’s Twitter purchase was not as much a financial investment as it was a strategy to subvert a shared sense of reality.
In 2023, the world lost a global public square that could be used to disseminate information and ideas instantly. While far from perfect, Twitter was a social media platform where marginalized and diffuse communities could build their own networks, experts and governments could rapidly communicate with citizens, and laypeople could converse with politicians, journalists, and luminaries from around the world, who would otherwise be inaccessible.
When Elon Musk bought Twitter, he promised advertisers he wouldn’t turn it into a “free-for-all-hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences.” Then, he did just that.
As a new media oligarch, Elon Musk has made decisions that have rendered Twitter a toxic environment where trolls, disinformers, and dangerous right wing extremism flourish — and useful information is harder to identify. Musk created this “hellscape” of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation by drastically reducing the company’s “trust and safety” personnel, changing policies that had previously limited the spread of dangerous disinformation, removing verification systems, and reinstating accounts of disinformation spreaders.
Elon Musk is the Media and Democracy Project “2023 Disinformer of the Year” for his sabotage of the global public forum of Twitter by:
Deciding to monetize (and thereby subsidize) disinformers, racists, anti-LGBTQIA propagandists, misogynists, and anti-Semites
Amplifying Kremlin propaganda
Personally spreading and amplifying dangerous and toxic disinformation, including about elections and voting
Spreading conspiracy theories with his tweets; such as his low empathy tweet about the assault on Paul Pelosi
Promoting the white supremacist “great replacement theory”
Revoking bans on extremist and dangerous accounts
Banning journalists who are critical of him
Filing a lawsuit against the media watchdog non-profit Media Matters for America who reported the juxtaposition of ads and hate speech on Twitter
Using his megaphone to promote his personal political agenda while pretending to be non-partisan
It now appears that Musk’s buying Twitter was not as much a financial investment as it was a strategy to disrupt social networks, subvert a shared sense of reality, and impede the distribution of reliable information on which global democracies and systems of accountability depend. Perhaps this is because democracies, with their potential ability to regulate his businesses, tax his wealth, and ensure labor protections and environmental safety, pose the greatest threat to his power, influence, and wealth.
Unsurprisingly, allies of Musk’s purchase of Twitter include oligarchs with similar interests in undermining public forums and the tools for disseminating journalism, democracy, and ideas. Musk poses a threat to truth, reality, and democracies worldwide. We need media reform and solutions that include breaking the stranglehold on information and the disproportionate influence that a handful of media oligarchs, Big Tech, and multinational media corporations wield on the information diets of humans around the world.
Rupert Murdoch was the Media and Democracy Project’s “2022 Disinformer of the Year.” Musk and Murdoch were seen watching the Super Bowl together in 2023. They continue to negatively influence the media landscape, public discourse and democracies worldwide.
Further reading on Musk:
Washington Post (11/21/23 by Timothy Bella) What is Media Matters, the liberal watchdog sued by Elon Musk’s X?
New York Times (10/27/23 by Steven Lee Myers, Stuart A. Thompson & Tiffany Hsu) The Consequences of Elon Musk’s Ownership of X
Houston Chronicle (9/29/23 by Chris Tomlinson) EU calls Elon Musk’s X the global leader in disinformation, bad news for the former Twitter
NPR (8/1/23 by Shannon Bond) Elon Musk sues disinformation researchers, claiming they are driving away advertisers
Foreign Policy (7/25/23 by Miah Hammond-Errey) Elon Musk’s Twitter Is Becoming a Sewer of Disinformation: Changes to the platform have systematically amplified authoritarian state propaganda
The Bulwark (5/16/23 by Donald Moynihan) When a Shitposter Runs a Social Media Platform: Bad news for democracy – Elon Musk loves to promote fringe figures and to denigrate responsible journalists
The Independent (2/13/23 by Noah Berlatsky) Murdoch and Musk’s Super Bowl confab gives the game away: The two media billionaires present themselves as very different personalities – in reality their ideals are mostly indistinguishable
Forbes (11/3/22 by Alan Ohnsman) Rupert Murdoch 2.0: How Twitter Gives Elon Musk The Power To Shape Public Opinion
Vanity Fair (4/26/22 by Bess Levin) A Reminder of Just Some of the Terrible Things Elon Musk Has Said and Done
Musk is a despicable oaf. He doesn’t build or improve X for better. He’s a destructive person like Drumpf.
Excellent choice! Now, is there anything that can be done about this? It doesn’t appear that Merrick Garland is even investigating whether Musk violated the Logan Act by talking to Putin & to Iran’s leaders. Will Media & Democracy be leaving X. I just joined BlueSky & am preparing to leave X.