In the United States live two men with a great ability to draw attention to themselves, each in its context: Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Now their interests seem to converge. On the eve of the mid-term elections, Musk, who became the owner of Twitter at a price of $ 44 billion, has in fact sided with the Republican Party, led by Trump.
This political “coming out” of the billionaire, in a phase in which he is positioning himself at the center of the world communication system, completes his resume as a “rebel” who breaks the rules to defend his own interests and those of his companies. Musk’s political views have so far been fluctuating: in the past he revealed that he voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, even though Trump swears that Musk told him otherwise. Musk could be considered a libertarian, if only he hadn’t made massive use of public subsidies.
For days, the Tesla boss has been upsetting the planet with his radical measures for the transformation of Twitter. Now he has also added the invitation to the more than 110 million users of the social network to vote for the Republicans on the occasion of an election that promises to be crucial for an increasingly divided America. In doing so, Musk confirms the suspicions of those who feared that he could use his new platform in the service of his very personal vision of the world.
Demagogic vision
Musk is a champion of free speechthe absolute freedom of expression guaranteed by the American constitution, without limits even for conspiracy theorists, information manipulators or Russian propaganda, which Musk among other things did not want to forbid access to his Starlink satellites.
This approach fuels fears about the future of Twitter, where the already insufficient regulatory efforts have been undermined by the intention to lay off half the staff and the plans of the new “boss”.
On November 7, an exchange between Musk and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey was particularly significant. Musk wrote that Twitter must become “the most reliable source of information about the world, this is our mission”. Dorsey’s response was succinct: “Reliable according to whom?”. “According to the people of Twitter,” the new owner specified.
This is a rather problematic point of view when we consider that Twitter is not a newspaper and has no journalists or professionals to verify the information. The idea that the community can stand as a judge of the reliability of the news is clearly demagogic and expresses a very political vision in which different “truths” may exist.
This approach is evidently Trumpian. We still remember the “alternative truth” conceptualized at the dawn of the Trump era. Even today, the former president continues along the same lines by demonizing the media mainstreamarguing against all evidence of having won the last elections and supporting conspiracy candidates.
The strategy works. In the mid-term elections, Republicans can hope for an excellent result that paves the way for the announcement, expected in the coming days, of a new Trump candidacy in 2024.
It is in this context that Musk fits. The billionaire and Trump are not allies, and Musk has even publicly stated that Trump should retire. But everything pushes them in the same direction, that of a great confusion of public debate, of alternative information without filters and the triumph of demagogues in a climate of media chaos.
By purchasing Twitter Elon Musk has erected himself as sheriff of a far west that is now upon us.
(Translation by Andrea Sparacino)