A Mercurial X-Factor
Is Elon a liberator, a destroyer... or the worst of both combined?
While watching The Shipwreck Show’s coverage of the Speaker-Of-The-House vote on Tuesday, a topic came up that inspired some speculative thinking in me… which immediately resulted in a flurry of writing activity; this article is the result of that flurry.
During the afternoon recess of the speakership vote, Ship started discussing how important ‘X’ has become during the current Israel / Hamas crisis, especially when it comes to the free-flow of information.
The general consensus in the chatroom was that things are much better now than they would been under old ‘Twitter,’ since 'X’ has become a news-and-opinion platform which challenges the ‘mainstream’ narrative.
Initially I agreed, but then a thought popped into my head: Has that actually happened? Did Elon Musk liberate Twitter… or throttle an evolution away from it?
After all, before Elon purchased the heavily-censored social network things were already shaking up. Substack, Rumble, Gab, and other alternative platforms were methodically growing, and a slow-burning exodus from Twitter was well under way.
It is not as if people wanted to leave, of course - familiarity tends to breed loyalty, especially in tech - but with the obvious bottle-necking of certain points of view many were ready to go elsewhere to get real news and opinion.
The Globalist Technocrats were losing control of those they were desperate to control… and something had to be done.
Then Elon Musk stepped in as if out of nowhere. He immediately changed the perception (if not the reality) of the site’s culture, and by so doing shifted the entire paradigm away from considering those other sites as options. A shift that, remarkably, occurred almost overnight.
“Why go elsewhere when ‘Elon the Free-Speech Absolutist’ is making things right on Twitter,” people said. “We can trust Elon to do the right thing.”
Within months of taking over? After said-perception was firmly established, the platform began suppressing tweets / posts which had links to outside sources, especially the aforementioned Substack and Rumble. (Gab has been fighting this type of censorship for so long, they are nearly bullet-proof at this point).
Whether this occurred due to a business decision to eradicate competition, or a concerted effort to eradicate free-thought, the result is the same: Censorship.
It then began a campaign of assimilating (dare I say ‘strong-arming?’) people into a hive-mind compliance, selling X as the one-stop shop for news, opinion, and information; it relentlessly hammered the narrative that if you’re not ‘in’… you are ‘out.’
It is an an effort that continues unabated to this day.
It’s important to remember that Twitter was - and X still is - a highly controlled environment. By utilizing coercive tactics to drive you to use the network almost exclusively, they are setting themselves up to be the only viable platform for information… giving them absolute control over who is granted (to use their word) the blessing of ‘reach.’
And it is working. X is now (much-more covertly than before) shaping and directing the narrative, severely hampering the free-flow of alternative opinions both on the network and elsewhere, all while maintaining the facade of championing free speech.
We have exchanged the certainty of being censored for the illusion of speaking freely, and - as long as the illusion being created is appealing to our base sensibilities - we mindlessly celebrate it.
This is how nearly every form of tyranny attains power; not with the blunt threat of force, but through the gentle coercion of ‘promise.’
Which brings me back to my sub-headline question: Is Elon a liberator, a destroyer... or the worst of both combined? He has grabbed the reigns at X, sure, and has taken steps both positive and questionable along the journey… but beyond that?
To me, the answer is crystal-clear, for during this process he has managed to exert control over alternative pipelines of news and opinion, effectively squeezing out up-and-coming platforms (especially those which offer TRUE ‘free speech’), while consolidating right-leaning discussions under X’s umbrella.
Again… discussions all under X’s control. His control.
Add to that the still-undefined agenda of WEF-approved CEO, Linda Yaccarino, along with them getting cozy with groups known for curtailing open dialogue, and yeah… I think asking from what angle Musk is coming is a most valid question.
While I am not stating concretely that there was some grand conspiracy from the beginning, questions remain; it is possible, after all, that Elon purchased Twitter in a genuine effort to ‘free the bird,’ and perhaps his intentions were good.
Even if true, however, everyone knows with what the proverbial path-to-hell is paved, so maybe he has merely been manipulated into these actions.
Or… this was the plan all along, and he was one of the architects of it. Whichever the case, I have no doubt the Globalists saw an opportunity to reign in those they passionately want suppressed, and grabbed it with both hands.
Indeed, the moves Musk has made over the past year provides evidence that - at minimum - this much is true: What was about to be unleashed across multiple, unwieldy platforms was suddenly corralled under the dominion of one man…
… a man who talks the ‘free speech’ talk, but increasingly fails to actually walk that walk.
Kick social-media censorship to the curb! Like & subscribe, that we are never dependent upon Big-Tech & its oppressive algorithms.
My article from July, finally seeing the writing on the wall…
Blue On Blue
A while back I wrote an article discussing my experiences - good, meh, and ‘seriously?’ - with Twitter Blue. I was considering letting it go, but wanted to give Musk & Co. the opportunity to get the ship sailing in the right direction. Sadly, that is not happening; if anything, it is more off-course than ever.
Well stated again, sir.