Trump Back On Twitter
More hate, more lies will be amplified
He’s back on Twitter. Trump is doing an “interview” with Elon Musk tonight. He apparently paid Musk to promote it as “Trending,” with the hashtag #TrumponX. Trump was thrown off Twitter after the January 6th insurrection he instigated, but was allowed back on when the company was bought by Musk. Trump has not used the platform until today, preferring to use his own company, Truth Social. The NY Times maintains this is a big win for Musk, about which I have no idea. Trump’s re-emergence on X will cause a lot of commotion, and perhaps increase ads on the site. It will also increase the amount of misinformation and hate and lies.
The European Union’s Digital Commissioner, Thierry Breton, wrote a letter to Musk, and “reminded the world's richest man of his legal obligation to stop the ‘amplification of harmful content.’”
He continued, “As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in [the European Union] in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk. With great audience comes greater responsibility.”
I love social media, although less so these days that in the past. It’s power is beyond question, and it messed with our elections bigtime. So I am worried, and frankly don’t know how to use twitter anymore except to post positive things there, and retweet journalists I trust as much as humanly possible. I didn’t leave twitter when Musk bought it, only because I want to be a force for positivity there, and I also keep hoping Musk will sell it to a good person. Naive, I suppose.
If this were not enough to worry about, there is a thorough article in The Guardian about what the GOP/Project 2025 people are doing to prepare for the possibility that Trump will lose the election. Recommended reading. Here is a snippet:
“In early August, the Republican-controlled state election board in Georgia adopted a new rule that essentially gave Adams what she wanted. It requires local election board members to conduct an undefined “reasonable inquiry” into any discrepancies before they can certify the election. There are concerns that officials could use that discretion to hold up certification of the election.”
I for one won’t be paying attention to Twitter when the orange man is on there tonight, but will read the press after.
Hope you have a good evening!
I did leave Twitter when Musk bought it. And I loved Twitter. I had over 4000 followers and a megaphone for good that I was happy with. But with Twitter (and pretty much all social media) *we* are the product, and I couldn't justify being there and contributing to Musk's success (and ability to do harm). I do understand the people who stayed in order to provide light in a dark place. It's a very difficult decision to make.
For those concerned about brand safety:and still on Twitter/X:
“You may want to opt out of replies on X if you’re worried about brand safety. Here’s why.”
https://checkmyads.org/x-twitter-replies-opt-out/
I support Marc Elias and Democracy Docket because I’m concerned about what Trump will/plans to do if he loses the election.
“As the founder of Democracy Docket and Partner at Elias Law Group, Marc Elias is a nationally recognized authority in voting rights, redistricting and law. In 2020, Marc led the historic legal effort to protect voting rights, winning over 60 lawsuits against the GOP’s efforts to suppress the vote. As Republicans continue to mount aggressive challenges to voting, Marc continues to fight back in court and on Twitter. Fighting for democracy by his side is Marc’s Portuguese Water Dog named Bode.”
https://www.democracydocket.com/