Word on the street is that Elon Musk is officially going through with his plan to buy Twitter. What, exactly, does this mean for us and for all Twitter users?
Well, NBC News “dystopia beat” senior reporter Ben Collins has been thinking about that very question, and he’s taken to Twitter to share his thoughts before Elon Musk tries to silence him forever and maybe even have him thrown into prison or something:
For those of you asking: Yes, I do think this site can and will change pretty dramatically if Musk gets full control over it.
No, there is no immediate replacement.
If it gets done early enough, based on the people he's aligned with, yes, it could actually affect midterms.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 4, 2022
If Musk is really taking this site private, there are no real guardrails anymore. Rulemaking can be capricious.
He can elevate any idea or person he wants through recommendations and UX choices and there will be no oversight on this as a private company.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 4, 2022
We know from Musk's private texts he talks with people who want to let Trump back on and make a "Blake Masters type" a "VP of enforcement."
Masters is a far-right Senate candidate backed by Facebook founder and Trump donor Peter Thiel.https://t.co/oXG93DGKyC
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 4, 2022
In those Musk texts, the redacted senders and recipients lay the groundwork for a "war" and "battle" after Musk takes over Twitter — a "coordinated pressure campaign" that will lead to deplatforming of political enemies. pic.twitter.com/GGnUXc30op
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 4, 2022
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What does this look like in the short term?
Abandonment of traditional moderation policies. Stuff like Pizzagate — pushed by bots and liars — will be protected. Disinfo campaigns will top trending topics and drive news cycles.
Authoritarian governments will have a field day.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 4, 2022
In the longterm, Musk's plans for this website are a suicide bomb.
Very few people want to use a moderation-free app saturated with lies by design. We know this from the dozens of Twitter clones who've tried and failed.
But he seems deadset on taking bad advice from bad people.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 4, 2022
Well, technically whoever advised Ben Collins to get into journalism and share his thoughts with the public was a bad person. Either that, or it was someone with a wicked sense of humor.
Hope you'll be okay. https://t.co/h67GvE23cO
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 4, 2022
Was Ben Collins ever really OK?
*shrugs pic.twitter.com/Mc86rAjY8R
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 4, 2022
Funny how we pivot from "this private company can do whatever it wants" to "this private company needs oversight" the second the left's allies are no longer in control.https://t.co/wuCO9LXylg
— Chief Impact Officer BT (@back_ttys) October 4, 2022
The era of “private companies can do what they want with speech on their platforms” may be coming to a close. pic.twitter.com/VrVuCBrIG8
— Randy Barnett (@RandyEBarnett) October 4, 2022
Anti free-speech activist is sad again. https://t.co/SG1JtoU58I
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) October 4, 2022
The last thing poor Ben needs right now is for us to laugh at him. But we have to think about our needs, too. And what we need right now is to laugh at him.
some of you dorks need outdoor hobbies https://t.co/zkBCEL2tyc
— CJ Ciaramella (@cjciaramella) October 4, 2022
Moderate me harder, Daddy. https://t.co/L3PRSY6R2o
— 🇮🇷🤌🏼🐳 🇺🇦💉Hollaria Briden, Esq. (@HollyBriden) October 4, 2022
We also need to point out that Ben Collins’ fear that Twitter will protect crazy right-wing opinions while censoring liberal and Democratic opinions is ultimately a fear of disruption to the status quo, with the status quo being that Twitter’s thought police overwhelmingly cracks down on conservative/Republican/right-wing accounts.
This asshole envies authoritarian governments. Also don't tell Mr. Internet Expert, but authoritarian governments are already having a field day on twitter. pic.twitter.com/tXER4ypKSr
— Chief Impact Officer BT (@back_ttys) October 4, 2022
The ChiComs have free rein on Twitter. Libs of Tik Tok, Donald Trump … not so much.
Translation: When I go to my Twitter contacts and ask them to censor conservative popular accounts, they're gonna say no 🙁 https://t.co/FxsqvgZS0R
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 4, 2022
NBC reporter having a full meltdown that Twitter might move slightly towards the middle instead of continuing as a full-on mouthpiece & propaganda arm of the Left. The horror! https://t.co/TW5PbEk4sg
— ajslaw (@ajslaw87) October 4, 2022
So if Musk buys Twitter, the site rules will be "capricious"?
As opposed to the decisions the site regularly makes now? https://t.co/wjGKeKBJ5j
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) October 4, 2022
wow twitter deplatforming political enemies? who would've thought?? https://t.co/HPhy0jdAO8
— T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) October 4, 2022
This could actually affect midterms, you know.
Interesting thread in which NBC reporter directly links censorship and midterm outcomes. Are they finally admitting they rig elections on social media? https://t.co/Q5s9i0J77z
— Collin Pruett (@pruett_collin) October 4, 2022
That’s sure what it sounds like.
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Update:
Glenn Greenwald buries NBC News journo freaking out about Elon Musk’s Twitter dictatorship under a mountain of receipts https://t.co/EdCGKwexsH
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) October 4, 2022
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