Defender or Enemy of Free Speech? Review of ‘Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover’ on PBS

Send us Fan MailDefender or Enemy of Free Speech? Review of ‘Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover’ on PBSThe PBS programme screened in the U.K. on 29 October 2023 revealed Elon Musk as both a defender and an enemy of free speech.Some of us Twitter users are in a state  of denial over the brutal cutting down of our favourite Social Media platform by its ruthless new owner Elon Musk. His act of Twittercide shows a disregard for the affections of users both for the now defunct little blue bird and for the compatibility of brand name and symbol. Clearly, Mr Musk has  total self-confidence in his business decisions. After all, haven’t they made him compete so successfully in the Croesus competition recently, outperforming other super billionaires such as Bill Gates, King Charles the third, and the assorted highnesses of the Gulf States?In October 2020 in the run-up to the presidential election, Twitter made an unprecedented move temporarily to block tweets on the New York Post’s news story about Hunter Biden‘s laptop. The tweets were judged both unreliable and potentially damaging the the election success of President Biden,President Trump lost the election, and used the censorship by Twitter as evidence of the big steal. The Twitter content team warned against the Twitter site being used to encourage an insurrection. Trump was temporarily blocked by Twitter.  Musk called the block a great mistake which had undermined his belief in Twitter, calling it an example of ‘the woke mind virus’.  His anti woke attacks made him a popular free speech advocate. In 2022, Twitter blocked a Musk platform, the Babylon Bee, an outlet for the free speech views. Musk began his move to take over Twitter. At first it was a friendly business relationship.  He was about to join the board when further dispute led him announce a hostile takeover.Within a month he announced his arrival in a a typical off-beat way. ‘Let that sink in’. He couched his intentions accompanying this quirky tweet with a video of himself carrying a kitchen sink ...Stay up-to-date with all of Tudor's podcasts, blogs and current affairs commentary by signing up to our newsletter! Email [email protected] to sign up!Follow Tudor on Twitter @TudortweetFollow Tudor's blogs:everydaycreativity.ukleaderswedeserve.wordpress.com