With great power comes great responsibility, and one of the most powerful men in the world at the moment is Elon Musk. But, heavy is the head that wears the crown, and in the last few days, Mr. Musk’s neck has no doubt been worn out by the weight of the Twitter crown he placed upon his head.
It’s been a wild and exciting ride on the powerful social media platform since Elon purchased the bluebird for a cool $44 billion and set it free to poop on everything the left-wing machine had built over the past few years.
We have learned so much about how the modern propaganda machine worked. Still, Mr. Musk may be stepping away as Chief Liberator.
The jet-setting billionaire posted a poll last night that, naturally, I participated in, asking if he should step down as the chief executive. Given the results and his past actions post-polling, Elon may be passing the torch to a new executive. But will he be able to find someone who can be trusted with the helm of the digital town square?
Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2022
Should He Stay, Or Should He Go?
Last night Elon Musk asked the Twitterverse if he should step down as the chief executive of Twitter. Over 17 million users voted, and the results point to Elon stepping down, with 57.5% voting that he should go back to his old job making cool cars and putting men on Mars.
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
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While there hasn’t been an announcement from Elon Musk saying he is for sure stepping down, the assumption is that he will, as he promised he would abide by the poll results and has in the past honored the results of votes. He often drops the Latin phrase ‘vox populi, vox die,’ translated as ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God.’
Late last week, he took fire for suspending the accounts of various journalists, including from the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN, for doxxing his real-time location. After receiving considerable criticism, he polled Twitter asking if he should unsuspend the journalists.
The majority voted that he should, and sure enough, he followed through with those actions. Many believe that this action and subsequent reaction have Elon Musk second-guessing his position on Twitter and the power it allows him to wield.
Shortly after, he posted his poll asking if he should pass the torch in a nod to one of my favorite philosophers, Plato, who once said, “Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it.”
Musk tweeted:
“Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it.”
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
If there is one important lesson we have learned thanks to Musk’s takeover of Twitter is that Twitter has essentially become an extension of the police state. Recently journalist Matt Taibbi explained in his Twitter files reporting:
“Twitter’s contact with the FBI was constant and pervasive, as if it were a subsidiary.”
3. Twitter’s contact with the FBI was constant and pervasive, as if it were a subsidiary.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 16, 2022
Mr. Taibbi disclosed that there were over 150 emails exchanged between the FBI and the former Twitter Trust and Security chief over a little over two years. We’ve learned that these exchanges helped to censor the New York Post’s coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop and suspend accounts of mostly conservative-leaning users.
Perhaps the most alarming is that some of the accounts had low engagement levels, which for those unfamiliar with Twitter, means they were accounts of regular men and women who don’t have a follower base that would warrant them influencers like celebrities, political figures, or pundits.
Mr. Taibbi went on to explain:
“What most people think of as the ‘deep state’ is really a tangled collaboration of state agencies, private contractors, and (sometimes state-funded) NGOs. The lines become so blurred as to be meaningless.”
So who was really running Twitter? It clearly wasn’t Jack Dorsey, who abdicated his power in the company.
Who did he hand that power to? It would appear the FBI and various other three-letter agencies.
RELATED: Former CIA, FBI Spooks Found Jobs at Twitter, Doing What They Do Best
Taking A Page From 1984
The Twitter files have not made the FBI look very good, although they’ve never really had the best look.
In response to the Twitter revelations, an FBI spokesperson said:
“The FBI regularly engages with private sector entities to provide information specific to identified foreign malign influence actors’ subversive, undeclared, covert, or criminal activities.”
They go on to claim:
“Private sector entities independently make decisions about what, if any, action they take on their platforms and for their customers after the FBI has notified them.”
But when a preponderance of Twitter leadership are former FBI agents and the FBI can investigate just about anyone and any entity they want, a ‘request’ seems much more like an order. Republican Congressman James Comer from Kentucky correctly describes the FBI’s engagement with Twitter:
“The FBI had it’s own ministry of propaganda.”
No need to create a Disinformation Governance Board; embed your agents in critical areas of influence across various industries, and you have your own version of Thought Police.
The Deep State couldn’t pull off getting an Amendment 25 against Trump so the CIA and FBI controlled social media to ban 45, rig the election for Biden, and quash any dissenting voices. A total coup.
— Randy Quaid (@RandyRRQuaid) December 18, 2022
Careful What You Wish For
I think Elon will step down as CEO, but luckily, he will still be the owner. I don’t believe that when he dropped his philosophical tweet, he was referring to himself, but more so a general reminder to the rest of us what power can do to a person and to be suspicious of those who actively pursue it.
Love him or hate him, you can’t deny he’s an intelligent man and very strategic. However, while Musk does enjoy Twitter and is a free-speech absolutist, his first two children really hold his heart – Tesla and SpaceX.
RELATED: Elon Musk: Twitter Files Prove Censorship Was ‘Enforced Against the Right But Not Against the Left’
Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, said of the possible move away from the Twitter steering wheel:
“Given how much of a distraction Musk’s tenure at Twitter has become, shareholders in the electric vehicle manufacturer will be breathing a big sigh of relief if he steps back from Twitter and gets back to the day job at Tesla.”
This poll is a great self-made door to help Musk exit and focus on the things he loves most, making the world a better place and propelling humanity into outer space. But, of course, finding someone to take his place will be challenging, as he tweeted last night:
“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.”
Edward Snowden tweeted:
“I take payment in Bitcoin.”
I take payment in Bitcoin. https://t.co/wW0Qa9NxWi
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) December 19, 2022
Now wouldn’t that be something? You can’t deny that Elon Musk is a great man, but as the 19th-century British politician Lord Acton once said:
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”
Time will tell which kind of man Elon Musk was and if our wish for a new CEO of Twitter was wise.
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