Elon Musk’s X is a poison. We don’t need to keep taking it.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/elon-musk-twitter-x-collective-leaving-rcna169608

33 Comments

  1. Its literally just turned into pol, so no wonder nobody wants to advertise on it.

    But it is kind of funny to see the absolute state of schizophrenia that seems to exist within the minds of ‘conservatives’. Like now holocaust denial is making a comeback, Trump is getting attacked for being MIGA, and even that pos Tucker Carlsson seems to be takin some reputational damage, not because he is a contrarian grifter or a shill for tyrants, no he is now regularly being accused for being a secret CIA agent lmao

  2. brain_overclocked on

    [Elon Musk repeatedly interacted on X with right-wing influencers allegedly backed by a Russia-funded company](https://fortune.com/2024/09/05/elon-musk-far-right-influencers-tenet-media-russia-funded/) ([RC/H/HC](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/fortune-magazine/))

    >Prolific poster and world’s richest man Elon Musk frequently interacted on his social network X with right-wing influencers paid by a Russia-funded company.

    The content company, which publishes videos about U.S. political issues on TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube, according to the indictment, includes among its talent far-right influencers Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson. Elon Musk frequently socialized with all three on X. Together, the influencers have more than 6 million followers on their X accounts.

    Musk has long communicated with the three influencers on the social media platform. A count by *Fortune* found around 100 combined public interactions on X between Musk and the influencer trio mostly since 2022.

  3. Diamondphalanges756 on

    Here is why I am perma-banned from elon’s x: I’m sure it’s because I was mean to him and hurt his feelings. But the “technical” reason the “free-speech absolutist” banned me was because someone commented about LGBTQ+ people being child molesters and I pushed back and said that would be christians because statistically speaking they do seem to be pedos at higher rates.

    BANNED!

    So I appealed by providing 3 articles stating exactly what I said. One article was from the Methodist Church trying to address the pedo issue, the 2nd was Psychology Today, and the 3rd was from a university study.

    X told me I would never be allowed back on their platform.

    I really loved twitter, and I miss the hell out of it.

    I have a huge crush on Elie Mystal and that’s how I got my fix.

  4. Deleting twitter and facebook have helped my mental health so much. Not being subjected to stupid people constantly is refreshing. Someday redit will get the boot, but damnit, i love me some orange cat and labrador subs

  5. old_and_boring_guy on

    Just stop using it. It’s fine if it turns into an alt-right wanksphere if no reputable people are participating in that space.

    The media has gotten so used to going to twitter for their “Man on the Street” opinions though, that it’s going to take them a while to wean themselves from that grotty little teat.

  6. This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/elon-musk-twitter-x-collective-leaving-rcna169608) reduced by 92%. (I’m a bot)
    *****
    > Despite his lofty libertarian claims of a year ago, X CEO Elon Musk has put his finger on the scale in countless ways to boost far-right posts and deprecate others – starting with his own posts.

    > If every moderate-to-liberal human and organization stopped using the site, that might pressure Musk or his board of directors to stop weaponizing it.

    > Arguably, collective action might avert the need for governmental action, which would be a lot more problematic from a civil liberties perspective.

    *****
    [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/1fcwrpq/elon_musks_x_is_a_poison_we_dont_need_to_keep/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ “Version 2.02, ~693557 tl;drs so far.”) | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr “PM’s and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.”) | *Top* *keywords*: **action**^#1 **stop**^#2 **Musk**^#3 **post**^#4 **Collective**^#5

  7. LoPanDidNothingWrong on

    Seriously most companies should have killed their presence on that shit platform. Who wants to be associated with a Nazi. Apparently everyone.

    I won’t even click on a fucking X link.

  8. This is a story directed at journalists, influencers, and media personalities. THEY need to stop treating X like it matters.

  9. hymen_destroyer on

    Crazy how everyone endlessly bashes it, but keeps using it anyway. Battered housewife syndrome. Also shows you how valuable a “brand” can really be, irrespective of the actual product

  10. I ditched X almost a year back and I don’t miss it at all. Elon has said, in my opinion, some very basic antisemitic on X and I couldn’t be a part of it any longer. I understand that it’s gotten even worse.

  11. GhazelleBerner on

    I have a Twitter account that I mostly use to try to convince people to stop using Twitter (and to correct misinformation).

    People are genuinely addicted to it, even as it ruins their lives and brains. It’s really sad.

  12. QuellishQuellish on

    Shout it from every mountain and rooftop!

    Spend enough time in a shit hole and you’ll get some shit on yourself.

  13. No_Animator_8599 on

    The entire thing is a massive vanity project for him to own the libs. He’s so rich any money lost is a drop in the bucket to him; he doesn’t care.

  14. if there was one platform that represented digital addiction in full, that would be Twitter

    the amount of damage it did to society in the last 8 years, the amount of times people on the platform cried to make it stop, the amount of news articles based on twitter to complain about twitter from journalists using twitter

    absolutely insane

    maybe in a decade or so someone will be able to study it from outside

  15. WaffleWarrior1979 on

    I noticed the same group of right-wing-influencers-that-definitely-are-not-Russian-shills shitposting every single time Kamala or Tim tweet anything. They flood their comment sections with vile shit. Elon Musk allowing Russian trolls and Russian shills to completely flood X with Russian propaganda should land him in prison.

  16. This morning I have deactivated my account and deleted the app from my phone. I feel better now. You can do it, too!

  17. sorospaidmetosaythis on

    The permission structure that those remaining have built for themselves to stay is mighty indeed.

    There is now an established literature of excuses for liberals, progressives and journalists to not leave Twitter. Soon it will be a philosophy. I wish I were joking.

  18. icouldusemorecoffee on

    There are two things keep X alive:

    1. Right-wing trolls
    2. The corporate and other media outlets

    All media needs to abandon Twitter/X. Keep their accounts so they can monitor the right-wing trolls, but they need to stop posting and give up the addiction of immediate reporting and immediate feedback because it, literally, adds nothing to the discourse of politics or anything else important for that matter.

    X will continue to limp along as long as traditional media outlets still use it, if they leave, so will most of the users.

  19. OnDrugsTonight on

    Maybe MSNBC could lead by example and stop breathlessly reporting and inline-linking every brain fart that gets posted on Twitter, however insignificant. The fact of the matter is that it’s easy content for the media and if this election season has proven anything, it’s that so-called journalists are the laziest motherfuckers around. They can’t hold politicians to account, they have seemingly forgotten how to ask probing questions, and are only ever chasing the next soundbite. Linking tweets and writing “hard-hitting” content like “Kamala Harris gets lethally mauled and eviscerated in category 5 Twitter storm” when one account with half a dozen followers tweets something vaguely critical makes for easy clicks, simple content, and frees up the journalists’ diaries for the ever so important cocktail parties and social events. My absolute disgust with the state of the media during this election cycle is off the scale.

    Even this article shows zero self-reflection on the role the media plays in giving Twitter its undeserved importance. Instead, it wants the content providers to save us from ourselves:

    >It could start with a kind of inverse giving pledge: a network of high-profile figures (way higher than yours truly) could set forth a list of specific actions that must be taken by a certain date, and promise to stop posting on X if that doesn’t happen.

    No, fuck that, and try it the other way round for a change. Once the media stops using Twitter for content and reporting on whatever half-baked ideas are being tweeted out, people will organically stop using it, because their message isn’t getting amplified anymore. I stopped using Twitter the second Musk took over (although my account was older than Leon’s) but even without using it there is just no escaping it because it’s getting shoved down everyone’s throat whether we want to or not. How come we don’t hear what people say on Mastodon? Because journalists are too lazy to work out how it works, so they don’t read it and hence it’s essentially absent from the discourse. We can do the same with Twitter.

  20. PunchDrunkGiraffe on

    Delete your twitter accounts. Twitter is a cesspool, and yet the people in positions to bring them down, predominantly media figures and politicians, continue to use the platform, and as soon as they migrate, it will remove all legitimacy from twitter.

  21. Responsible_Milk2911 on

    I didn’t like Twitter when it was good. Elon buying it guaranteed me not joining. News articles amd reddit will bring me the good stuff

  22. TheNewTonyBennett on

    Yeah, it’s called not having an account or ever visiting the website/using the app. I’ve never used Twitter/X and I simply cannot fathom why it’s difficult for others to just stop using the app/going to the website.

  23. professorfernando on

    I am in Brazil and X has been blocked. The sensation is like a giant, old, rattling, super loud air conditioner has been turned off. It’s a feeling of calm and relief… And NO WE’RE NOT BEING CENSORED OR OPPRESSED! (Sorry for the capitals) I can go to the window of the president and shout at the top of my lungs that he’s an asshole and my free speech is constitutionally guaranteed!