Musk, X, and Trump 2024: Where are the Legal and Ethical Boundaries?

[Hellokitty]

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is actively using X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform he bought in 2022, to promote his far-right political interests. Vittoria Elliott at WIRED writes that Musk has made the platform “his own personal political bullhorn.” Tech journalist Casey Newton says that X is now “just a political project.”

Even before his endorsement of former President Donald Trump in July, Musk had already changed X in substantial ways that favor MAGA politics and personalities. He restored accounts of far-right figures such as white nationalist Nick Fuentes and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, relaxed content moderation policies, and disposed of much of the company’s trust and safety and election integrity teams.

But after the endorsement, Musk’s efforts on behalf of the Trump campaign appeared to surge. He launched a political action committee dedicated to Trump’s reelection. He hosted a livestream with the former president, whom Musk coaxed back onto the platform after he was previously banned for incitement to violence after the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S, Capitol. According to The New York Times, Musk “hired a Republican operative with expertise in field organizing” to help direct his political activities. And according to Trump, Musk has agreed to head a “government efficiency” task force that aims to make “recommendations for drastic reforms” across the entire federal government should Trump win a second term. All the while, Musk continues to promote his preferred brand of politics through posts on his own account, which has close to 200 million followers (and frequently appears in users’ feed as recommended content whether they follow him or not).

While it may be jarring for users and others who hoped the platform might not succumb so completely to the interests of its singular owner, it is Musk’s prerogative to shape X to his tastes. No social media platform is truly politically neutral. And it is not a novel circumstance that the singular owner of a platform has such extraordinary influence over its operations, policies, and political decisions. But Musk’s use of X to try to influence the 2024 U.S. election is the most extreme example to date of a person in his position using a major social media platform for a specific political outcome. It is so blatant and outside the norm, it can be considered a class of its own.

Musk, X, and Trump 2024: Where are the Legal and Ethical Boundaries?

The limits and ability of social media companies to influence the outcome of elections.

www.justsecurity.org

Attention Is the Fuel of American Politics, and Trump Knows It​

Washington is filled with lobbying offices and fund-raisers because powerful interests believe something is gained when dollars are spent. They are right. We have come to expect and accept a grotesque level of daily corruption in American politics — abetted by a series of Supreme Court rulings that give money the protections of speech and by congressional Republicans who have fought even modest campaign finance reforms. But we have at least some rules to limit money’s power in politics and track its movements.

The same cannot be said for attention. If Trump saves TikTok and, in return, TikTok boosts pro-Trump content before the 2026 elections to help it go viral, would that be illegal? Perhaps. But would we even know it had happened? If Elon Musk turns the dials on X to tilt the conversation in the Republican Party’s direction before the 2028 elections, who will stop him?

Opinion | Trump Has Something He Would Like to Bring to Your Attention

Attention is the fuel of American politics, and Trump knows it.

www.nytimes.com

Color me concerned that trump, who doesn't even have a passing regard for the law or ethical norms, already has the most powerful social media platform (as long as he and Elon don't have a falling out)) in his back pocket, owns one of his own, and has already been promoted on Tik Tok for thwarting a bipartisan law passed by Congress.

The influence of the combined, unchecked, disinformation being spewed on social media, far right internet sites, and cable propagandists like Fox, has never been seen before. It's an authoritarian's dream. But hey, I'm sure it will turn out okay.

You left out Zuckerberg having kissed the ring...

 

[berg80]

So, it was all good when it was twitter, and dems owned it lock stock and barrel, canceling any dissent.

Liar.

 

[Dragonlady]

Oh, dear. You should immediately email Musk and advise him regarding your insistence that his platform must cater to preferred leftist ideological issues such as trannies and aTDS related issues.

Thanks and be sure you cc. us on your email.

Look at you, all happy and full of piss and vinegar as Trump and Musk take a wrecking ball to your national structures.

Watching Trump dismantle and destroy everything that made America a great nation is sad, but it's what you voted for.

Watching an end to law and order. Today the Trump administration said it will not longer provide police or legal protection to abortion providers in states where abortion has been banned. That's in addition to removing security protection for John Bolton, Dr. Faucci, and others threatened by MAGA extremists - all of whom are now out of jail and demanding "retribution".

Also, all foreign aid has ended, Presidents Xi and Putin are cheering this, as they move into "shithole countries" and make investments and allies. The world is now theirs, or so they think. Trump is earning every dollar they paid him.

I feel sorry for all decent Americans, while idiots like you, are cheering like howler monkeys.

 

[Polishprince]

Liar.

Its actually a Fact that Twitter cancelled President Trump when it was owned by the left.

And at that time, Trump was tweeting multiple times a day.

 

[berg80]

You left out Zuckerberg having kissed the ring...

Yes, he's bending over for Dotard. I wonder why?

Trump explained his shift as motivated by his hatred of Facebook. “They are a true Enemy of the People!” he wrote on Truth Social. He partly blamed Mark Zuckerberg’s spending on election integrity for his 2020 loss, and his response, in part, was to aid Meta’s chief competitor. Elsewhere he said of Zuckerberg, “We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.”

 

[j-mac]

Liar.

 

[berg80]

Its actually a Fact that Twitter cancelled President Trump when it was owned by the left.

And at that time, Trump was tweeting multiple times a day.

For repeated violations of policy.

Twitter has suspended President Trump from its platform, the company said Friday evening.

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said.

“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action.”

Twitter’s decision followed two tweets by Trump Friday afternoon that would end up being his last. The tweets violated the company’s policy against glorification of violence, Twitter said, and “these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks.”

Twitter bans President Trump permanently

Twitter has suspended President Donald Trump from its platform, the company said Friday evening.

www.cnn.com

 

[Hollie]

Look at you, all happy and full of piss and vinegar as Trump and Musk take a wrecking ball to your national structures.

Watching Trump dismantle and destroy everything that made America a great nation is sad, but it's what you voted for.

Watching an end to law and order. Today the Trump administration said it will not longer provide police or legal protection to abortion providers in states where abortion has been banned. That's in addition to removing security protection for John Bolton, Dr. Faucci, and others threatened by MAGA extremists - all of whom are now out of jail and demanding "retribution".

Also, all foreign aid has ended, Presidents Xi and Putin are cheering this, as they move into "shithole countries" and make investments and allies. The world is now theirs, or so they think. Trump is earning every dollar they paid him.

I feel sorry for all decent Americans, while idiots like you, are cheering like howler monkeys.

Look at you, the same angry, self-loathing, leftist groupie who can’t help but promote your retrograde ideology of hate.

 

[dblack]

Legal and ethical boundaries?? How quaint.

 

[Nostra]

I pay no attention to it, so it's no big deal.

Nobody cares what you do, Troll.

 

[berg80]

Legal and ethical boundaries?? How quaint.

They've been suspended for four years.

 

[Nostra]

Look at you, all happy and full of piss and vinegar as Trump and Musk take a wrecking ball to your national structures.

Watching Trump dismantle and destroy everything that made America a great nation is sad, but it's what you voted for.

Watching an end to law and order. Today the Trump administration said it will not longer provide police or legal protection to abortion providers in states where abortion has been banned. That's in addition to removing security protection for John Bolton, Dr. Faucci, and others threatened by MAGA extremists - all of whom are now out of jail and demanding "retribution".

Also, all foreign aid has ended, Presidents Xi and Putin are cheering this, as they move into "shithole countries" and make investments and allies. The world is now theirs, or so they think. Trump is earning every dollar they paid him.

I feel sorry for all decent Americans, while idiots like you, are cheering like howler monkeys.

What has Trump dismantled that made America great? Open borders? Funding a war in Ukraine? DEI bullsqueeze?

And the Feds have nothing to do with local law enforcement, Stupid. You have no clue how America works, and prove it daily.

 

[Hollie]

They've been suspended for four years.

Most notably beginning in 2020 with the cartoon presidency of ole’ stumblebum and you AOC groupies.

 

[Blaster]

Liar.

You can go post on a far left platform like Blue Sky.

 

[berg80]

Is Musk kicking liberals off X?

No. He's amplifying the posts of Nazis.

 

[Blaster]

No. He's amplifying the posts of Nazis.

Go to Blue Sky with the other malcontents.

 

[berg80]

No, what they are actually saying is, conservative and right wing speech can't be allowed.

It is allowed. It's all over the place. The problem being when you morons conflate speech with lies and disinformation that fails standard fact checks while posing a danger to the country.
trump wasn't arbitrarily removed from Twitter. He was removed for repeated violations of platform policy. Like the glorification of violence. What did Musk do after he bought the platform? He restored trump's account, allowing him to go back to glorifying violence along with fascists who do the same.

 

[Blaster]

It is allowed. It's all over the place. The problem being when you morons conflate speech with lies and disinformation that fails standard fact checks while posing a danger to the country.
trump wasn't arbitrarily removed from Twitter. He was removed for repeated violations of platform policy. Like the glorification of violence. What did Musk do after he bought the platform? He restored trump's account, allowing him to go back to glorifying violence along with fascists who do the same.

Quit whining

 

[Hollie]

Don't be stupid be a smarty,
Come and join the Musk=Nazi Party.

Why would join your party of morons?

 

[westwall]

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is actively using X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform he bought in 2022, to promote his far-right political interests. Vittoria Elliott at WIRED writes that Musk has made the platform “his own personal political bullhorn.” Tech journalist Casey Newton says that X is now “just a political project.”

Even before his endorsement of former President Donald Trump in July, Musk had already changed X in substantial ways that favor MAGA politics and personalities. He restored accounts of far-right figures such as white nationalist Nick Fuentes and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, relaxed content moderation policies, and disposed of much of the company’s trust and safety and election integrity teams.

But after the endorsement, Musk’s efforts on behalf of the Trump campaign appeared to surge. He launched a political action committee dedicated to Trump’s reelection. He hosted a livestream with the former president, whom Musk coaxed back onto the platform after he was previously banned for incitement to violence after the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S, Capitol. According to The New York Times, Musk “hired a Republican operative with expertise in field organizing” to help direct his political activities. And according to Trump, Musk has agreed to head a “government efficiency” task force that aims to make “recommendations for drastic reforms” across the entire federal government should Trump win a second term. All the while, Musk continues to promote his preferred brand of politics through posts on his own account, which has close to 200 million followers (and frequently appears in users’ feed as recommended content whether they follow him or not).

While it may be jarring for users and others who hoped the platform might not succumb so completely to the interests of its singular owner, it is Musk’s prerogative to shape X to his tastes. No social media platform is truly politically neutral. And it is not a novel circumstance that the singular owner of a platform has such extraordinary influence over its operations, policies, and political decisions. But Musk’s use of X to try to influence the 2024 U.S. election is the most extreme example to date of a person in his position using a major social media platform for a specific political outcome. It is so blatant and outside the norm, it can be considered a class of its own.

Musk, X, and Trump 2024: Where are the Legal and Ethical Boundaries?

The limits and ability of social media companies to influence the outcome of elections.

www.justsecurity.org

Attention Is the Fuel of American Politics, and Trump Knows It​

Washington is filled with lobbying offices and fund-raisers because powerful interests believe something is gained when dollars are spent. They are right. We have come to expect and accept a grotesque level of daily corruption in American politics — abetted by a series of Supreme Court rulings that give money the protections of speech and by congressional Republicans who have fought even modest campaign finance reforms. But we have at least some rules to limit money’s power in politics and track its movements.

The same cannot be said for attention. If Trump saves TikTok and, in return, TikTok boosts pro-Trump content before the 2026 elections to help it go viral, would that be illegal? Perhaps. But would we even know it had happened? If Elon Musk turns the dials on X to tilt the conversation in the Republican Party’s direction before the 2028 elections, who will stop him?

Opinion | Trump Has Something He Would Like to Bring to Your Attention

Attention is the fuel of American politics, and Trump knows it.

www.nytimes.com

Color me concerned that trump, who doesn't even have a passing regard for the law or ethical norms, already has the most powerful social media platform (as long as he and Elon don't have a falling out)) in his back pocket, owns one of his own, and has already been promoted on Tik Tok for thwarting a bipartisan law passed by Congress.

The influence of the combined, unchecked, disinformation being spewed on social media, far right internet sites, and cable propagandists like Fox, has never been seen before. It's an authoritarian's dream. But hey, I'm sure it will turn out okay.

Funny how you didn't give a flying fuck when conservative voices were silenced.

Go fuck yourself you ridiculous hypocrite.