By buying Twitter, Musk got his hands on the personal data and audience of 500M users. He makes no secret of his intentions to use X/Twitter to brainwash its users. Anything goes, and from January 20, there will be no law.
Musk has placed himself at the center of a global arena of influence
Musk makes no secret of his intentions to use X to brainwash its users, as demonstrated by this brutally misogynistic tweet.
From the moment he arrived, Elon Musk directed X’s (formerly Twitter’s) engineers to alter the recommendation algorithm so that his posts and those supporting Donald Trump would be specifically promoted to users.
Furthermore, Musk redesigned X to ensure that his profile is prioritized for new users, growing his follower count from 80 million in 2022 to over 200 million today.
One figure stands out: from his 200 million followers, Musk’s pro-Trump political posts garnered over 17 billion views during his support for Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign—more than twice the number of views for all political ads on X during the same period!
Musk censors accounts and content he dislikes
On X, the survival of dissent depends entirely on Musk’s whims. From his arrival, several influencer accounts, journalists, and political opponents were suspended without warning for opposing Musk views. Some had over 2.3 million followers.
No one can challenge this since it is part of X’s terms of service. These terms state that X holds a non-exclusive license to use your content as it sees fit. Furthermore, X reserves the right to terminate your account at any time without cause, leaving you with no recourse.
A legal dispute is currently underway where X refuses to return an account to a company Musk ideologically opposes, arguing that “X accounts are the exclusive property of X Corp” and that users only have a “non-exclusive license to use the software provided.” This couldn’t be clearer.
Musk spreads misinformation and promotes conspiracy theories
Through X, Musk was the epicenter of misinformation during the 2024 U.S. presidential election. He shared fake videos of Kamala Harris without clarifying their nature, promoted false information about election processes and migrants, organized rigged million-dollar lotteries akin to vote buying, and amplified fraudulent campaigns orchestrated by Trump’s team.
Let’s examine one such initiative resembling identity theft: Progress 2028, a fake Kamala Harris campaign site funded by Musk, caricatured her platform to alienate part of her electorate. For instance, this site falsely claimed she supported gender transition for LGBTQIA minors, promising “ensuring that every young person has access to the care they need—without fear of discrimination or parental intervention." This site was promoted not only on X but also via massive SMS campaigns, likely leveraging X’s user data for effective targeting.
During the U.S. campaign, Musk and X demonstrated unprecedented moral decay and sophistication in disinformation. If nothing changes, democracies may struggle to withstand such an environment.
This behavior isn’t surprising. Musk has frequently spread disinformation and conspiracy theories in the past, such as during the hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband. While the attacker targeted Nancy Pelosi herself, Musk implicitly endorsed conspiracy theories suggesting the attacker was Pelosi’s husband’s lover.
Musk interferes with European politics
Elon Musk has already demonstrated his willingness to interfere in European politics, supporting the AfD in Germany, showing close ties with Giorgia Meloni, and commenting on civil unrest during the UK’s summer 2024 riots. Now that the U.S. elections are over, all signs point to Europe being his next target.
X has become a machine to promote Elon Musk, his wealth, and his ideology (classified as far-right libertarian). But it’s a colossus with clay feet; if users leave, his power will evaporate.
