{"id":1438564,"date":"2022-04-14T16:14:34","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T20:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1438564"},"modified":"2022-04-14T16:15:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T20:15:00","slug":"if-free-speech-depends-on-which-oligarchs-are-in-control-the-country-is-doomed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-free-speech-depends-on-which-oligarchs-are-in-control-the-country-is-doomed\/","title":{"rendered":"If Free Speech Depends On Which Oligarchs Are In Control, The Country Is Doomed"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fif-free-speech-depends-on-which-oligarchs-are-in-control-the-country-is-doomed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1438564&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Free speech laws mean nothing without a culture that supports them. Fostering such a culture, however, now appears to require billionaire financing, not among the few able to fund political campaigns, but from top-tier members of the billionaire class with the means to buy corrupted institutions outright and usher in an era of reform. Twitter has become such an institution, infected by left-wing desires for discriminatory censorship. Enter Elon Musk.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, the billionaire entrepreneur and free speech activist behind PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla offered Twitter $43 billion for a total buyout at $54.20 a share, priced at a premium nearly 20 percent above market value. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1514564966564651008?s=20&#038;t=_6LYb0sSHdViHiHBJzG1nQ\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"895\" height=\"717\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Elon-Musk-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-270743\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Elon-Musk-1-1.jpg 895w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Elon-Musk-1-300x240-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Elon-Musk-1-768x615-1.jpg 768w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>The proposal begins the latest episode in Musk\u2019s effort to develop direct influence in the company after years of hostile censorship of conservative content exposed the platform as an ideological outfit working to serve left-wing interests.<\/p>\n<p>Weeks before the 2020 presidential election, Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/10\/14\/twitter-blocks-users-from-linking-to-the-new-york-posts-bombshell-hunter-biden-report\/\">barred<\/a> users from sharing blockbuster stories from the New York Post that implicated then-candidate Joe Biden in his son\u2019s potentially criminal overseas business deals. One in six Biden voters across seven tipping-point states <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/11\/24\/poll-one-in-six-biden-voters-would-have-changed-their-vote-if-they-had-known-about-scandals-suppressed-by-media\/\">said<\/a> they would have changed their vote had they been adequately informed about the scandals. <\/p>\n<p>Four months later, the company banned President Donald Trump while he was still in office. An account for Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/04\/after-banning-trump-for-denouncing-violence-twitter-lets-putin-keep-his-account\/\">remains active<\/a>. Last month, Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/22\/twitter-bans-babylon-bee-staff-charlie-kirk-for-saying-men-are-men-and-mocking-censorship\/\">censored<\/a> the accounts of Fox News\u2019s Tucker Carlson, Turning Point USA\u2019s Charlie Kirk, The Federalist\u2019s John Davidson, and the Christian\/conservative satirical website Babylon Bee, each for claiming President Joe Biden\u2019s Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, who identifies as transgender, is a man. On Wednesday, Twitter\u2019s popular \u201cLibs Of Tik Tok\u201d page was given a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/14\/twitter-punishes-libs-of-tik-tok-for-daring-to-expose-radical-leftism\/\">12-hour suspension<\/a> for \u201chateful conduct,\u201d a vague term weaponized by the company\u2019s employees to justify censorship of viewpoints they just don\u2019t like. <\/p>\n<p>Musk\u2019s interest in corporate Twitter was reportedly driven by the company\u2019s March censorship of the Babylon Bee as \u201cthe last straw,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2022\/apr\/4\/babylon-bee-ceo-twitters-bee-lockout-may-have-been\/\">according<\/a> to Bee CEO Seth Dillon, who said the billionaire reached out before purchasing a 9.2 percent stake in the tech giant to become its largest shareholder. The Babylon Bee account remains <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/21\/the-babylon-bees-twitter-resistance-is-a-lesson-in-taking-on-tech-tyrants\/\">locked<\/a> for posting an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/the-babylon-bees-man-of-the-year-is-rachel-levine\">article<\/a>\u00a0headlined \u201cThe Babylon Bee\u2019s Man of the Year is Rachel Levine\u201d to mock USA Today\u2019s award to Levine as \u201cWoman of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Musk asked his more than 80 million followers what should be done given Twitter \u201cserves as the de facto public town square\u201d but was \u201cfailing to adhere to free speech principles\u201d days after the Bee\u2019s account was frozen.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1507777261654605828?s=20&#038;t=qAOj63LsZ_mmxa9BX1vtEw\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"879\" height=\"619\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Musk-Tweet-on-Free-Expression.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-270716\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Musk-Tweet-on-Free-Expression.png 879w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Musk-Tweet-on-Free-Expression-300x211-1.png 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Musk-Tweet-on-Free-Expression-768x541-1.png 768w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe have had some communication with Musk,\u201d Dillon told The Washington Times. \u201cHe wanted to confirm that we had, in fact, been suspended from Twitter. He reached out to us before he publicly asked his followers if they think Twitter \u2018rigorously adheres\u2019 to the principle of free expression. He even mused on that call with us that he might need to buy Twitter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But will Musk actually save Twitter as a \u201cpublic town square\u201d and shape the platform into a democratic beacon of free expression? Even if his lucrative offer were to move forward and be approved, which is unlikely, the Silicon Valley headwinds against a free speech platform may already be too great. In January last year, Apple, Google, and Amazon <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/01\/10\/big-tech-oligarchs-collude-to-ban-parler-from-internet-and-phones\/\">colluded<\/a> to take down Twitter\u2019s free speech-branded alternative in Parler. Trump\u2019s network launched earlier this year, TruthSocial, has struggled to cultivate apolitical users, and is already \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-60922717\">branded a disaster<\/a>\u201d by the corporate media. It\u2019s not inconceivable the same could be done to Twitter with Musk at the helm steering the company away from the totalitarian censors.<\/p>\n<p>But is it a healthy sign that free speech, a fundamental prerequisite for a sustainable democracy, requires a billionaire savior? Will Musk even be the savior he claims to be? His openness to <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/21\/elon-musks-china-business-ties-spark-alarm-on-capitol-hill\/\">work<\/a> with overseas authoritarians has certainly raised eyebrows. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile in the era of billionaire control of the public square, Mark Zuckerberg continues to wield control over Facebook while the allied censors working for Jeff Bezos\u2019s Washington Post are up in arms over the possibility of a free speech advocate as Twitter\u2019s new chief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElon Musk launches hostile takeover bid for Twitter,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2022\/04\/14\/elon-musk-twitter-takeover-bid\/\">headlined<\/a> an article branded as news in the Bezos-dominated Post. <\/p>\n<p>Columnist Max Boot, working for the same paper, warned Musk\u2019s new venture could spell the end of democracy.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"865\" height=\"373\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Max-Boot-Tweet.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-270747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Max-Boot-Tweet.jpg 865w, https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Max-Boot-Tweet-300x129.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Max-Boot-Tweet-768x331-1.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>The 2020 election, however, taught us how dangerous concentrated control of the 21st-century digital public square could be for a country where <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/14\/the-left-is-freaking-out-over-elon-musk-because-twitter-rigs-the-game-for-democrats\/\">no small population<\/a> is eager to silence the opposition. But the overt censorship throughout the presidential contest is far from the only rude awakening to the risks presented by the modern structure of information sharing. <\/p>\n<p>The nation\u2019s oligarchal giants have been <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/08\/11\/youtube-will-censor-you-if-you-disagree-with-the-government-even-if-youre-in-the-government\/\">eager<\/a> since the novel Wuhan coronavirus was introduced to endlessly <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/10\/18\/white-house-expert-scott-atlas-censored-by-twitter\/\">censor<\/a> those who made claims contrary to the media-manufactured Faucian consensus on masks and lockdowns. Despite the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/11\/the-people-who-brutalized-children-to-grab-emergency-powers-are-not-experts-theyre-evil\/\">devastating consequences<\/a> of lockdowns and school closures, leading experts were <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/12\/tech-censorship-of-robert-malone-is-not-about-misinformation-but-power\/\">kicked off<\/a> major platforms while the public succumbed to what Dr. Robert Malone dubbed hysteria-driven \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GP8uWQwezBQ\">mass formation psychosis<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dedication to free speech requires broad support beyond the billionaire class. Musk might be good for Twitter and the internet in the short term, but the current model of waiting for billionaires to sweep in as champions of the cause isn\u2019t sustainable.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Free speech laws mean nothing without a culture that supports them. Fostering such a culture, however, now appears to require billionaire financing, not among the few able to fund political<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1438564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1438564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1438564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1438564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1438564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1438564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1438564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}