Elon Musk’s Twitter: Two Cheers

I’m in for the Elon Musk revolution.

After 2016’s twin political shocks of Brexit and Donald Trump, the message went out that social media had to come under the political control of — well, whatever you want to call it: the Blob, the center-left, the Apparatus, the managerial class. A giant moral panic was worked up over “disinformation,” and Silicon Valley used its cash to buy off its critics — often employing them in expanded departments dedicated to “safety” and “disinformation.” The private sector responded by immediately crowning “disinformation experts” and “online safety advocates” on the outside.

About the Author

Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review Online.

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I’m in for the Elon Musk revolution.

After 2016’s twin political shocks of Brexit and Donald Trump, the message went out that social media had to come under the political control of — well, whatever you want to call it: the Blob, the center-left, the Apparatus, the managerial class. A giant moral panic was worked up over “disinformation,” and Silicon Valley used its cash to buy off its critics — often employing them in expanded departments dedicated to “safety” and “disinformation.” The private sector responded by immediately crowning “disinformation experts” and “online safety advocates” on the outside.