Elon Musk shared a meme on Twitter on Thursday that shows how liberals have become increasingly radical over the last decade, leaving behind those who, like Musk, formerly identified as liberal but are now situated to the right-of-center on the political spectrum because of their unwillingness to indulge the ascendant, identity-obsessed progressives.
The meme depicts a change in the year 2012, when liberals begin to move further to the political left and became increasingly intolerant of dissent within their ranks. The person left behind in the center doesnโt change their views over time, but their political views come to be labeled right-wing because of the leftward turn of progressives.
Musk has been on a tear since acquiring Twitter, publicly calling out executives at the company who support what he believes is a biased content moderation policy.
Twitter accepted an offer from Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, to buy the company on Tuesday in a deal valued at $44 billion. Musk is the richest person in the world, currently valued at $253 billion according to Bloomberg.
โFree speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,โ Musk said in a statement after conclusion of the deal. โTwitter has tremendous potential โ I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.โ
The move has sparked fears among Twitter employees that Muskโs commitment to free speech will lead to online harassment, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
โSome people interpret your arguments in defense of free speech as a desire to open the door back up for harassment. Is that true?โ employees wrote as part of a list of questions for Musk reviewed by the Times. โAnd if not, do you have ideas for how to both increase free speech and keep the door closed on harassment?โ
Musk has previously called to make Twitterโs algorithms and policies more transparent for the public.
โIt wonโt be perfect, but I think we want to really haveโฆthe perception and the reality that speech is as free as reasonably possible,โ Musk said in an interview with TED leader Chris Anderson on April 14. โAnd a good sign as to whether there is free speech is, is someone you donโt like allowed to say something you donโt like. And if that is the case, then we have free speech.โ






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