“It is objectively the case that ‘conservative’ political candidates were more negatively affected than ‘progressive’ candidates. Anyone using Twitter knows this. Question is simply one of magnitude,” Musk tweeted about the algorithmic punishments and deboosting doled out to candidates. “Anyone using Twitter knows this. Question is simply one of magnitude.”
The thing is, this is completely false, as multiple studies have shown. Conservatives weren’t more affected—it wasn’t even equal. The reality is that Twitter itself admitted its algorithm was boosting right-wing politicians and media, an admission supported by at least one independent study as well. Musk is claiming to plan to “fix” a problem that is a lie. And he’s planning to do that because it benefits his far-right buddies.
The neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists Musk is planning to bring back and their allies are emboldened, to say the least. Some on the right are circulating a list of 5,000 accounts they’re plotting to get suspended or banned: “Let’s get to work and let the purge begin,” they write. The list, described as “antifa accounts and antifa follower accounts,” includes tons of activists and left media figures, but that’s not all. It includes not just the politicians you’d expect to be on such a list but also names like Sen. Bob Casey. In other words, they’re not just targeting the left, they’re targeting pretty generic establishment Democrats. It includes not just left-wing reporters but turgid establishment media figures like former CBS News reporter Mark Knoller.
The list includes academics like Prof. Keeanga-Yahmatta Taylor and disinformation researchers like Melissa Ryan. Also Levar Burton and Jorts the Cat, because why not?
And the thing is, this effort stands a decent chance at getting Musk’s attention, if not (yet) his full action.
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