Now that Telsa CEO Elon Muskâs offer to buy Twitter has been accepted, the same crowd that told conservatives to âbuild your own Twitterâ if they didnât like the content moderation policies is melting down.
Musk tweeted on Tuesday, âThe extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.â
His tweet, of course, comes after Twitterâs board announced that it accepted his offer to buy the company.
It didnât take long for users to start publicly declaring their intention to leave Twitter due to concerns that Musk will let people âsay what they want.â
Musk did clarify that he believes in free speech as it âmatches the law,â and that he is âagainst censorship that goes far beyond the law.â
https://Twitter.com/AdrienneLaw/status/1518590235503783940
https://Twitter.com/jenmercieca/status/1518564610416300034
This is ironic coming from the same side that told conservatives they should build their own social media companies if they donât like Twitter or Facebookâs content moderation policies.
In fact, when someone suggested to The Washington Postâs Max Boot that people opposed to Musk buying the company should build their own Twitter, the columnist responded, âIâd rather Elon Musk build his own and leave this one alone.â
Most conservatives would probably agree that threats of violence and pornography do not have a place on social media platforms.
And companies do have a right to moderate content on their platforms.
But Musk is right. Weâve seen that there is a certain population in the U.S. that views certain beliefs or ideas as too dangerous, outlandish, or offensive to even see or hear and engage with.
The left has pushed to kick conservatives off of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube because they despise what the other side has to say. While they decry conservative echo chambers, they create their own online liberal echo chamber and a safe space where they donât have to encounter an opposing view.
They believe that they are right and people who disagree with them are wrong and, in some cases, maybe even actual troglodytes. And they are afraid of letting people they disagree with share their views and potentially win people over.
Of course, both liberals and conservatives have groups of crazies that believe in wild conspiracy theories.
Part of living in a free and open society requires hearing different ideas, challenging assumptions, and debating our differences. And historically, societies that do not tolerate dissent do not have the best track records.
Words canât hurt people and it should not be so upsetting to see someone say that there are only two genders, or another person claim that there are 50.
Instead of just trying to shut down ideas you disagree with, take a risk and debate someone. Maybe youâre right, and maybe it turns out that the belief you grew up with or developed in college is just wrong.
But if liberals just flock to Twitter and conservatives just flock to Truth Social â or whatever platform â and stop talking to each other, then both sides will be stuck in echo chambers and further prone to falsehoods and conspiracy theories.
And that will only create a doom loop that further tears at the fabric of our republic.
