No matter what happens to Elon Musk’s hostile bid for Twitter, the political megaphone is available in a way we’ve never seen before.
Why it matters: No single company is doing more to have moment-to-moment political conversations. For all its toxicity and bias, Twitter is the go-to place for politicians to break news and shape opinion.
Musk’s surprise move sent shock waves through Washington, even when Congress is on recess—and through state and world capitals.
- Several Republicans hailed Musk as a hero and Twitter as a problem. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) tweeted (!): “Twitter’s censors are freaking out about Elon Musk because they can’t buy his silence.”
- Democratic Analyst Mary Anne Marsh tweeted: “@elonmusk offer to buy @twitter on the way to the #2022Elections and #2024Elections is no coincidence. It’s a threat to ours #Democracy.”
- “The cheers and jeers for this tweet is the only evidence needed.” She wrote later.
Between the lines: The debate about whether Musk would be good or bad for Twitter isn’t just about power or money. It’s about the most American of ideas—free speech—and the rights and responsibilities of private corporations to draw the line between disinformation and censorship.
- It’s also about where to draw the line when it comes to concentrating power in one person’s hands. And the current anti-big-tech anti-trust fervor means there may be less likelihood of a competing bid.
The background story: Musk’s move shows how important Twitter has become in his 16 years for the instant dissemination and analysis of political information.
- Since the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has used it to send messages to the world asking for help from President Biden and other leaders.
- It is also a guide to how deeply partisanship divides every facet of how Americans deal with each other.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Chair of the Republican Studies Committee, Axios said in a statement that “Republicans have not been able to communicate online as equals since 2016, and it has gotten worse since Biden took office.”
- “Big Tech has censored posts I made about sex, COVID, Hunter Biden, and even kitchen table issues like energy prices,” Banks said. “The Democrats’ election strategy is now based on censorship.”
Ex-President Trump Twitter’s permanent suspension is still a driver of the conservative backlash. And just before Musk’s move, the former president’s rival platform, Truth Social, was forced to withdraw a verified account for Fox News after a spokesman said the network had nothing to do with it.
- Musk appears to be thinking about what Trump wants to do — but with the money to do it.
What you say“I think the reason Twitter matters is because it’s where a very self-selected layer of extremely politically active, politically motivated people go,” said Aaron Smith, director of Data Labs at Pew Research Center .
- 10% of US adults on Twitter produce 90% of tweets, he said. Twitter users tend to be college educated versus non-college educated users. They also distort Democrats.
- Of 30 members in Congress with more than 1 million followers, Smith said that at his last count, 20 were Democrats and 10 were Republicans.
- And the 10% of US lawmakers with the largest number of followers received 84% of the favorites and 81% of the retweets going to Congress together.
Smith’s team reports From the 114th through the 116th Congresses, the collective posts of lawmakers increased from just over 1 million to 1.6 million. During the same period, the use of Twitter by Democratic lawmakers grew faster than that of Republican lawmakers.
- “This is the terrain that is being fought over now,” Smith said. “There is a real-time feedback loop with journalists and lawmakers. What does that do to our discourse?”
- “Twitter is a place for members of Congress to spread their messages — from ‘Hey, I’ll be on this show at 5 p.m., check it out’; or ‘Come support our local heroes’. to memes and partisan attacks and everything in between,” Smith said.
What we hear: Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), senior member of the House subcommittee that looks at antitrust concerns, told Axios in a phone interview when it comes to Musk, “I think if they dislike him… he very much can.” start his own.”