A One-Paragraph Summary of the Hot War Between Elon Musk and the Nation of Brazil
While it’s not actually very complicated, it does underscore the active threat Elon Musk poses to American democracy. The Musk-Brazil war is a “canary in the coal mine” that Americans cannot ignore.
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The way Elon Musk wants to run Twitter—with no content moderation, a process he deems too expensive, especially as he wants to amplify far-right disinfo via algorithm—is illegal in most countries, which is why he often battles with foreign governments. Yet when far-right governments demand Musk silence their left-wing opponents, he complies immediately; he’s infamous for agreeing to foreign censorship requests far more than his supposedly censorious predecessors at Twitter. But Brazil is a special case: when Musk was, as a former Donald Trump adviser, seeking to buy Twitter, he was thrilled Brazil was run by far-right neofascist Trump friend Jair Bolsonaro, but then Bolsonaro lost his reelection bid to a left-wing opponent and it greatly angered Musk. Like Trump, Bolsonaro tried to stage a violent coup; unlike Trump, Bolsonaro and his lieutenants faced consequences when their coup plot failed. When Brazilian authorities demanded that the far-right-government-accommodating Elon Musk ban far-right insurrectionists in Brazil, he refused; when Brazil brought Twitter’s local legal rep into court, she resigned; when Brazil ordered Twitter to name a new rep—as Brazilian law requires companies have local legal counsel so they can be notified of lawsuits—Musk flatly refused and began issuing serious threats against Brazilian authorities that were tinged with real menace, leading to Twitter being shuttered in Brazil. The Brazilian Supreme Court has acted within its authority and responsibility, and this situation has nothing to do with free speech. It’s about Musk’s contempt for a validly elected left-wing government, and his nostalgia for a violent neofascist coup.
Thanks, Seth. I was unaware of Musk's treatment of Brazil. Brazil has done the right thing. I wish the US would also shutter Twitter/X.
Xitter (pronounced "Shitter") should be shut down everywhere, and Musk should have his security clearance revoked and be removed from Space-X as a "national security threat."
And people should stop buying his tinny fucking toys. The Official Car of White Lib'ruls Stupid Enough To Think Buying One Helps The Planet.