The X Files

X censorship and hypocrisy

Elon Musk has declared “war” on “America First” X users. He has revoked the magic checkmarks of prominent users and demonetized those who challenged his stance for legal H-1B visa immigration while banning dozens of relatively large accounts.

In response to one poster, who suggested that Musk contradicted himself in terms of free speech but also in terms of the DOGE imperative to rid unnecessary and stupid policies rather than reforming them, Musk posted: “Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face.”

Musk’s treatment of America Firsters only indicated to them and others that Musk had utterly betrayed MAGA and the interests of U.S. citizens. Musk soon called the America First posters “subtards” and his defenders echoed his rhetoric. Detractors accused Musk of hypocrisy and treason, some even calling for his expulsion from the U.S.

The arguments soon veered into a debate between Big Tech and its demand for “cheap labor” versus those who see the immigration issue in terms of “replacing” American workers and treating the country strictly as an “economic zone.”

Nick Fuentes later ratio’d Musk when the latter chimed in on a Seth Dillon post that pointed to the fact Fuentes complained about Twitter (X) censorship in a post that had by then received 1.6 million views.

But Fuentes wasn’t talking about himself so much as the many “Groyper” accounts that had either been de-checkmarked or, more likely, utterly banned.

I participated as a speaker in an X Space on December 31 that included many of the prominent posters who had just lost their premium check marks and/or had been demonetized. These included Sulaiman Ahmed (the host), Laura Loomer, Nick Fuentes, Stew Peters, and others. Loomer argued that Musk had betrayed the MAGA movement and was now Trump’s biggest liability.

Peters since called X’s practices “deceptive, fraud and theft.” Not only had premium users paid for their checkmark privileges but also subscribers were still being charged for subscriptions while X told said subscribers that the subscription provider had ceased offering paid content.

After the entire Groyper network was banned, charges soon followed from Fuentes and others that X was merely using the H-1B controversy as an alibi for demonetizing and banning the large accounts of users critical of Israel since October 7, 2023 or before.

Fuentes’s claim is wrong on one account. Laura Loomer is an America First proponent who also supports Israel and its war on Gaza, and she has lost her premium status. This anomaly led me to consider whether Loomer was included in the X sweep for plausible deniability. “See,” the argument might read, “the X purge did not target anti-Israel accounts. Laura Loomer was also included.”

No matter what one makes of the controversy and some of the interlocutors involved, there’s no question that Musk has betrayed the mission of X by banning the accounts of those with whom he disagrees, whether the issue is H-1B visas or Israel’s conduct. Musk promised many times that X would not censor content unless it breaks the law in the originating country. He also claimed to be a “free speech absolutist.”

I wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise in the X Space mentioned above. But had I been given a minute, I would have argued that X users who have recently been demonetized and/or lost their checkmarks shouldn't worry so much about the loss of the free speech promised by Musk or the fraud he may have perpetrated on them. What they should worry about is how much free speech was allowed and what government agency might end up with the data.

As reported by the Intercept, X continues to sell user data to Dataminr, a company to which X grants a “firehose” for “a direct, unfiltered feed of every single piece of user content ever shared publicly to the platform.” This contract allows Dataminr to suck up data and sell it to law enforcement and government agencies. X’s contract with Dataminr remains in place, despite X having simultaneously fought government surveillance of social media in the courts.

Also, as far as one can tell, X still uses the Israeli tech company AU10TIX for user verification and monetization. That means AU10TIX gathers biometric data from all verified users, which it can connect to user content. AU10TIX has been accused of cozy relationships with intelligence agencies, including Mossad.

All this leads me to wonder whether X has been a psyop all this time and whether “free speech” was just a lure.