New Twitter CEO Elon Musk poked CNN executives with a hilarious meme and was immediately “fact checked” by the news network. The entrepreneur, of course, has been the target of unending criticism by mainstream media outlets for weeks over his free speech crusade.
The meme included a photo of CNN host Don Lemon and an obviously fake headline. It read “CNN: Elon Musk could threaten free speech on Twitter by literally allowing people to speak freely.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022
In response, the CNN Communications account posted, “This headline never appeared on CNN. Be better.”
This childish retort was followed by a digitally altered image of Musk’s original tweet and added a statement from Twitter saying: “This tweet violated the Twitter rules on sharing false, fabricated, and misleading information.”
Musk’s response to CNN? “Lmaoooo.”
First of all, the image posted by the Twitter CEO is from Geniuses Times, a satirical website that boasts of being “the most reliable source of fake news on the planet.”
Even that did not slow the wide range of responses from across the internet. To some, Musk is a purveyor of hate speech who is destroying the “virtual town square.”
The Atlantic senior editor Ronald Brownstein declared that the billionaire merely “repackages hate speech, racism, anti-semitism (and) homophobia as ‘free speech.’”
He tweeted further that actions to “hold him accountable” are criticized as the work of the “woke mob.” Brownstein added that Musk’s goal is “amplifying and empowering far-right extremists.”
But to others, his actions since acquiring the social media giant fall directly in line with his self-identified status as a “free speech absolutist.” Musk never hid his intentions, and all along he expressed his dedication to have a free and open exchange of ideas.
Musk’s tweet directed at CNN coincided with others targeting Apple and CEO Tim Cook. On Monday, Twitter’s head called out the company for its almost complete cancellation of advertising with the platform.
Apple has also reportedly threatened to remove Twitter from its App Store. Musk tweeted that “Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?”
He added that the iPhone maker is reportedly considering blocking the social media app from its offerings “but won’t tell us why.”
The leftist meltdown over Musk’s commitment to free speech continues unabated. The saving grace in their unending war on expression is that the world gets to clearly see where they stand on one of the most basic of freedoms, and it’s in direct opposition.
