X owner Elon Musk has come under fire from left-leaning media since he bought the social media company then known as Twitter, and his stated mission to promote free speech in the digital sphere has generated some backlash, especially among those who favor censoring speech they disagree with.
of The New York Times The outlet also accused the X owner of a separate charge of trying to influence the outcome of the upcoming presidential election. The outlet published an article complaining about Musk’s tendency to defend former President Donald Trump while attacking President Joe Biden.
The authors detail several of Musk’s criticisms of the president, noting that he has “targeted Biden at least seven times a month since January, attacking the president on everything from his age to his policies on immigration and health.”
Biden’s strategy is very simple.
1. Accept as many illegal immigrants into the country as possible.
2. Legalize and create a permanent majority, i.e. one-party state.
That’s why they encourage mass illegal immigration. Simple, but effective. pic.twitter.com/B9M5ypUOQB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2024
Meanwhile, the authors say Musk has written numerous posts on X defending Trump and accusing Democrats of using the government to target their most feared political opponents.
The article then makes the dubious claim that Musk “as the owner of an influential social media platform has demonstrated a willingness to take political positions, something no other leader of a social media company has done.”
The authors note that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has said that he “avoids endorsing candidates and rarely posts political content on Facebook or Instagram.” They make similar statements about Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. (Related article: Google, Meta and other tech giants challenge New York’s child online safety bill)
Despite the authors’ claims about Musk, a closer look at history shows that X’s owner was far from the first digital platform owner to take a political stance. Indeed, leaders like Zuckerberg and Pichai may not have personally expressed political views in the same way that Musk has, but they have clearly worked to influence elections.
First, one research organization said Zuckerberg spent millions of dollars to help Democrats win the 2020 election. New York Post According to the report, the Mehta CEO, through his Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) and Center for Election Innovation and Research, committed $419.5 million to mail-in voting and voter outreach efforts during the election.
Mark Zuckerberg forced to apologize to families affected by child exploitation! 👇 pic.twitter.com/yNLPNi8egy
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 1, 2024
Zuckerberg has reportedly funded efforts to change voting rules to favor Democrats during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the New York Post, grants from CTCL amounted to about $1 million to cities in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, areas won by Biden. New York Times reporters may be considering Musk’s derogatory posts about President Biden to be on the same level as pouring millions of dollars into helping one party win a key national election.
Google is also under scrutiny for its bold efforts to tilt the election in favor of Democrats. The Media Research Center (MRC) recently report It details how the search engine giant interfered in elections from 2008 to 2024.
The report lists numerous instances in which Google has allegedly used its position to tilt elections in Democrats’ favor, including the fact that the company was accused of helping former President Barack Obama defeat Republican candidate John McCain in 2008 and even suspending the account of a blog writer who was critical of Obama during his primary campaign against Hillary Clinton.
MRC said Google engaged in similar practices during the 2020 primaries, disabling the advertising account of Tulsi Gabbard, who became the most searched-for candidate after the first Democratic primary debate. It also described how the company blocked Republican fundraising emails from reaching users’ inboxes. The Republican National Committee later sued Google over the matter, and here are the details: CBS News report. (Related article: Larson: Congress can’t allow Google to potentially censor election emails)
Finally, Google is trying to skew the upcoming presidential election in favor of President Biden. According to the MRC report, the company suppressed the election websites of Robert F. Kennedy, Trump, and other Republican candidates with approval ratings above 1%. Interestingly, when users searched for “Republican presidential election websites,” Google showed results for Marianne Williamson, a candidate who is far from a Republican.
Given the reported activities of Facebook and Google, it seems rather hypocritical to accuse Musk of trying to influence the upcoming election. Indeed, the New York Times does not appear to have run a similar article highlighting the efforts of both companies to help the Democrats win. Perhaps the Grey Ladies only see this as an issue when it involves people attacking their preferred presidential candidate?
