The dangers of putting a buisnessman in power
Imani Toler / The Samohi
Elon Musk does the Nazi salute at the presidential Inauguration
Richest man in the world and infamous CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, has appointed himself into foreign politics after his financial contributions in the recent election. Gaining the title of one of the top financial supporters of a presidential campaign in the world, Musk has donated upwards of $260 million dollars towards the Trump campaign. The super PAC named RBG PAC was operated without voters knowing that Elon Musk was its major funder. The information was exposed when the PAC’s finances became public and a $20 million dollar donation under the name, “Elon Musk Revocable Trust” was shown. The name of the PAC references Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsberg and had the purpose of convincing voters that Trump's views on abortion stood along with RBG’s, a disrespectful way of misleading voters.
Musk is notorious for focusing on the economic side of things and his increase in power in the government granted by Trump is worrisome for the future of the United States, or even the world. Previously on Thursday, Musk held a livestream on his app X(formerly Twitter) talking to German far-right politician Alice Weidel, who represents the political group Alternative for Germany, or AfD. AfD has strong beliefs against immigration in Germany, specifically Muslim immigration. Members of the group have been condemned for using Nazi slogans and offensively downplaying the Holocaust. Musk endorsed AfD in an op-ed he wrote in the Welt am Sonntag, a conservative German publication. “The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country.” Musk wrote. Embracing Nazi-esque political values like these while endorsing President Donald Trump should have Americans tense for what could be the future of the country.
“Free speech absolutist” as Elon Musk refers to himself, prides his app X on being strictly against government censorship. Contrary to what Musk has stated, X has gladly been open to following government restrictions and deleting posts from journalists—or anyone who disagrees with him. The multi-billionaire engaged in a debate with anti-immigration supporters on X, with Musk arguing about his views on immigration in the US. After the debate, the many accounts arguing with Musk noticed that their verified check mark had gone missing, damaging the account’s ability to monetize their content. Yet, that's not all that he's done for censorship, previously Musk voiced his opinions on prosecuting his opponents, which is an aggressive and direct attack on free speech.
A BBC documentary critical of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was requested to be banned from social media platforms after it was seen as a “propaganda piece” and anti-Indian. Shortly after, tweets regarding the documentary and all footage of it were deleted from the platform.
While censorship in the US has proved itself time and time again that it is still prevalent, influential power-holders such as Musk continue to highlight the dangers of restricting free speech across the globe.
